Pueblo first responders receive popcorn from Boy Scouts thanks to community donations

Heather Willard   | The Pueblo Chieftain

Four Pueblo agencies were recognized by the Rocky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America through popcorn donations Friday.

The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, the Pueblo City Police Department, the Pueblo City Fire Department and Parkview Medical Center staff each received at least five cases of popcorn, funded through community donations. 

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Popcorn sales are an annual effort for members of Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops. The effort is designed to raise funds for each troop, raise awareness of the organization, and help the boys learn important budgetary and monetary skills. The scouts lead the charge with popcorn sales, and troop leaders provide guidance where needed. But in 2020, the typical ways Boy Scouts sell popcorn were suddenly scarce.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, many stores were hesitant to allow the troops access to sit outside and sell popcorn, as it may cause groups of unrelated individuals to gather. It was also considered against restrictions to sell popcorn door-to-door, as is also a traditional selling method. Therefore, the scouts turned to modern solutions: online ordering, as well as donations, were the main way to sell popcorn and raise troop funds in 2020.

Two scouts were on-hand Friday to deliver the cases of popcorn to each agency. At the Pueblo Fire Department, Jesse McPherson, 12, and Trey McPherson, 8, presented boxes of the Blazin’ Hot flavor, as well as Unbelievable Butter.

Jesse is a Tenderfoot, the second rank to be earned in the Boy Scouts, and has been involved with Troop 27 since first grade. Trey is a Bear Scout, the second rank of Cub Scouts, and has been equally as involved with scouting, and is currently part of Cub Scout Pack 27.

Travis Emery, field director for the Rocky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, noted that the community comes together each year to support the boys.

“The community really supported them a lot,” he said.

Emery explained that the Boy Scouts as a national organization provides an opportunity on popcorn forms for individuals or groups to donate to a specific troop instead of buying popcorn.

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The donations are tallied up, and 75 percent of the proceeds are returned to the troop. The last 25 percent is used on the popcorn that would have been purchased with those funds, which is then donated to local food pantries, first responders, military or healthcare workers.

The program is called the American Heroes Donation Program, and upwards of 75 percent of the donation is returned to the troop.

“We’ve been doing it for years, but especially with last year, we wanted to show our gratitude to the frontline workers,” Emery said.

Woody Percival, administrative fire caption of the Pueblo Fire Department, said the department is grateful to the community for the recognition, but also noted Pueblo Fire Department firefighters have not been the hardest hit in the pandemic.

“Through COVID, people have really been supporting the Fire Department — local businesses, restaurants — we are very well taken care of,” he said. “We did manage to keep our jobs throughout the year, and not everybody else has. So we appreciate the acknowledgement and donation, but at the same time we encourage people to give to charitable causes, spend at local businesses, or anything like that which is suffering because of COVID.”

Chieftain reporter Heather Willard can be reached via email at hwillard@chieftain.com or on Twitter @HeatherDWrites.