Community Corner

Princeton Cub Scout Bests Personal Record, Helps Local Scouts

Elian Rubin sold more than $4,600 in popcorn and was the highest seller in central and southern New Jersey.

 

By Princeton Cub Scout Pack 43

Cub Scout Elian Rubin is no stranger to scouting’s learning opportunities.  A member of Princeton Pack 43 since first grade, he has worked to earn all the badges and belt loops he could. So when he had a chance to try his hand at raising money for the Pack by selling popcorn, he set out to live the Cub Scout motto and “do his best.”

Do his best he did. This past fall, he sold $4,676.80 worth of popcorn, raising $3,273.76 for local scouting and making him the top-selling Cub Scout in Central and Southern NJ and the 2nd highest in the state. With his leadership, the boys in Pack 43 raised enough money to upgrade their Pinewood Derby equipment, benefitting all the boys in the Pack for years to come. Elian’s fundraising efforts also support the camps and programs of the Central NJ Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which serves more than 10,000 youth in Middlesex, Mercer, Hunterdon, Warren and Somerset counties. The Council Popcorn Director Brian Dungan said the average scout sells between $150 and $200 worth of popcorn in the sale. “Elian sold more by himself than many of our Packs and Troops did as groups. His efforts show other scouts that they can achieve big goals if they set their minds to it.”

A 5th grader at Community Park School, Elian started selling popcorn for scouting in 2010 during the Pack’s first ever popcorn sale. “I started out really wanting to earn a college scholarship, which meant I needed more than $2,500 in sales.” That first year he sold more than $3,300. His goal for this year was to beat last year’s sales. But he reached that goal before the sale was over, so he made a new goal: to fill up three full sheets of orders. And he reached that goal, too.

Working to achieve goals is one of Elian’s favorite parts of being a scout, but as he says, “It’s not easy. I spent a lot of time walking from house to house in our neighborhood and in my friends’ neighborhoods. I also talked to lots of people walking by at Conte’s, Palmer Square and Wawa. Lora Arendt at Palmer Square was very nice to let us sell there many times and Ciro Baldino at Conte’s even let us set up our table inside the door when it was a cold night! I found that lots of people were interested in supporting scouting. And while some people say no, if you keep asking, many will say yes. The popcorn is yummy, so after they try it, people want to buy more.  I have lots of repeat customers.”

While the prizes that the popcorn company offers—a college scholarship account, gift cards, a patch and a special shooting toy—are “cool, the real reason we’re doing this is to support scouting,” he said in a training session he led for other cub scouts. “Can you imagine if we didn’t have camp-outs and Pinewood Derby? That wouldn’t be fun!” Elian has used some of his gift card money to purchase Lego sets for HomeFront and make a donation to SAVE.  

The annual popcorn sale runs from mid-August until the end of October, although popcorn and other snacks can be purchased online year-round.  There are many varieties of popcorn and the prices range from $10 for a single bag to $40 for a gift box with three different flavors. 70% of all sales go to support scouting. In addition, “many people decide to send a donation of popcorn to the troops instead of buying popcorn for themselves or as gifts,” said Elian. “I’ve seen videos on YouTube of soldiers receiving the popcorn and that is really fun.”

Elian will be crossing over to Boy Scout Troop 43 this March and plans to stay with scouting and become an Eagle Scout. He also plans to continue his popcorn fundraising efforts.  “What’s so valuable about it is that it really helps scouting and people who might not be able to afford to come into scouting can participate. This is important because scouting helps boys become young men and helps them grow up and be more mature and also kids have a lot of fun in scouting.”

“I want to thank my Mom because without her I never would have been able to sell even $100, but I really want to thank all my customers. And if you didn’t buy popcorn last year, you can  buy some this year in person or online.  We always have new choices each year. You can go to my website, www.cubscoutpopcornsale.com, to buy popcorn online this spring or join my mailing list for next fall’s sale.”

Although Elian knows his sales skills will be valuable in the future, he isn’t planning to make a career out of it. Instead, he wants to be a Lego Designer.

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