Some local children who are members of North Grenville Scouting did even more good for the community than they bargained for when they found a wallet during a County Road 43 cleanup operation on April 26. The organization took to social media to help advertise that the wallet had been found, noting that its condition suggested it may have been there for some time. In addition to cards, the wallet contained a sum of cash.
Alan McKay from North Grenville Scouting was contacted about the interesting find. He detailed the important work that the Scouts do when they do activities such as cleaning up ditches, and the way that these activities benefit the youth who participate in them.
“Cleaning up our town is an important activity on several fronts,” said Alan. “It reminds youth what a mess can be made when people litter, and will hopefully prompt them to speak up if they ever see their friends littering. And of course they learn that society is improved by people volunteering to make it better. The entire Scout program is designed around activities that teach youth personal and social responsibility all within a framework of having fun. Fun things like the canoe camp we’ll be going on in June – during these types of activities, they plan their own meals and camp activities, and during the camp, they pitch their own tents, cook their own meals and in the process learn a lot about teamwork and helping each other. But just as important as teamwork, ironically, is independence, and Scouting teaches both of these things simply by doing.”
One simply could not blame a child for wanting to invoke the age-old “finders keepers” rule when finding a wallet full of cash, but the kids from North Grenville Scouting have a good sense of right and wrong, and the importance of considering others.
“Yes, finding a wallet with what to the youth was a lot of money was very exciting,” Alan added. “Of course, they first talked about going to the Dairy Barn to spend it, but quickly, on their own, they realized that it had to be returned to the owner. Once they came to that realization on their own, I talked to them a bit about how they thought it was a lot of money, and maybe the person who lost it also thought it was a lot, and how would they feel if they lost it? Of course, they’d want someone to return it if they found it. But again, they very quickly came to this realization on their own without prompting from the Scout leaders.”
The original Facebook post notes that the wallet was found containing identification, but asks for help in locating the wallet’s owner. Alan was able to provide some clarification.
“The only ID in the wallet was a bank card, which of course has no address,” he said. Alan took the wallet to the bank, where staff where able to look up the customer and determined the wallet belonged to a youth. “So the amount of money in that wallet would have been a lot for that kid,” Alan added. The bank agreed to return the wallet to its rightful owner.
It’s clear that local youth are benefiting tremendously from the program offered by North Grenville Scouting, evidenced by the two good deeds that took place on April 26. Alan had his own thoughts to add.
“Scouts is an amazing program that welcomes new members who quickly become best friends with existing members,” Alan said. “Just two weeks ago, we had a new member show up when we were doing a scavenger hunt. At the beginning of the meeting, he was very shy and hardly said anything to anyone. We sent them off on the hunt which involved roaming about town independently looking for the different things. When they returned at the end of the meeting, that same new Scout was alive and energetic, and talking with all the other Scouts as though they had been friends for years. This is a common experience in Scouting right around the world. Scouts also has many opportunities to travel the world and meet other Scouts. The North Grenville troop is a regular participant in a biannual event in Scotland, for example.”
The clean up operation on April 26 was part of the “Pitch In” event held in the Municipality. Marc Nadeau confirmed that the Scouts cleaned up the section of County Road 43 between St. Michael High School and the Kemptville Creek bridge. “A wide variety of debris was recovered as a good number of bags were filled,” added Marc. “The proprietor of the Nakhon Thai restaurant served the troop spring rolls in appreciation of the good work being done. The youth undertook the task with a willing spirit and finished the task with a sense of accomplishment.”
Great job, Scouts! You have made North Grenville proud, not for the first time, and certainly not for the last.
