Twig Bending
Warm the Earth
For Fun, Fellowship, Fundamental Business
Training and Fund Raising
A Parenting
Experience
(Recommended:
Attendance of at Least One Parent per Participant)
The goal of the Twig Bending process is to produce organized
individuals of all ages making good decisions in a better world.
The actions: After customized Green Training, participants gather twigs
and use twine to produce small bundles of kindling to start camp, stove and
fireplace fires. They then sell the bundles at a nominal price ($1.00) to raise
funds for their charitable goals.
The benefits of the Twig Bending model are far more than just a
new generation of good decision makers. Each participant takes away:
·
A decision-making
process that will serve for a lifetime.
·
A model for
confrontation, communication and compromise
·
Understanding of
our natural resource-gifts and obligations
·
A foundation of
good sense and honesty and helping others
·
An overview of
the American legal system
·
Knowledge of
business structure and management responsibilities
·
A thorough
understanding of the American marketplace
·
The profit and
pleasure of hard work and
·
The gift of
giving
The timeline: Although the Twig Bending Program enjoys an advantage
in the summer around camping areas, fall produces the best results. The strongest
messages are earning and giving, the hallmarks of harvest and the traditional, gift-giving
seasons. The highest probability of success is achieved when launched by
mid-September, run through Thanksgiving and concluded during the Christmas
Holidays.
With
an eye toward convenience, Twig Bending’s design front-end-loads much of the
time requirements into the less congested September, October and early
November, with only necessary retail sales time and gift giving in the holiday
rush.
Our
goal is to maximize learning and understanding of the vital challenges of
·
Ecology and clean
up,
·
Food production,
·
Green
manufacturing
·
Sharing
leadership responsibilities and labor
·
American dispute
settlement
·
The American
marketplace
·
Retail sales
·
Philanthropy with
a minimum of
o
Discomfort and
o
Inconvenience
We
expect all of the participants, senior or junior to have a great time while
enjoying
·
Knowledgeable yet
interesting presentations and activities,
·
Non-threatening
parental and peer interactions and
·
The personal
rewards of giving on a
o
Doable schedule
and with
o
Minimal
investment or liability.
Join
us; you’re going to love it.
Twig Bending
Warm the Earth
For Fun, Fellowship, Fundamental Business
Training and Fund Raising
A Parenting
Experience
Introduction
Facts & Acts
A Goal
is a good thing for many reasons
·
Path to follow
(it all starts with a decision)
·
Others might help
·
Sets deadlines
(Urgency, accountability, eyes on the prize)
·
Celebrate
progress
Facts:
·
When we do good things,
good things happen.
·
Some say bad actions
can gain a good result.
·
Usually, bad acts
produce bad results. (Selfishness, Driving unsafely, Illegal pollution)
Acts:
·
We will do good
things and gain good results.
·
We will make many
choices
·
We will make good
choices
·
We will cause
excellent results
Facts:
·
To make the right
choices we must know everything about your choices and their results.
·
Knowledge is our
protection
·
History tells us
the future
·
Only a fool makes
a choice without all the information.
Acts:
We
will learn many things about many things
·
How our
government makes decisions
·
How business
survive and grow
·
Why we buy
·
Ecology
·
Farming
·
Manufacturing
·
Environmental
clean up
Then
we will:
·
Research
charitable goals
·
Select our goal
(Who we will help)
·
Chose leaders and
delegate responsibilities
·
Commit to our
personal and the team’s success
·
Set realistic
outcomes
·
Implement the
Twigs & Twine FireStarters fund raising program.
·
Follow the Twig
Bending process to Determine:
Probable Costs
·
Program materials
·
Scented Twine
(Buy [$.10/ unit] or Make)
·
Twig and twine
cutters (One or two pairs of pruning shears for twigs, One or two box cutters
for twine, One or two home-made jigs to help in bundle assembly)
·
Cash box
·
Progress report
forms
Contacts
for Outside Assistance (Schedule local help for presentations)
·
Park ranger
·
Local judge or
legislator
·
County farm &
garden expert
·
Local
manufacturer
·
Big Box Retail
Store Manager
·
Spokesperson for
targeted charity
Tasks
and Time Required (Benchmarks in Twigs & Twine support materials)
Define and identify to determine Probable Sale Price
·
Sales
Who will we sell to?
