Boy Scouts Helping Families Need Your Help – Sparta Troop 150’s Annual Adopt-a-Family Program in Full Swing

SPARTA, NJ –  For over 10 years, Boy Scout Troop 150 in Sparta NJ has run their annual Adopt-a-Family program to help make Christmas a little merrier for families-in-need.  Last year, the 80 boy scouts of Troop 150 in Sparta NJ raised over $7,000 to purchase Christmas gifts for over 120 people in 42 families and supported the local food bank with 6 full carts of food. “This year the boys have their sights set toward higher goals”  explains scoutmaster Joe Fucito  “This year we hope to help even more families with a goal of raising over $8,000 to buy Christmas gifts for 140 people needing help and we hope to contribute even more food to the food bank”.  Families are selected based on need through local community churches. Ninety percent of the items purchased are shoes, socks, coats, other essential clothing and blankets.

In addition to troop-wide Adopt-a-Family fundraising events throughout the year, each Scout earns at least $15 to donate to the program.  Scoutmaster Joe Fucito explains, “The scout cannot simply ask their parents for the money, but must demonstrate that they did a chore, helped a neighbor, or did some other activity for which they earned the funds.  This is one of the highlights of our scouting year.”

On Monday December 15^th the Scouts of Troop 150 will descend on the Franklin Wal-Mart, break into small patrols, and be given a list and a budget to buy gifts items for people in need.  The gifts will be bagged for each family and then are delivered the next morning to the churches for distribution to the families.  It is the scouts themselves who run the program and do all the shopping.

Local business and individual members of the community helped the troop exceed their goal last year and are critical to their success this year. Any donations would be helpful in ensuring that the scouts reach their sponsorship goal of adopting 140 people!  “The funding that supports this program is 100% raised through donations and fund raising events conducted by the Scouts!” explained Assistant Scoutmaster Joe Toscano who is coordinating the project, “every single dollar raised goes toward the purchase of gifts or food for this program.”

Here’s how YOU can help:   Checks, payable to Boy Scout Troop 150, can be hand delivered to the scouts at their weekly meetings, Mondays at 7 pm at the United Methodist Church, 71 County Rd 517 Sparta NJ or at the Franklin Wal-Mart on the evening of December 15^th.  Checks may also be mailed to:  Joe Toscano, CP Engineers, LLC 35 Sparta Ave. Sparta. NJ 07871.

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