2021 James E West Patch Pre-Order

$10 each plus $0.55 for tax 

Bigfoot Lodge Members and Lodge Elected Candidates Only

Orders by non members will be considered donations!

While our James E West Patch fundraisers are fun, based off Meme Culture, and designed to appeal to the youth...... the true purpose of this fundraiser is pretty important.  This helps our membership be excited to help our Council Endowment Fund grow!

The purchase of this patch helps support a gift to our local council.  The annual donation is placed in a special endowment where only the interest of the donations are able to be used thus serving Scouts in the future.  The donation is given by the Lodge on behalf of a lodge member designated by the Lodge and recognized as membership as a James E. West fellowship.  The gift must be in addition to— and not replace or diminish—the donor’s annual Friends of Scouting support.  A minimum gift of $1000 in cash or marketable securities qualifies for the Bronze level membership. 

 James E. West (1876-1948)

Orphaned at age six and afflicted with tuberculosis, James E. West never had much of a childhood. West had to fight for permission to attend school outside of his orphanage—and only if he did his extensive orphanage chores before and after school. Nonetheless, he finished high school in two years, graduating with honors in 1895. By 1901, he’d worked his way through law school and was practicing law in Washington, D.C.

Given those circumstances, it was not surprising West gravitated toward children’s issues. When a young boy stole his car, he declined to press charges, offering instead to represent the boy in court (he got him off on a technicality). This incident led West to lobby successfully for the creation of a juvenile court. He also worked for the Washington Playground Association and the YMCA and prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to convene a White House Conference on Dependent Children in 1909.  Given his background, West became a natural choice to serve as the first Chief Scout Executive. He agreed to take the job for up to six months and stayed on for 32 years.