An 11-year-old Lower Saucon Township Cub Scout was honored recently for a truly remarkable achievement: door-to-door sales of more than $12,000 worth of microwaveable popcorn.
Cub Scout Joey DiRusso, 11, of Lower Saucon Township, was recently honored for selling more than $12,000 in microwaveable popcorn as part of a pack fundraiser. He is pictured with Scoutmaster Richard Hawk, left, and his father, Joe DiRusso.
Joey DiRusso could have fundraised even more money for Cub Scout Pack 319 had he not decided to help his little brother Frankie–who’s also a pack member–sell his popcorn and “get to second place,” his father Joe said.
“He went out and sold with his brother and gave him the credits,” Joe Sr. said, becoming emotional as he shared the story of brotherly love with dozens of other cub scouts and parents who were gathered at New Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lower Saucon Township Dec. 19 for an end-of-the-year awards ceremony and pizza party.
Joe said his son’s goal after selling about $5,000 worth of popcorn last year was to double it this year, and stressed that “this is all him.”
“He was the driving force. I was just the chauffeur,” he joked.
Joey’s mom, Lisa, said her son’s sales territory consisted primarily of Lower Saucon Township neighborhoods, but also extended into the borough of Hellertown and Upper Saucon Township.
Both of Joey’s parents stressed that the experience of selling has taught their son valuable life lessons, such as how to handle rejection, and how to set and accomplish goals.
For his remarkable achievement, Joey DiRusso received a number of prizes at the ceremony, including:
- $720 placed in a scholarship account for his future education (6 percent of total sales is placed in a scholarship account for Cub Scouts who sell more than $2800 in popcorn)
- $600 in Walmart gift cards
- A trophy
- $1470 will be placed in an account to help pay for summer camps and other Scouting-related programs
- The opportunity to throw out the first pitch at an IronPigs baseball game in the spring, as well as tickets to the game and an autographed baseball.
Joe DiRusso said the Minsi Trails Council, which is the parent organization for local Scouting programs, confirmed that “Joey has sold the most popcorn in the last 15 years.”
Cub Scout Pack 319’s top popcorn sellers pose for a photo with prizes they received for their fundraising Dec. 19.
To help put things in perspective, he pointed out that two years ago the entire pack had combined popcorn sales of about $4,400.
In addition to celebrating the achievements of the pack members–including other top popcorn sellers–the ceremony was also an opportunity for the pack to thank local first responders for their work in the community.
“These guys always give back to us. They bring us in. They take us on tours,” Joe DiRusso said.
He noted that the scouts enjoyed a tour of the Lower Saucon Township Police Department and holding cell, for example.
“Just to say ‘thank you’…we want to give back to them,” he said.
All of the representatives who were honored are former Scouts, and a couple of them are former Eagle Scouts, he pointed out.
The first responders who were honored were:
- Ofc. Steve Kunigas, Lower Saucon Township Police Department
Cub Scouts present popcorn to local first responders who were invited to attend their end-of-the-year awards ceremony and pizza party at New Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lower Saucon Township Dec. 19.
- Cpl. Jeff Johnston, Hellertown Police Department
- Chris Snyder, Steel City Fire Department
- Alan Molder, Southeastern Fire Department
- Phil Weber, Dewey Fire Co. No. 1
- Lawrence Carl, Se-Wy-Co Fire Co.
Each police officer received a big box of popcorn, which was presented to him by a Scout.
For more information about Cub Scout Pack 319 and the many other activities in which they participate, visit their website.
