Scouting for Change, Boy Scouts of America Celebrates 100 Years by Collecting Quarters to Build Schools in Africa

ORLANDO, Fla., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Central Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America is celebrating 100 years of Scouting with the "Scouting for Change" coin drive.

The Scouting for Change service project was conceptualized by the Central Florida Council's leadership as a way to join the national celebration of Scouting by raising funds to help build schools in Nairobi, Kenya. Nairobi is widely considered the birthplace of Scouting, where founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell envisioned the ideas and fundamentals of the Scouting program and where he was later laid to rest.

The first phase of the service project, the coin drive collection, was completed on February 8th, BSA's 100th birthday. Phase two, the virtual deposit program, ends May 19th, exactly 100 days later. The Council's goal is to raise enough to make major construction improvements to two schools around Nairobi with organizational partners Church World Service, which will build a new school, and World Hope, which will build a ninth grade wing at its Hope Academy in Kenya.

"Our goal was to do something truly special to celebrate the 100th anniversary of our Scouting program," said Ron Oats, scout executive. "Our Council's leadership took the original concept and created a campaign that has truly transformed the original idea into something so much greater. This project wouldn't be possible without the unwavering support of our community partners."

Under the direction and guidance of Technetium, the Central Florida Council implemented an integrated campaign to create awareness and motivate participation in the drive. The campaign concept incorporated local Scouts of all ages to create visual elements for the drive's Web site - www.scoutingforchange.com - billboards, TV and radio public service announcements, as well as the school-shaped coin collection boxes that Scouts, their parents and volunteer leaders used for collecting the quarters.

"We couldn't have accomplished this without Bright House Networks, Clear Channel Outdoor, Cox Radio, DeRoo Printing Services, Full Sail University, and Regions Bank and their contributions to this campaign. Together our team of community partners generated amazing materials and tremendous exposure for Scouting for Change," said Joe Forget, president of Technetium and the Council's VP of Marketing.

The Central Florida Council continues its 100th Anniversary celebration with the Central Florida Scout Show on May 1, 2010 at University of Central Florida's Bright House Stadium.

About Technetium:

Technetium (www.technetium.com) is an Orlando-based boutique advertising and Web design firm specializing in integrated marketing campaigns based upon its proprietary Four "A" Metrics: Awareness, Affinity, Action and Analytics. For more information on Technetium and its services, call 407.826.1990 or visit www.technetium.com.

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SOURCE Boy Scouts of America