A fund-raising campaign for local Boy Scouts received a boost Monday night from Gov. Mark Sanford.

Sanford, former president of the Coastal Carolina Council, Boy Scouts of America, stopped by the TPC Golf Club in Murrells Inlet to ask for support and donations for the Scouts in the Black River District.

Money raised through the fund-raising campaign will pay for the district's scouting events and activities.

"Scouting can make a real difference in a child's life," Sanford said. "The principals of scouting are unbelievably important."

Sanford, an Eagle Scout, sat with other long-time Boy Scouts Kendall Buckner and Marshall Bryant.

"Scouting creates good moral judgment," Buckner said. "It's up to us as parents and adults to teach the right choices."

Alan Walters, the Black River district chairman, presented Sanford with several gifts and said two Boy Scout scholarships would be named in Sanford's honor.

The governor gave up his position with the Coastal Carolina Council during his run for governor but still praises the effect it has had on his life.

"The scouting program trains young leaders," Sanford said. "It teaches persistence."

The Black River District is in the Coastal Carolina region. It also includes Boy Scouts from Georgetown, Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville and Beaufort.

"I appreciated him being here," said Boy Scout leader Reed Worrell. "Scouting is something that just kind of stays with you."