I moved up to Scouts from Cubs on April 7, 1997, and at that time, many Scout troops were preparing for CJ'97 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The troop I was with at that time, the 16th London, was not planning to go. However, they told us that there would be another CJ in 2001 in Prince Edward Island that we could consider going to. At that time, 2001 seemed so far away. Would I still be in Scouts in four years? Nonetheless, I set my heart on going to CJ'01.
In November 1997, I began fundraising for my trip. My troop sold Trail's End Popcorn door-to-door as its main fundraiser in the fall every year. So, I went door-to-door all over my neighbourhood for two weeks. I was able to take advantage of the province-wide teacher's strike at that time to get some extra sales. In total, I sold $707.00 worth of Scout Popcorn. It turned out that I had the second highest sales in the City of London. I made a repeat performance in the fall of 1998, selling $1,176.00 worth of popcorn. Once again I had the second highest sales in the city.
In 1999, I transfered to the 57th London Scout troop, as the 16th troop had folded. This troop had also set its sights on attending CJ'01, and they were also selling Trail's End Popcorn. That fall I sold door-to-door vigourously for nearly three weeks, and sold a grand total of $1,554.00 worth of popcorn. I was finally the top saleman in the City of London. On February 22, 2000, on Scouting founder Lord Baden Powell's birthday, I received certificates of recognition from my troop and London Council.
In 2000, I found myself without a Scout troop again, as the 57th troop had folded. I had looked into other troops in the local area, but other troops were facing a similar fate to the 57th. In addition, not all local troops were going to CJ'01. However, I did find my way into the 2nd London troop. This troop was planning to go to CJ'01. That fall, I participated in a variety of fundraisers. As usual, I sold popcorn. For nearly a month, I sold door-to-door in my neighbourhood, and sold an incredible $2,133.00 worth of popcorn! Once again I was the top seller in the City of London. In four years, I had sold a grand total of $5,570.00 worth of popcorn, and since one-third of the sales went directly to the Scout troops, I had raised $1,856.67 for myself to go to CJ'01. I also participated in two other fundraisers in that time. On December 9, 2000 I helped sell Christmas trees for two hours outside Loblaws at Oakridge Mall. Proceeds went to help pay for CJ'01. Also, on December 22-23, I spent a total of six hours wrapping gifts near Wal-Mart inside Oakridge Mall. This was a joint CJ'01 fundraiser with the 70th London Scout troop. All this fundraising was in addition to the numerous Apple Days I participated in over the years. By the end of 2000, I had all the monies required to go to CJ'01. Please click 'next' to read about my preparations for CJ. |
