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East Troy scout program provides opportunity for community support

Photo

Veteran Tom Kostopoulos, right, from American Legion Post 188, recently helps teach Scouts of Troop 92 the proper way to retire a flag. From the left are Patryk Wawro, Christopher Bennett, Cole Marcinkevics and Kostopoulos.

EAST TROY — Boy Scout Troop 92 is a lone wolf of sorts, because it is the only member of the Onatah District and Potawatomi Area Council located entirely in Walworth County

Even though their brethren to the northeast often forget the troop from the hinterlands, officials with the East Troy contingent are expecting growth of about 300 percent over the next three years.

But along with the excitement and optimism those projections have created are the many inherent challenges — many of them financial — of outfitting more Scouts.

Families support monthly outings, fees, permits and physicals, not to mention uniforms, which cost about $85 for the shirt, pants, socks, neckerchief and required patches. But the troop is in dire need of camping equipment, including backpacks, sleeping bags, canteens, first-aid kits, pocketknives, cutlery sets, mess kit, flashlights, Scout handbooks and compasses.

The cost approaches $250. However, the little troop that could has come up with an answer that might make it the envy of its council, not to mention those at the state and national levels.

Assistant Scoutmaster Robert Ciskowski, who joined the troop in October, developed the Adopt-A-Scout program in which they’re seeking minimum donations of $60 from individuals and businesses.

The effort helps kids and families who are struggling during tough economic times and allows the troop to avoid any issues with nonprofit regulations. The sponsors actually own the items but allow the youth to use them.

Adopt-A-Scout

• For more information: Contact Scoutmaster Daniel Donegan at (414) 329-0525 or send an email to nsddonegan3@aim.com. Or, contact Assistant Scoutmaster Robert Ciskowski at (815) 739-2727 or via email at rtcspearhead@gmail.com.

Read the full story in the e-edition of Walworth County Sunday, HERE.