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Activities, Events & Opportunities


 (Information links or downloads are in blue.  For the weekly meetings schedule, click on the "calendar" link above.  The 2018-2019 schedule is available here.  Please remember it may be revised.  Complete the Consent to Administer Over-the-Counter-Medications form. 

Activities
- Heritage Trip to Gettysburg: March 22nd - 24th (being planned)
- Camp Sequassen (summer camp near Torrington, CT): July 21st - 27th

Heritage Trip to Gettyburg
Friday, March 22nd - Sunday, March 24th
We will be closing the Heritage Trip for sign ups this Sunday 3/17 at 8:00 p.m.  We need to give final numbers to the tour operators and the hotel, so please be sure to sign up by Sunday.  Anyone who tries to sign up after Sunday might not be able to take part in all of the activities because there not be space.  So please sign up by Sunday if you want to go!

If your travels plans will be different from the rest of the troop, inform Mrs. Breitenbach so she can arrange the car assignments.

Every year, the troop takes a weekend trip to a notable historical location.  This year is Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  Scouts and chaperones will depart from Jesse Lee at 5:00 p.m. on Friday March 22nd and drive to Gettysburg.  Scouts will need a bag lunch for the ride.  Even though this is the only meal scouts will bring on the trip, they should bring money for snacks and souvenirs.  Scouts will spend two nights in the Quality Inn, a hotel close to the sites, and as a bonus, it has a pool.  Saturday will be filled with loads of fun ending the night with a ghost hunt.  The fun continues on Sunday with museums and an escape room adventure. Scouts should return to Jesse Lee by 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.  Please check on the weather forecast for Gettysburg and pack accordingly.

Price for this trip is $150/person. Sign up here.  The price includes tours, museums, escape room, vintage photo, ghost hunt, hotel accommodations, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, lunch on both days and dinner on Saturday.  Scouts and adults should bring money for snacks and souvenirs.  Please keep in mind we'll need chaperones to drive.  If we don't have enough drivers, the trip will be canceled.  Financial assistance is available, contact Troop Committee Chair Jodie Francis (troop76committee@gmail.com).  All requests are kept strictly confidential.

Scouts who wish to work on the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge on this trip, please contact Scoutmaster Breitenbach (scoutmaster@troop76.org) for a blue card and contact Troop Committee Member Mrs. Hogan (jana.hogan@comcast.net) to add your name to the list.

Heritage Trip Itinerary:
Friday March 22
5:00 p.m. - Meet at Jesse Lee.  BRING BAG DINNER
5:15 p.m. - Drive to Gettysburg
9:45 p.m. - Check in at Quality Inn  (380 Steinwehr Ave, Gettysburg, PA 17325)

Saturday, March 23
9:00 a.m. - Breakfast
10:30 a.m. - Museum
Noon - Lunch, Dobbin House buffet and tour
2:00 p.m. - Private Bus Tour of Gettysburg National Military Park
4:00 p.m. - Free time
6:00 p.m. - Dinner at General Picket's Buffet or Gettysburg Eddies
7:30 p.m. - Ghost Hunt
9:00 p.m. - Return to hotel

Sunday, March 24
9:00 a.m. - Breakfast
10:00 a.m. - Diorama
11:00 a.m. - Escape room
Noon - Lunch & vintage photo (Hunts Battlefield Fries)
1:30 p.m. - Heritage Center
2:30 p.m. - Depart for Jesse Lee

Camp Sequassen 2019
Sunday, July 21st - Saturday, July 27th
The troop leadership is gearing up for summer camp, a week of fun and activities at BSA Camp Sequassen near Torrington, Connecticut.  It's a great experience where Scouts practice skills, earn merit badges and have lots of fun being together as a Troop.

To take advantage of the Early Bird pricing of $455 for the week, please make certain to sign up on the Time To Sign Up by 4/9. Your payment of $455 will not be due until 5/15.  To secure the Early Bird pricing, we need to know before April 9th that you plan to attend.  There's a sibling discount...the price for a second (or third) family member is $415 each.  Any scout who will also be attending Sea Base or Jamboree this summer is offered a further discounted rate from Sequassen.  Please email Nicole Genna for those details.  Our troop offers financial assistance to our scout families; contact Jodie Francis for details.  All requests for financial assistance are kept strictly confidential.

Any scouts who sign-up after April 9th must pay the full price of $470.  So, SIGN UP NOW!  Please keep in mind that any scout who signs up at the end of day on April 9th for camp, the troop is obligated to pay Sequassen for your attendance.  Once we send the amount to Sequassen we are not permitted any refunds.  Sign up here for Early Bird pricing.

Service Projects
Each scout is required to volunteer 12 hours of community service each scouting year.  Six hours are required between June 30th and February 15th.  And another six hours from February 16th to June 29th.  Two out of the six hours each semester may be non-Troop sponsored, with prior approval from the Scoutmaster. 

For the troop to participate in a community service project, two adults are required to sign up and attend.  Boy Scouts of America policy requires two-deep adult coverage at all times.  We need everyone's help to enforce this policy.  If two adults don't participate in a service project, the troop will cancel the commitment we've made to the organization.  Important note for adults: when you sign up for log keeper, you must send Jana Hogan a list of scouts who participated and the hours they worked.  Read our service policy here.

RVNA Health Fair 
March 2019 (Location, date and time to be determined)
Help the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association set up and take down its annual Health Fair.

Woodcock Nature Center 
March 2019 (time and date to be determined)
Woodcock Nature Center (entrance on Deer Run Road in Wilton) will need volunteers to help clean some sheds.

ScoutsCAN for Food 
Troop 76 is responsible for emptying the bins at the recycling center of returnable plastic bottles and cans.  The bins must be emptied only during operation.  The exit gate is closed at 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.  There's no access after hours or on Sunday.  Here's a link to download instructions (.docx file).  For details and hands-on demonstration, please e-mail spencer_carlson11@icloud.com.  Check out TTSU for sign-ups.

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 by the end of the day June 11th - no exceptions!

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 (and hopefully at Sequassen but that is TBD at this point).

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 Mrs. Francis. 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!