Any chance to combine two of my favorite groups, Cub Scouts and the Bristol Elks Lodge, I jump at it. At their core, both organizations exist to serve the community. Last year, we had a first time, modestly successful May breakfast. The Elk Riders cooked for the Cubs, their families and anyone else who wanted a ticket. We learned that there are many such breakfasts going on right here in the East Bay, and that we might have lost some opportunity to the more established competition.
Always seeking to improve, we thought we would beat the traffic and have some fun with an April Fool's breakfast. April 1st was also Palm Sunday, but we believed that we could catch the to and from Church traffic with hours from 8:30 - 12:00. We notified all the members of our Pack and the Elks lodge, posted here on Patch in the event section, and waited.
We never got notice into the other town paper and really did not get enough flyers out around town. Shame on us, but we thought our own respective extended groups would put us over the 100 ticket mark, as we were very close last year. We were wrong.
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As much as I looked forward to the famous Elks french toast, maybe some sausage & bacon, scrambled & home fries too, it didn't happen. Even with bottomless juice, milk & coffee, we did not get enough of a response to move forward with the event. Our budget, like all non-profit groups, is very tight. We couldn't risk losing money on groceries if we didn't have enough people at the door.
In addition to Palm Sunday, Little League and Spring Soccer are in full force, adding demand for parents' time on the weekend. My own son brought home close to $100 shopping list from school, including yearbook, spring pictures (didn't we only get pics once a year when we were kids?) and other school events like spring fundraiser raffle tickets and two other school events. None of these events were for April 1st, but time and dollars are being spread thin all around.
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The breakfast last year was a ton of fun, and we raised a few dollars to help support the kids activities. Camping trip groceries and trophies do not come free. All the organizers had the best intentions for this year, even if our execution fell short. All the parents want to do everything they can for their children, but sometimes we all get overloaded with activities and possibly underfunded in the process.
In Scouts we say "Do Your Best!" and we will, again.
