Hollister Cub Scouts raise $42,585 in popcorn drive 

Lea este articulo en español aquí.

Apparently, it’s not really that difficult to make $13,355 in two months. All you need to be is a doe-eyed seven-year-old with a big smile, and you need to say the magic words, “Would you like to support the Cub Scouts by buying some popcorn?”

Or at least, that is how Joshua Feci did it, adding to the remarkable total of $42,585 raised by about 40 members of Hollister Cub Scout Pack 444 in a campaign that went from the end of August through the end of October.  The Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council’s average is $683 in sales per scout.

The scouts will be able to retain 35% of the money they raised—$16,649.50—but their immediate reward was an all-out celebration for the scouts at their meeting on Dec. 1, complete with certificates, badges, a pizza party, and an appearance by the EZPZ Mobile Video Game Theater.

“We spent a little bit of our commission thanking them for their hard work,” said Cubmaster Bryan Feci, Joshua’s father. “But no matter how well they did, we wanted them to know that we knew they did their best, and we appreciate them making the time and effort.”

Working with Trail’s End and their product line of popcorn, peppermint bark and dipped pretzels, the scouts spent time after school and on weekends selling in front of Hollister’s Safeway and Ace Hardware stores. “They’ve been supporters of scouting for years,” Feci said. “We are very, very grateful to them for allowing us to be there because 75% of our sales were in front of those stores.”

The various scouting groups have set territories, and after helping a pack in San Jose with their supply problems, Feci was offered a reserved site at the Bass Pro Shop in that city, which turned out to be very lucrative.

“In true scout fashion, we gave them some of our extra inventory,” he said. “They relinquished the site to us and we did $1,000 in like just three hours. It was just crazy sales!”

Besides storefronts, the scouts did door-to-door and internet sales. Feci said that for some of his scouts, the idea of selling can be difficult, and he coaches them as best he can.

“I think one of the most important things for children to learn is how to set goals and how to make plans to reach those goals,” he said. “But we want everything we do in scouting to be fun, so we do not force them to sell.” 

The money raised by the campaign will help fund the pack’s activities over the coming year, such as camping trips twice a year in places like Thousand Trails in Morgan Hill, the Mt. Madonna group campground and Casa de Fruta. There are also activities such as rocketry and  fishing trips to places like Coyote Lake. 

Joshua, who was not only the top seller in the pack but also the top seller for the entire council, which stretches from San Jose to Monterey, was too involved in playing Minecraft that evening to spend much time being interviewed by BenitoLink.

However, he did say that having the truck there was more than ample reward for the hours spent selling popcorn and that he was grateful for the support of the community. 

“We get to do things with the money, like go to sports games like the San Jose Giants and San Francisco Giants and Earthquakes soccer,” he said. “And there’s all my favorite adventures like going camping and building an insane fort out of sticks. It’s all pretty exciting.”

On his way back to the game, Joshua paused long enough to vow that, next year, he would beat his current sales record. And this reporter sincerely believes he will.

We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.