By Abigail Haddock
Marathon’s local Boy Scout Troop 901 held its annual fundraiser during the Marathon Seafood Festival with the help of the folks at Beachcomber Marina and Storage. With parking in high demand this year, some establishments blocked their parking lots to prevent eager festival-goers from overstaying their welcome, while others attempted to rely on signs to turn away the crowds.
Beachcomber Marina and Storage used the opportunity to help the local Scouts raise money, generously donating parking space and allowing Troop 901 to keep the proceeds. The Scouts passed along the favor and gave back to the community by also raising donations for Grace Jones Community Day Care, a day care and early learning organization that provides care for Keys working-class families.
“It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,” said assistant scoutmaster Justin Sifford. “We make most of our money there, and we use that money throughout the year to go to summer camp. We’re so grateful to the people at Beachcomber Marina and Storage.”
Unique opportunities like camping are critical for keeping Scouts engaged, but for Troop 901, these camps are farther away, and more expensive, than for mainland troops. This year the Boy Scout troop has nine members, but several will age out of the program soon.
The younger Cub Scout pack has around 50 members, and Sifford hopes that many of them will stay with the Scouts. “Maintaining interest in Scouts is tough,” he said. “They’re competing with things like video games, and there’s less interest now in the outdoors.”
To keep the boys engaged, the Scouts beat the heat with trips to camps that are a little cooler than a Keys summer. Most years, the troop visits North Carolina, but this year they’ve raised enough to go for the first time to a new site in Wisconsin, in addition to supporting Grace Jones.
“We’re grateful to all the Scout parents who volunteer their time to the planning of these events,” said Sifford. “The Senmartins always go the extra mile, whether making signs or hosting events. Jeff Tipsword, our former Scoutmaster, was a big help this year by donating his time. Willy Gonzales also let the boys use safety vests during the parking event. He was concerned about the boys being near the street and not visible.”
“We allow the Boy Scouts to use the facility to park cars during the Seafood Fest and share the profits with Grace Jones, but we don’t do it for recognition,” said a spokesperson for Beachcomber Marina and Storage who wished to remain anonymous. “You do something like this because it’s the right thing to do.”
