Local scouts were turned down by the Lawrence Township Community Foundation due to the national organization’s position on homosexuals.
By: Lea Kahn
When Bob Hullfish was a young Boy Scout, he walked up and down Main Street in the village of Lawrenceville, knocking on doors to raise money to buy a tent for Boy Scout Troop 27.
Mr. Hullfish knocked on six or seven doors and collected about a dollar apiece from each one. When he knocked on the door of Glen Hudler’s house, on the corner of Main Street and Cold Soil Road, Mr. Hudler decided to donate the rest of the money for the tent.
So, it was only natural for Mr. Hullfish the owner of Bob’s Auto Service to lead a fund-raising drive to help the current crop of Boy Scouts in Troop 27 buy a trailer for their camping trips.
Boy Scout Troop 27 had applied to the Lawrence Township Community Foundation for $2,100 to buy a trailer, but the board of directors rejected the request. The LTCF turned down the request because the national Boy Scouts of America has banned homosexuals from its ranks.
Over the last six weeks, Mr. Hullfish and his son, Wayne Hullfish, who works with him in the garage, raised $2,212.81 to pay for the trailer. They plan to turn the money over to the leadership of Troop 27.
"We started raising money the day the newspaper came out (May 23)," Mr. Hullfish said, referring to The Lawrence Ledger article that detailed the LTCF’s decision to deny the troop’s request.
"My son and I thought about (the LTCF actions)," he said. "We talked to people we know. Most all of us were Boy Scouts. We don’t have an agenda. We didn’t do it to be against anybody. We just did it for the Scouts.
"I have gone to many awards ceremonies. The kids look so good and they are so well behaved. They epitomize what children should be like. They set the standards for what children should be, to me."
Wayne Hullfish said most people’s attitudes toward the Boy Scouts do not mirror the LTCF’s view. He said that when he or his father contacted folks for contributions, everyone donated some money.
Paul Mott of Main Street is one of those folks who contributed to the cause.
Mr. Mott said that while he does not want to comment on the Boy Scouts of America’s policy on homosexuals in leadership positions, the boys in the local troop should not be punished because of the national organization’s position.
"Why deny the (local troop) the money for a trailer to go to camp? You can fight that battle somewhere else," he said, referring to the Boy Scouts of America’s policy on homosexuals.
Troop 27 Scoutmaster Kevin Deal was excited and happy to learn that Mr. Hullfish and his son had helped to raise the money for the Scouts. Now, the troop can go shopping for the new trailer, he said.
"Clearly, this will be a big addition to the troop," Mr. Deal said of the new trailer. The troop plans to use it to haul the tents and other equipment that it needs when it goes on its monthly camping trips, he said.
Troop 27 has about 72 or 73 registered Boy Scouts, he said. On a typical weekend camping trip, as many as 40 boys will participate. It is difficult to pack all of the camping gear into the Honda Civics and minivans for the trip, he said.
It was disappointing to hear that the LTCF had denied the application for the trailer, especially since the foundation had invited the troop to apply, Mr. Deal said. But the successful fund-raising effort is a wonderful outcome, he said.
While the Boy Scouts of America does not encourage local troops to solicit donations, it was "very honorable" of township residents to step forward and donate money to help buy the trailer, said Ron Green, chief executive of the Central New Jersey Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which is based in South Brunswick.
Mr. Green said he did not think it was right of the LTCF to deny the troop’s request for funding, but the fact that citizens donated money on their own is a demonstration of the strength of Scouting in Lawrence Township.