1st Carp Scouts selling spring syrup

CARP – Syrup season is here and now you can shop Canadian, buy local and support the 1st Carp Scouts all in one shot.

After all, there is nothing more Canadian than maple syrup, and the 1st Carp Scouts have turned syrup sales in to an important fundraiser for the organization that provides a variety of programming, adventure and leadership opportunities for local youth from five-years-old up to 18.

The 1st Carp Scouts have partnered with Temples Sugar Bush of Ferguson Falls to sell their own 1st Carp Scouts-branded maple syrup.

This is the fourth year the scouts have hosted the fundraiser, and it has quickly grown in to an important one.

“It’s our newest fundraiser,” 1st Carp Scouts Scout Leader Cameron Steadman told West Carleton Online from the Carp Exhibit Hall Sunday (March 23), proudly branded on the scouts’ maple syrup bottles. “But now people request it.”

Funds raised from this, and the Scouts’ other fundraisers the 1st Carp Scouts host throughout the year are critical to purchase equipment as well as offer unique adventure opportunities to its young members.

“The scouting programs promote leadership, co-operation and community mindfulness through outdoor adventures,” Scout Leader Dan Hewitt told West Carleton Online. “The money raised from sales will be used to offset the cost of adventures, rental of facilities, camping equipment and specialized volunteer training.”

The 1st Carp Scouts offer four sections including Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers.

For the maple syrup fundraiser, the 1st Carp Scouts are selling your choice of amber or dark syrup in 500 millilitre bottles for $14 or one litre for $23.

“Temple’s helps us keep the price competitive,” Hewitt said. “We want to keep it affordable. The quality is amazing. Temple’s is the same syrup you find on the Rideau Canal during Winterlude.”

Last year the 1st Carp Scouts sold more than 300 bottles. The syrup order deadline is April 25 and syrup pick-up will be scheduled for May 10 at the 1st Carp Storage Container located in the parking lot of Ottawa Valley Grain Products (405 Donald B. Munro Dr.) between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

“OVGP and Cavanagh Construction have been very good to us,” Hewitt said.

If you are interested in supporting the 1st Carp Scouts and getting your supply of fresh maple syrup, click here.

Hewitt says the 1st Carp Scouts are also looking for new adult volunteers.

“We also need more volunteers to take on more kids because we have to put a cap on how many kids we can take,” Hewitt said. “We have to have a certain ratio of adult leaders to kids.”

You can get more information by emailing Caroline Sartarelli at caroline@1stcarp.ca.