Where is our customer?
How will we contact them?
How much we should charge
How
many will we sell (usually 5,000 by 20 participants)?
·
Mark up
How
much per sale will we make?
·
Gross Revenue
How
much will all the customers give us?
·
Cost of Sales
What
were all of our dollar costs plus our time?
·
Probable Revenue
Generated
How
much can we give away?
·
Design procedures
and build implements to Manufacture
Manufacture Twigs & Twine FireStarters
§
Gather the Twigs
Safety
in the woods and around others
§
Purchase Twine to
bundle FireStarters
Seed
Money
Cash
Flow
§
Organize team
workshops to produce FireStarters
Schedule
Snacks
§
Secure
manufacturing space
Manufacturing
safely
One
or two home-made jigs to help in bundle assembly
§
Secure manpower and
transportation to achieve Goal
§
Distribute and Sell
Twigs & Twine FireStarters
§
Internet
§
Retail Direct
§
Retail through
Distributors
§
Generate a
per-unit profit from sales
(Example:
20 participants)
Suggested
Retail Price $1.00 / unit
Twigs $.00
Twine $.10
Warnings
and Instructions $.05
Manufacturing
overhead $.00
Labor Donation
Distribution
& Sales Exp. Donation
Gross income $. 85/ unit
Anticipated
Sales per season 5,000 units (250/ participant)
Potential
contribution to goal $4,250.00
*Sales per season 2,500 units (125/ participant)
*Potential contribution to goal $2,125.00
Total
liabilities $.00/ unit
·
Use our profit
for our Sharing Goal
·
Have a
celebration of sharing
·
Feel great about
ourselves for the good we have done
·
Begin another
project with or without The Twig Bending Program’s assistance.
Twig Bending
Warm the Earth
For Fun, Fellowship, Fundamental Business
Training and Fund Raising
Syllabus
(Total Training
Time: about 12 Hours plus transportation)
Ten 30-minute modules (most a part of the weekly
meeting)
Some modules combine with 2-hour field
trips
Additional retail hours may be required.
Project Leader Group schedule ten additional person-hours for
planning, delegation & preparation
Module Content
1. Our Goal
w/
Project Leaders
·
30 Minutes
Good
work is directed fun.
Don’t
sweat the small stuff.
Make
the right choices.
Helping
others helps our world.
Who
needs our help?
How
can we help them?
Bring in:
American
flag
Information on five (5) charities with requested help
Copies
of appointment calendar months the program will run with meeting dates noted
Take Away: Together,
we can make our world better.
Suggestions:
Begin
with a list of choices for field trips (sell each trip)
A park
A farm
A big-box retailer
A party
Explain majority rule
Vote
and announce winner
Then
announce we will be doing all those
trips and more.
Propose
the Goal Charities
Vote
for the Goal Charity
Send
letter/ press release (sample attached) announcing the choice
Distribute
calendar pages to both parents and participants
Suggest
recruitment of new members for the project
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
2. Our Country
w/local Judge
or Legislator
·
30 Minutes
What
is freedom?
What
is a resource?
Where
are the American natural resources?
What
is a steward?
Who
is a steward?
What
is ecco-balance?
Fire pollutes. We would freeze without fire.
How
are disagreements handled in a country of laws?
Bring in:
American
flag
Map of the
Suggestions:
Take Away: Our country has been blessed with many gifts. They are
ours to use and ours to protect. Our laws protect our resources.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
3.
Our Forests FIELD
Park
w/ Park Ranger
·
120 Minutes
How
forests help us
How
we help forests
Pick
up and size twigs
Bring in:
American
flag
Materials to build a small campfire
Suggestions: Ask group to name good things and bad things about
fire. STRESS SAFETY!
Explain
the fire materials are of almost no use to the tree, yet they work beautifully
to warm and provide light when contained.
Take Away: With planning and care our woodlands will sustain us
forever.
It’s
not us or the trees; it’s us and the trees.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
4.
