Steven Davis, a fifteen year old Hilton High School student and member of the Spencerport Fire Department Explorers program, rappelled 240-feet down the Kodak Towers building Friday, May 18 with over 90 participants during the Annual 21 Stories for Scouts event to support low-income youth in the Scouting program. Chris Damon, 2nd Vice President/Safety Officer/Sr. Explorer Advisor for the Spencerport Fire Department, sponsored Steven for this event. Damon said, “Steven has shown interest in pursuing a career as a firefighter, and I wanted to give him the opportunity to participate in this event to further his training.” Terry Brown, a former fire chief for the Spencerport Fire Department, gave Davis training before the event to prepare him for the rappel. Damon drove a Spencerport Fire Truck to the event to show rappellers support from the Spencerport Fire Department. Davis was excited to have been able to participate in the event and said, “True wealth is the good you do in this world.”
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21 Stories for Scouts Event Update
Community Makes Descent to Lift Up Youth
96 people rappel Kodak Tower to support youth Scout programs as part of annual 21 Stories for Scouts event
On Friday, May 18, 2018, nearly 100 people rappelled Kodak Tower as part of the annual 21 Stories for Scouts fundraising event for the local Boy Scout council. It’s a unique fundraising event of extreme proportions that the Seneca Waterways Council hosts to support Scouting programs for low-income at-risk youth primarily in urban communities across a five-county area.
After eight years at the First Federal Building, the event moved this year to the Kodak World Headquarters building on State Street giving people an opportunity to rappel 240 feet down the iconic Kodak Tower. Ninety-six people strapped on a harness and helmet to rappel. Their fundraising efforts resulted in $179,499 to support over 1,240 youth in traditional Scouting programs throughout the City of Rochester including 34 after-school programs. The Council, overall, serves nearly 11,000 youth in 420 different program sites across Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates Counties.
“The change in venue this year to the Kodak Tower brought about a lot of excitement. We are grateful to Kodak for their support,” stated Stephen Hoitt, Seneca Waterways Council Scout Executive/CEO. Hoitt added, “We chose this extreme rappelling event over typical spring/summer fundraisers because of its unique nature and connection with Scouting. In Scouting, we encourage youth to challenge themselves, step outside their comfort zone, and try something new so they can realize just how much they are capable of achieving if they just try. And this event does just that for its participants.”
“Little” Joe Aiello, who rappelled two years ago as the oldest rappeller in the event’s history, returned this year at the age of 91 to tackle the Kodak Tower and give his support to the Scouts. Aiello, who was a Scout for one year growing up, says Scouting had a lasting impact on him despite his brief time as a Cub Scout. He added that he is happy to do anything he can to help youth benefit from the experiences and opportunities made possible through Scouting.
The dollars raised from the event help keep Scouting programs affordable to families, regardless of socioeconomic background, ensuring all youth can fully participate in and benefit from Scouting’s values-based character and leadership development programs. Through fundraising efforts like 21 Stories for Scouts, the Council provides financial aid to families in need to help with program-related items such as uniforms, handbooks, and camperships while also providing the resources needed to deliver the Scouting program.
For more information about the event or to support the youth in urban Scouting programs, visit www.21storiesforscouts.org. For more information about Scouting in general, visit www.senecawaterways.org. For information about the 2019 event, contact Tony Vogl at tony.vogl@scouting.org or 585-241-8556.
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