March 19, 2024

Over 4,000 lbs. of clothes and other fabric collected by Scouts in East Bay

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Scouts in Troop 46 in Barrington and Scouts in Pack 6 in Bristol recently held a clothing drive for collected bags of clothes by holding a BIG Fundraiser. The funds earned will help the troops throughout the year plan fun events like camping when the weather gets warm again.

Leader of Troop 46, Marc Millspaugh, commented how easy an ask it was to encourage their scouts to ask family members to clean out their closets to support their troop.

Suzanne Tabor, Pack Leader, “was blown away by the amount of donations. They were expecting to collect about 50 bags, but collected over 360!”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island (BBBSRI) through their social enterprise Donation Center is embarking on new ways to engage community partners that create a fundraiser where everyone benefits, including you!

The steps are easy. First, you register your fundraiser by visiting us at BigsRI.org/DonateRI. Once registered, someone from BBBS will reach out to you within 2 business days to confirm all your details. Then you are ready to start collecting donations! Invite your friends, families, co-workers and supporters to give you their donations of clothing, shoes, and other fabric items. Your organization will get paid for every pound collected! You can either drop off your donations at one of our Donation Centers or we can pick it up from your location! You will make more money if you drop off your donations to us.

This partnership not only helps fund community initiatives, but it provides a source of sustainable funding to support hundreds of one-to-one professionally-supported mentoring relationships across the state. Tax-payers will see a long-term benefit as well. The less textiles being disposed of through municipal waste and transfer stations, the less towns will have to pay to have it hauled away.

“This is just one of numerous ways we have been supporting the community by giving back for over 50 years” said Chief Executive Officer, Katje Afonseca. Each year, our mentors individually volunteer between 80 - 150 hours, the community helps us divert 3 – 5 million pounds of reusable fabric from our landfills, and countless youth have experienced the benefits of our mentoring programs. “These acts of generosity yield incredible outcomes and represent true investments in the future of the youth of Rhode Island.”

Mark Arnold, Development Director at Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America said “During this uncertain time, our Scouting units are looking for new and innovative ways to raise the funds they need to have an awesome program. Big Fundraisers are a great way for Cub Scout Packs and Scouts BSA Troops to raise the funding they need and give Scouts an opportunity to learn about sustainable practices.”

To learn more about the role mentoring plays in our community or to set up a Big Fundraiser of your own, contact our Business Manager, Taylor@BigsRI.org  or call us at 401.921.2434.

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