BOYSCOUTS' FUNDRAISER SENDS KIDS TO CAMP
"Scouting offers a lifetime of values and leadership," stated Tina Roy regional director of the Boy Scouts of America Tahquitz District. "For this reason we have a policy about sending our Scouts to camp. No scout in the Temecula Valley is ever turned away from attending summer camp due to inability to afford the registration fees," she explained.
A weeklong experience that allows a scout to utilize the scouting skills he has learned in supportive and wholesome environment, the California Inland Empire Council considers summer camp part of the aims and methods of scouting.
The Distinguished Citizen Dinner and Auction such as the one honoring Riverside County Third District Supervisor Jeff Stone on May 17 raises funds for scouts through camperships. Supervisor Stone will be honored with the "Good Scout of the Year Award."
Supervisor Stone is recognized for his tremendous contributions to the City of Temecula and Southwest Riverside County. He served as mayor for the City of Temecula in 1995, 2000 and 2003. He also served three terms as a Temecula city council member, and is past president of the Mayors & Council members Conference.
The Distinguished Citizen Good Scout Award is presented to individuals whose personal ethics and family values are representative of the Scout Oath and Law. Past recipients of the award include President Gerald Ford, Governor George Deukmejian, Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. The Tahquitz District has honored Dan Stephenson, Dan Atwood and Joan Sparkman in the past.
During the dinner Nicholas Sanchez, a Murrieta Cub Scout who initiated and spearheaded "Operation Backpack Fun," a charitable activity that provided hundreds of new backpacks for children affected by Hurricane Katrina will be honored for his leadership and drive during the Distinguished Citizen Award dinner.
The Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen Award dinner will be held at Pechanga Resort and Casino beginning with a reception at 6:00 p.m. For sponsorship and dinner table reservations contact Tina Roy, BSA District Director at (951) 506-9568.
BACKGROUND ON "OPERATION BACK PACK FUN"
Operation Backpack Fun" was inspired by a picture of a young boy, Dillon Chancey of Biloxi, Mississippi, sitting on a pile of rubble in the aftermath of Katrina. Nicholas Sanchez (8 years old, cub scout with Pack 614 of Murrieta) after seeing the picture, decided then and there, that he could make a difference. Nicholas thought Dillon could use some "fun" and decided that he needed to do something to "help these children". That same afternoon, Nicholas took off to local merchants to gather some help in his effort to send some backpacks off to the children. He asked for help from his den, pack, and Rancho Community Church, within 96 hours over 700 backpacks were collected. As a result, in two short weeks families from our local communities donated over 3,000 backpacks weighing in, just over 15 tons. These packs were filled with new clothing, toys, books, school supplies and hygiene items. A note of encouragement from local children was included in each pack. The backpacks were then airlifted on two C 131's to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Nicholas father, Manny, a retired Marine Sergeant Major accompanied the backpacks that took off into the oncoming storm, Rita.
Nicholas and his mother left for the cross country trip in their car right after Rita hit, witnessing first hand the devastation from the second storm as they crossed through East Texas and into Louisiana, meeting up after one week of traveling and waiting for the backpacks to make it to Baton Rouge, via Florida and Georgia. In Baton Rouge the Istrouma Boy Scout Council met the Sanchez family and backpacks at the airport as they arrived. The packs were offloaded into a Delta storage area.
Over the next few weeks, with the aid of the local Boy Scouts, National Guard and area volunteers, the packs where distributed to children 5-10 years of age throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.
Nicholas and his family were fortunate enough to visit some of the children in the schools and personally deliver some of the packs. Many of the children that received the backpacks were from areas that not one home or building remained standing.
During a news interview Nicholas was asked why he took on this project, he plainly said, "because they are Americans, and Americans need to take care of Americans."
