Presidential Volunteer Service Award
Instructions for submitting hours for the award are posted below. Please remit your spread sheets to Mrs. Hogan at jana.hogan@comcast.net.

Our Troop is proud to have been accepted as a Certifying Organization for The President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA). Scouts who volunteer enough hours can earn this prestigious award that comes with a special pin, certificate and congratulatory letter from the President. PVSA was started in 2003 by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by example, inspired others to engage in volunteer service. The goal is to encourage individuals to embrace the spirit of volunteerism that makes this country so great. The Award level is determined by the amount of hours a scout works. Please refer to the below chart.

Hours by Award
Children (5-10 years)        Teens (11-15 years)        Young Adults (16-25)        Adults (26 and older)        Families and Groups*
26 - 49  (Bronze)                50 - 74 (Bronze)              100 - 174 (Bronze)            100 - 249 (Bronze)             200 - 499 (Bronze)
50 - 74  (Silver)                   75 - 99 (Silver)                 175 - 249 (Silver)               250 - 499 (Silver)                500 - 999 (Silver)
75 +  (Gold)                         100+ (Gold)                      250 +  (Gold)                      500+ (Gold)                         1,000+ (Gold)

How to track hours
Service is calculated from June 1st to May 31st. This time period only applies to the PVSA calculations. A scout is required to keep track of all community service hours they perform using an Excel spread sheet.
The data they should collect is written below and should be presented to the Community Service Coordinator in the correct order. Please ensure that the Time in Hours column has a grand total at the bottom.
On June 1, after a year of volunteering it is the scout's responsibility to email The Community Service Coordinator a copy of their Excel sheet. They have till June 11th to send in their information. No sheets will be accepted after this date.

Dates to Remember
May 31: Cut off date for current year's service
June 5th-11th: Send in Excel Sheet to Community Service Coordinator for current year's service
June 1: Start recording on new Excel sheet for following year's award
Example of Excel Spreadsheet:
     Last Name
     First Name
     Age
     Date of Service
     Organization
     Contact Name
     Contact Phone
     Time in Hours
     Description of Volunteer Work:

Please note fund raising of any kind is not considered community service. Volunteering to help a religious organization may be submitted but not if you're teaching or preaching.  Any questions should be directed to the PVSA Coordinators Jana Hogan and Kristine Keaveny.

Adult Training
Merit Badge Counselor Training
All Merit Badge Counselors will be required to get trained before the end of the calendar year. You must either attend a training session in person or take the online course. It is a one time only training. There will be additional dates offered throughout the year.

Youth Protection Training
We are asking all adults in the troop to complete Youth Protection Training. Follow this link to complete the training: http://www.scouting.org/Training/YouthProtection.aspx

First Aid Training
Firefly Family Yoga is offering American Heart Association CPR Certification Course for anyone needing to be certified or re-certified. The course will be held on Sunday January 28th from 3:30pm-6:00pm and the cost is $45. To learn more information please visit www.fireflyfamilyyoga.com or call 203-431-0140.

Please contact Kristine Keaveny (kskeaveny@yahoo.com) for more information if you have any interest in the above-listed training dates.

Class B Shirts
If you need a Class B shirt please contact Ms. Tiffany Carlson, Troop Committee Chair.  The cost of the shirt is $13.

Shop on line and donate to scouting. It's free.
Our regional BSA office, the Connecticut Yankee Council, benefits when you shop at Amazon, eBay, Cabelas, Eastern Mountain Sports, REI, and others. These retailers agreed to split some of their income with Council. It's easy and costs you nothing. Help scouting by starting here then choose your store.  And here's a link on how to use Amazon Smile, the on-line retailer's donation option.

Communications
Troop Texting
Stay informed with troop text messages. We encourage scouts, adults and leaders in the troop to sign up for this service.  It's free to sign up, but it does send text messages to your phone.  Please join one of the groups below by sending a text.  It's quick and easy. 

Scouts                                                                              Troop 76 Parents
Enter this number: (203) 403-2120                                Enter this number: (203) 403-2120
Text this message: @t76scouts                                       Text this message: @t76parents

Troop 76 Uniformed Leaders                                         Troop 76 Committee Members
Enter this number: (203) 403-2120                                 Enter this number: (203) 403-2120
Text this message: @t76leaders                                      Text this message: @t76comm

After you send your text message you'll receive a confirmation text that you're signed up.  That's it!