What a fun day we had at the Pinewood Derby! We have raised over CHF 800 for Asskam, the charity that helps look after the children of women who work at night in Mumbai.
An event such as the Pinewood Derby requires an enormous amount of effort – without which it would never take place. As always, there are many people involved in making that effort – and on your behalf, I would like to thank everyone who played a part in making it such a success for the boys. Particularly Den 7 – which was responsible for planning and coordinating the whole event. It is a massive job and they provided us with a memorable day of fun for our families. Thank you Shona and Den 7! Did you enjoy your lunch? Various teams from Den 4 and Den 6 were responsible for planning and preparing a great menu- which, if you have ever cooked for 120 people, you will know takes a lot of hard work. Great job, guys- thank you to all involved! The Bear dens are also coordinating the Blue & Gold – the Pack’s Annual Dinner Banquet – so I think we can look forward to a successful night (7th March 2008). Den 1 and Den 3 ran a wonderful bake sale – and, having sampled most of the items on offer, I can safely say that there was some delicious cookies and cakes! Thank you to all those people that donated their time and effort to make them, led by the Jo Hartley-Jo Roberts leadership of Den 1 and Sandy for Den3. Den 2 ran the second hand toy store – and manned it throughout the event, helping to raise the money for Asskam. Thanks Nicola, thanks Den 2. Den 5 bought a few games – and though the weather was not exactly conducive to playing outside, I think we managed to provide some entertainment along
the way. Special thanks to Farquhar, our Pack Master, who used up a large part of his vocal chords as Master of Ceremonies, and also to Steve, leader of Den 8, who loaded all the cars on the track and started each of the several dozen races.
There were many, many tasks performed – most of which go un-seen, and have not been mentioned. These are just a few of them, and I know you would like me to acknowledge those people responsible for:
- moving the tables and chairs, and putting them all back together
- collecting, transporting and constructing the track, and reversing it all at the end
- weighing and registering the cars, and taking a photo of each boy with his car
- running the cars from the end of the track back to the top of the track
- sorting out the order of cars for the many different heats
- loading the race data into the computer
- preparing the barbecue fires and then cleaning the barbecues after use
- sweeping the floors, wiping the tables and cleaning the floors of graphite powder!
- accounting for the proceeds of sales, and depositing the resulting donations to Asskam in the bank
Many people got stuck in to help where needed. Thank you to all of you.
Of course, cubs is a family program which we use to instil in our children certain values – including service to the community. Yet, in my view, Pack 130 is an exceptional volunteer community. Cubs takes a lot of effort, but the vast majority of our families take the view that they should be doing something and they ask themselves if they have done enough. The events we organise provide the opportunity for us all to serve. In so doing, it is my contention that we achieve a certain measure of self-respect and happiness, knowing that we have done something for others. For all the people that do get involved, at whatever level they are able to – even if it is just bringing their son to support Pack events (and raising money for charity in the process), the intrinsic satisfaction is enough reward for the effort they have made. Yet, as the Chairman of Pack 130′s Committtee, I feel enormously proud, on behalf of the Pack 130 Community, to thank everyone for their service. I count myself fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of such a community, and to be part of a group that actively teaches its children by personal example. By being responsible citizens and by serving our community, we show our children a tried and tested way to build a happy and successful life, and surely, as parents, that is exactly what we are all trying to do.
For the rest of the year, we have the Pack Bowling Competition to look forward to (24th November), many of us will raise money by running the Marmite Race (a fancy dress parade) at the Escalade at 6.30pm on 1st
December, and then we will wrap up 2007 with our last Pack Meeting of the year on 7th December. We will start 2008 with a weekend in Kandersteg – a traditional ski resort 2 hours from Geneva. It is a great chance for the
boys to ski with their den, and as always siblings are welcome so make sure you and your family can join us for a fun weekend – 1st to 3rd February.
Kind regards.
Adam Hartley.
Chairman, Pack 130 Committee.
