The 1st High River Scouts are just a few sleeps away from going on a trip to Belize.
After plenty of fundraising, including a garage sale they held during the second annual Stampede Breakfast on Saturday, July 26th, they've raised enough to go.
Scouter and mom Andrea Sawatzky, who has two grown children still involved in Scouting, is looking forward to the more than a baker's dozen making the trip.
"We leave on the 15th and then we're back on the 27th of August. We have 14 people going."
Sawatzky said Scouts is about so much more than what some preconceived notions might be.
"We teach them wilderness safety, so I could drop them off with next to nothing and they'll come out just fine. They've learned scuba diving."
They learn to scuba dive in Calgary, as well as diving in Waterton or at Two Jack Lake by Banff.
The fundraising for the trip has been a year in the making, but well worth it, said Rover Juliet Philion.
18-year-old Philion said that as a Scout, you get to travel the world and make new friends.
She attended the Scout Jamboree in 2023 in Seoul, South Korea and said she had a great time meeting new people.
"For example, we met up with Scouts from Australia, and we were with other Canadian Scouts from like Toronto and Vancouver, and they were saying, 'Oh, we're from Toronto and Vancouver,' and they (the Australians) had no idea. But we were like "Oh, we're from High River," and the Australian Scouts were like 'Oh, that's where you film Heartland, right?' So, they knew where we were, but they had no idea where Vancouver or Toronto were. So, that was really cool."
When asked if she would recommend the youth getting involved in Scouts, she could barely contain her excitement.
"It was an absolute major trip, and it changed me as a person. I was meeting people from all over the world, and you're doing activities, and you're connecting together. It's transformed me in a way, right? It made me see so much more of the world around us."
If you like to get involved in Scouts Canada, you can reach out to the 1st High River Scouts via Facebook.