([ Portland], [Or], [06/02/04])— In efforts to feed hungry families in Oregon and Washington, Scouts of the Cascade Pacific Council, Boy Scouts of America will participate in the Oregon Hikes Against Hunger event held July 15 to August 15, 2004. Scout units as well as individual Scouts will organize pledge hikes to raise donations for the Oregon Food Bank. Hike routes, dates and times are selected by participants.
Scouts may choose to stroll the beach, walk a neighborhood, climb a mountain, hike a woodsy trail, jog around the river esplanade, track miles on a treadmill or organize a volksmarch, the possibilities are vast. Pledge forms and more details can be downloaded from the Oregon Food Bank web site, www.oregonfoodbank.org.
The number of people who relied on emergency food boxes to stave off hunger increased for the seventh straight year. Oregon remains among the top states in the nation in unemployment and in hunger. The Oregon Food Bank Network’s 338 pantries distributed emergency food boxes to an estimated 780,000 people in Oregon and southwest Washington between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003. That’s a 10 percent increase over the previous year. Forty percent of those receiving emergency food were children 17 years old or younger.
In addition, 148 soup kitchens and shelters provided 4.4 million emergency meals and 346 other agencies helped more than 120,000 people at senior centers, day care centers and other low-income programs.
Contact Oregon Food Bank at 1-800-777-7427 or 503-282-0555 for more details.
About the Cascade Pacific Council, Boy Scouts of America
The Cascade Pacific Council ranks among the nation’s largest Scout councils (out of 319) in terms of membership. The Cascade Pacific Council serves more than 47,889 youth in 18 counties in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington, and is supported by more than 15,902 adult volunteer mentors.
Local Boy Scouts of America Accomplishments
This last year (2003) Scouts of the Cascade Pacific Council reached out to the community and achieved the following outstanding accomplishments:
Goodwill/Good Turn – Scouts collected 362,895 pounds of usable clothing and household goods for Goodwill Industries in 2004. Over the past ten years, 4.2 million pounds have been collected.
Camping Program – The Cascade Pacific Council has one of the strongest outdoor camping programs in the country, camping 11,000 boys at seven summer resident camps and ten day camps last year.
Scouting for Food – Scouts collected 519,766 pounds of food for local hunger relief agencies through the Scouting for Food drive in December 2003.
Guy Miller Tree Plant – Over 2,500 youth and family members planted nearly 37,500 tree seedlings in our forests and neighborhoods in support of the Guy Miller Tree Plant program. Since 1977, this program has accounted for the planting of more than 2 million trees.
Violence Free Spring Break – In partnership with the Portland Police Bureau, the Police Activities League, Multnomah County, Boys and Girls Club, and other organizations, the Cascade Pacific Council has planned, coordinated and staffed special events like “Violence Free Spring Break.” Over 375 youth were served for this event alone. These events use Scouting facilities and curriculums to deliver positive, values-based programs.
Outreach – Over $29,930 in scholarships was awarded to over 536 youth members for summer camp.
Boy Scouts of America - Connecting youth with communities and families.
This page last modified
June 2, 2004
