YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!

The 2003/2004 Christmas Tree Collection Fundraiser planning is well underway. In order for this fundraiser to be successful we need everyone’s help! This year we expect a record number of trees to be collected and therefore need participation from all families in the troop.

For those who are new to Troop 89, the Christmas Tree Collection Fundraiser is the only fundraising event of the year. It helps offset the costs of numerous activities and camping trips throughout the year and helps us purchase new equipment like tents and other camping equipment. The fundraiser also helps defray the administrative costs of running the troop, like purchasing the shed where we now house our equipment.

The concept of this fundraiser is simple. After the Christmas holiday, Troop 89 Scouts and adult volunteer drivers travel throughout Medfield collecting discarded Christmas trees and delivering them to the Transfer Station - all for a $10.00 per tree donation. The trees are then shredded and recycled by the town. We use pick-up trucks, rented trailers, and rented trucks. You may have seen our sign at the Transfer Station. Also, as we did last year, we will send press releases to the Boston Globe, the Hometown Weekly and the Medfield Press.  

WHAT’S NEW?

We will be collecting trees on only two weekends (Saturday) this year, specifically Jan. 3^rd, and Jan. 10^th.

In previous years we have asked for parent participation in two areas: Phone Solicitation and Tree Collection. Since we now have over 450 prospective families who we have collected trees from in the past, we have tried to reduce the amount of phone solicitation needed by sending a mailing to each of these families, requesting that they send back a pick-up date reservation form and donation via mail. We expect only to need to phone those who do not respond. These mailing will be sent out around Thanksgiving.

This year we will also be asking your son to visit your neighbors to distribute these reservation forms and to tell them about the tree pick-up and encouraging them to participate. These letters will be distributed in the coming weeks. Please encourage your son to personally speak with your neighbors about the drive, rather than just signing the letter and dropping them in mailboxes. We think the personal contact between your son and the neighbors will go a long way to making this added solicitation pay off.

We will also be including a Christmas tree pick-up reservation flyer in the “Friday Afternoon Packets” that are distributed by the schools. The Council on Aging will also mention the fundraiser in their monthly newsletter.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

We will need scouts and parents volunteers to help pick up trees on the previously mentioned dates.  If you have a pickup truck or a vehicle with a trailer hitch, we can really use your help. We especially need vehicles with trailer hitches!! If you have neither, we still need your help to pick up the trees, load them onto the trucks, unload them at the Transfer Station, and/or driving one of the trucks we may have to rent (no special license required).

Please fill out the form below indicating how you are willing to help and on which dates you will be available. If you are available for more than one of the dates please indicate which of the dates you’d prefer. If we can get total participation we may be able to fulfill the pickup requirements without needing people for more than one day. Please return the form at any of the Scout Meetings prior to (and including) the Dec. 4th meeting. If you can’t get the form back please call Charlie or Bob with your information.

Let’s all pitch in and share the workload as a team. Please don’t hesitate to call us with questions. Thanks for everyone's support.

Charlie Malacaria (359-XXXX) and Bob Ryan (359-XXXX)

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Name___________________________

Phone___________________________ Email: ________________________________

Please indicate which of the following options apply to you by putting a mark in the appropriate boxes below. If you are available for more than one day please use a “1” to indicate your most preferred date, a “2” for the second most preferred, and a “3” for the least preferred. Please respond whether you can participate or not.

PLEASE RETURN BY DEC 4th SCOUT MEETING, OR CONTACT CHARLIE MALACARIA (359-XXXX) OR BOB RYAN (359-XXXX).

	Jan. 3, 2004	Jan 10, 2004
I have a vehicle with a trailer hitch that I will use. (Troop 89 will provide a trailer)
I have a pickup truck that I will use. (Indicate if you also have a trailer hitch.) (Troop 89 will provide a trailer)
I have a trailer that I will use.
I am willing to drive a rental truck
I can load/unload trees

My son is available to participate in the Tree-Pickup __________________

My spouse or I can also make phone calls to solicit tree-pickup reservations ________________

I am not available to participate in the Troop fundraising this year ________________