Ocean City Cub Scouts Give Joy of Christmas

By Lesley Graham There is something magical about the lights on a Christmas tree sparkling in the night. A tree adorned with ornaments, brightly colored and festive from trunk to tip, brings a special feeling to a household on Christmas.  For some families, though, financial hardships make that magical moment difficult. That’s where Cub Scout Pack 51 of Ocean City has stepped in to help.  In a longstanding tradition, the boys of the pack have been making handcrafted ornaments to decorate a donated tree for a local family in need. This year, Ponderosa Tree Farm, located in Egg Harbor City, generously donated a tree for the scouts to decorate. By pitching in with the decorations, the Cub Scouts learn the joy of giving during the holidays. The Cub Scouts, who are from kindergarten to fifth grade, gathered Wednesday evening at St. Peter’s Church in Ocean City to make the ornaments. There were snowmen and sleds and candy canes galore for the boys to decorate and put their own stamp of Christmas love on it. The elves in Santa’s workshop would have been impressed by all the painting, decorating and designing that took place. Katie and Keith Grim, who are the Cub Masters of the Cub Scout Pack, discussed with the boys how important it is to spread joy during the holiday season. “It’s about giving back. The Christmas season isn’t about receiving, it is about giving,” Katie Grim said. “What better way to give than to be able to put smiles on the faces of those who may be less fortunate? It’s important to teach them these lessons young and hopefully they see the joy in giving.” "The Christmas season isn’t about receiving, it is about giving," Cub Scouts Master Katie Grim says. The mission of the Cub Scouts is to build character and learn citizenship. The Cub Scouts want to help develop young people into their best future selves by helping them to make moral and ethical choices over their lifetimes. Wednesday night’s ornament decorating was just a small way they had the opportunity to do so. For all of their hard work, the scouts were surprised with a visit from Santa Claus, who was very proud of all of the creativity and kindness. Maybe next year, Santa will have a few new scouts, er, elves, in his workshop.