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Yes, the Scouts are back. Scout Troop 342 is coming back into the neighborhood, going door to door, to take your orders for holiday greenery.
For 70 years, BSA Troop 342 has been selling holiday greenery to their fellow South Pasadenans, in order to raise money for the Troop. “It’s one of our unique features,” says Ken Borgerding, Scoutmaster for Troop 342. “Our unit does not charge its members any dues to cover the annual membership fee or to pay for insignia earned by the Scouts. All of that gets paid for by our Troop. The money that the Scouts raise selling Christmas greenery – I have to say ‘Scouts’ now and not just ‘boys’, because a ‘Boy Scout’ can be a girl as well as a boy – pays for those expenses. It also allows us to subsidize several activities and other expenses. This past year, with everything shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, our Troop’s only expense was $15 per month for Zoom. When things opened up in the summer and we knew that Summer Camp was happening, our unit was able to pay for most of the camping fees for the Scouts and subsidize half of the fees for the adult chaperones, all from money raised over the last two years selling greenery.”
“The people of South Pasadena, especially those who have lived here the longest, are familiar with seeing our Troop come knocking on their doors with a flyer for holiday greenery in late September or early October,” adds Carolyn Thompson, Greenery Chairman. “This last year, because of COVID, we didn’t feel safe sending our Scouts door-to-door. We advertised in the South Pasadenan and set up a website with our supplier where people could place their orders directly. We also called those who had ordered from us before since we had sales records going back five years. But, we missed a lot of people. As long as things stay opened up, our plan is for our Scouts to go door-to-door again, as in the past. But this time, we’re instructing them to wear a mask, leave a flyer, and step back 6 feet after ringing the doorbell, just to be safe. And on Delivery Day, usually the first week of December, we will continue the practice of calling to set up an appointment and instructing the customer to leave payment in an envelope under the doormat. That not only follows COVID protocols but allows the customer to not have to be at home when their greenery gets delivered.”
All the usual favorites are available this year: the mixed evergreen wreath in 22-inch and 28-inch width, the noble fir 22-inch wreath and swag, the 10-ft garland of Western Cedar, and a mixed evergreen table centerpiece. There’s also a new item, a table decoration of a reindeer and a sleigh. Payment for greenery orders being delivered to South Pasadena, southern Pasadena and western San Marino can be made upon delivery. For orders shipped outside the local delivery area to anywhere in the contiguous United States (not Alaska & Hawaii), payment will have to be collected upon placing the order.
Order from the Scout who leaves the flyer at your door on the last weekend of September or the first weekend of October. If we miss you by October 10th, you can place your order directly on Troop 342’s Mini-Site or text or call 626-765-1014 and leave a message. A Scout will contact you in the first week of December to arrange delivery. Orders need to be placed by Halloween, October 31, 2021.
