Broadmoor United Methodist

On April 1, 2020, the Scouts of Troop 478 lost their Scout Hut to a devastating fire. The building structure and its contents were a total loss, and the incident was ruled an arson by the Baton Rouge Fire Department. This terrible event has left our scouting community shocked and saddened, especially having happened during the ongoing events of the Covid-19 public health crisis.

The Scout Hut, located at Broadmoor United Methodist Church, was used for decades as a meeting place and educational space for several community groups, including our own Troop 478, Order of the Arrow, Venture Crew, Cub Pack, Girl Scouts, and Walk to Emmaus. Each of these groups also used this building as a storage facility, where they kept the majority of their gear and memorabilia.

---Troop 478 and Crew 478 in front of the Scout Hut display cases---

Many of the items that were lost in this fire were legacy items that can tragically never be replaced. Trophies from past events, commemorative plaques, hand carved wood pieces, donated artwork, and photographs dating back many years were all lost forever. This has been a very painful experience for our alumni and older members, whose memories have been destroyed.

Although we lost our meeting place and many important items, we remain grateful that no one was hurt in this incident, and all of our members and volunteers remain safe and unharmed. Our youth are the heart of Troop 478, and we are more committed than ever to keep them active in scouting. We look forward to resuming our usual activities, and have both short and long term plans in place to keep our members busy and engaged.

---The Scouts of Troop 478---

---Our meeting room after the fire---

It is vital for our youth to return to a state of normalcy after having their school, activities, and social lives disrupted to such a great extent. Now more than ever, our kids need to have stability and know that their familiar routines will still be there for them. We believe that scouting will provide a great outlet for our youth members to get back outdoors, learn valuable lessons, and be together again.

The money raised by this fundraiser will support both the immediate and future needs of our troop’s recovery.

Our immediate needs are to replace all of the camping and outdoor gear that was lost in the fire. Our goal is to ensure that all Scouts have access to tents, cookware, and any additional items so that all can participate regardless of their financial ability to purchase their own gear. It is our hope that they will have everything they need to safely resume their outdoor activities this summer.

Our future needs are to supplement the cost of building a new Scout Hut that will continue to serve all of the groups mentioned above, as well as furnish it and provide practical technology to enhance our meetings and youth education programs.

Our planning team has received an estimate that we will need to supplement $90,000 in addition to what the insurance will cover to build the proposed new Scout Hut. In addition, the building contents lost in the fire were valued at over $47,000, with over $28,000 of that belonging to Troop 478. While these unique times have made the logistics of this situation complicated, we have also been blessed by the generosity of people willing to help us out.

By donating to this cause, you are helping the Scouts of Troop 478 rebuild their Scout Hut and prepare for their bright futures through scouting! Thank you for your support!

Please help Broadmoor United Methodist Church recover from two devastating fires that happened within three days of each other on the church campus in Baton Rouge, La. Your generous gifts will go toward the recovery & rebuilding efforts of the Scout Hut and main office building which will help Broadmoor United Methodist Church continue its mission of meeting people where they are and help them take their next step toward a Christ-centered life. Any donation amount helps greatly. 

--Scout Hut--

On Wednesday, April 1, 2020 the Scout Hut was burned to the ground by an arsonist. Boy and Girl Scouts  have been meeting in this building for about 40 years.  All of the troops' handcrafted items and memorabilia that was housed in the Scout Hut has been lost as well as Native American regalia that had been collected overtime.  Other ministry areas have also met in this building such as the spiritual retreat group "Walk to Emmaus" that used the Scout Hut as a prayer room several times a year.

As the church family was dealing with the sadness and loss of the Scout Hut,  our senior pastor received a call  in the early morning hours of Friday, April 3,  informing him of another fire at church.  When he arrived a few minutes later the brave men of the Baton Rouge Fire Department had already extinguished the flames.  Sadly, however, the main office building, which housed the pastors' and 6 other staff people's offices, was a total loss. The Music Building and Sanctuary also received moderate damage from the fire and heat, as well as smoke and water damage. Innumerable amounts of membership records, Bibles, ministerial books, personal items, and office supplies were lost along with valuable computer equipment, copiers, and printers. 

--Main Office Building--

Broadmoor United Methodist is a welcoming, spirit-filled United Methodist Church celebrating 60+ years in the Broadmoor neighborhood of Baton Rouge, La. Our mission is to meet people where they are and help them take their next step toward a Christ-centered life. We do this through relevant faith, engaging worship, authentic relationships, and loving service. 

For decades, Broadmoor United Methodist has found ways to be creative and innovative in ministry, and now as we find our "new normal" ministering during a worldwide pandemic we are reaching out to our members and guests through state-of-the-art livestreaming worship services, quality social media engagement, informative emails, and pastoral phone calls and texts. A new ministry called Red Stick Together allows us to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of our neighbors through hot meals and warm hospitality. To further aid those in our community that may be suffering job loss or reduced pay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we've expanded our meals from just Wednesday nights to include Mondays and Fridays.

Thank you in advance for any generous gift you can give at this time to help Broadmoor United Methodist recover and rebuild after the devastating fires of our beloved Scout Hut and the main hub of ministry planning and execution in the main office building. If you have any questions or want to help in other ways, please contact Communications Director Christi Rangel at [email redacted].