Our Farms FIELD Farm
w/ County
Agricultural Service Consultant
·
120 Minutes
Too
little and too much
Famine
and abundance
The
ecco plusses and the minuses of agriculture
Bring in:
American flag
Suggestions: Let consultant answer the questions you sent to his or
her attention:
Does
the
Why
does our world have both famine and abundance?
What
are the ecco plusses and minuses of agriculture?
Can
Take Away: If we do it right,
we can feed the world.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
5. Our Promise
w/
Project Leaders
·
30 Minutes
Leave
Earth better than we found it.
How
can we help?
Let’s be the solution not the problem.
Make
a plan
Make
a pledge to recycle and clean-up litter
Bring in:
Suggestions:
Take Away: We have the power.
Each of us can make our world a better place.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
6. Clean
Manufacturing
w/
Project Leaders & Local Manufacturer
·
120 Minutes
Use
and reuse Nature’s Gifts
Making
our gifts work
Thrift
and moderation
Manufacture
the Twig & Twine FireStarters
Bring in:
American flag
Suggestions:
Take Away: We can live well with a low profile and a small
footprint.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
7.
Our Marketplace FIELD
Major Retailer
w/ Store Manager
·
120 Minutes
Why
we buy
Marketing
& Sales
Wants
and Needs
Point
of Sale
Impulse
Purchases
Fair
and Honest and Persuasive
Sell
the Twig & Twine FireStarters
Bring in:
American flag
Folding
table and chairs,
Sign
advertising $1.00 Christmas Presents
Team
banner
Christmas
music
Lots
of inventory
Suggestions: Bring twig bundles in large trash bags.
Treat
bundles gently.
The
Warm the Earth Twigs & Twine FireStarter is a
great gift for someone who builds fires or loves the smell of peppermint.
Most
importantly, Enthusiasm sells!
Take Away: Selling is fun and profitable. People like being with
happy people.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
8. Profit and
Loss in Our Marketplace
w/
Project Leaders
·
30 Minutes
Check
our priorities
Selfishness
Threats
and promises of trade
The
strength to help others
Tithing
Bring in:
Suggestions:
Take Away: We have responsibilities to the less fortunate.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
9.
Charity in Our Marketplace FIELD
Goal Charity
w/
Project Leaders
·
30 Minutes
Giving
feels good and it’s great for business.
Put
it on your transcript/resume
Bring in:
Suggestions:
Take Away: Giving is fun.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
10. Celebrate Success
w/
Project Leaders
·
90 Minutes
Awards
Ceremony
Most time contributed
Most twigs gathered
Most Sales
Snacks
for everyone
Select
a new goal
Begin
Again
Bring in:
Suggestions:
Take Away: Together, we can make our world better again and
again.
End with the Pledge of Allegiance
Twig Bending
Warm the Earth
For Fun,
Fellowship, Fundamental Business and Fund Raising
A Parenting
Experience
Product
Description
Twigs & Twine FireStarters
Description:
Adult
size handful of hardwood Twigs with printed fire-starting instructions and
warnings wrapped and secured with holiday-peppermint scented Twine.
Suggested Price:
$1.00
This is starting point of a
letter/ Press Release to be mailed to your Goal Charity and to the press in the
Big Box store’s market area.
Twig Bending
Warm the Earth Program
Sponsored by
(Your organization)
The
Open Door
Any
Town,
Dear
Director:
The
Girl Scouts of Troop #### are participating in the Warm the Earth Program. We
will be selling Twigs & Twine
FireStarters in the entrance of the (Name Store) on the remaining Saturdays
and Sundays in December.
The
Twigs & Twine FireStarters are
bundles of natural twig-kindling to begin a fireplace or stove or camp fire. They
are also the perfect way to bring the old fashioned, peppermint-Christmas aroma
to a room and hopefully someone’s heart.
We
will contribute the money we earn from selling the Twig & Twine FireStarters for (name the goal) a new, more
economical, freezer for your lunch and dinner missions.
We
will report our success to you by December 31st.
Merry Christmas.
We
are proud to serve you in your service.
Sincerely,
Twigs & Twine FireStarters
Team
Leader