KENNEWICK, Wash. – Kiwanis Troop 2020 in Kennewick has been selling Christmas trees and wreaths for five years, helping scouts fund their adventures.
This year, Troop 2020 started with 200 trees and 100 wreaths and is now almost sold out. Assistant Scout Master David Cannon explained how the fundraiser works.
“So we buy Christmas trees, we buy them wholesale. Every Black Friday I travel to Western Oregon and pick up the trees,” Cannon said. “Once they’re in our possession, the kids sell them through an online platform. The kids also deliver the trees and the kids get to split the money.”
Cannon makes sure the money is deposited into each scout’s individual account. The funds help the kids pay for any outing they choose.
“The annual cost for a scout, if they go to scout camp for a week and they do all the other activities, it is over $500,” Cannon said. “We have kids that have made $700 or $800 in a year. We have others who have sold 1 or 2 wreaths or one tree and just made a few dollars. I’d say on average, $100 to $200 is what the average kid brings out of the sale.”
The fundraiser began in 2020 when the troop needed new ways to finance activities. Cannon invested $3,000 in Christmas trees without telling his wife, hoping to resell them. He earned his money back, and the project has been a success since then.
“This year, our sales have gone up to where we sell about $12,000 in inventory and $6,000 goes back into the kids’ accounts. In total, this is our fifth year, and at the end of this year, we’ll be close to $30,000 that we’ve put in kids’ accounts,” Cannon said.
Cannon emphasized that he has not profited from the fundraiser but gains much more than money in return.
“It’s fun to be part of their success and to watch them be able to earn the money and do the activities that help them to grow,” Cannon said.
Links to their fundraiser page can be found here.
