Rest assured that the Boy Scouts of America organization has
not changed its name. The Boy Scouts of America will
continue the time-honored mission of
preparing
young people to make ethical and moral choices over their
lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath
and Law in order
to become responsible, participating citizens.
Offering programs that
accomplish this mission to girls will enhance, rather than
diminish, this vital work.
Beginning February 2019, the Boy Scout program name
will be Scouts BSA. Just as now, all participants will be
called Scouts. Beginning this August, in the Erie Shores
Council, girls age 5 – 10 will be invited to participate in
Cub Scouts. The functional unit of the Cub Scout Pack is
the den. Dens will be single-gender. Local Packs may
choose between all-boy packs, all-girl packs, and pack that
is a hybrid of girls and boys dens.
Later, girls age 11 – 17, will be invited to participate in
single-gender Scout Troops and will be eligible to earn the
rank of Eagle. Girls already enjoy the benefits of the
Venturing and Exploring programs and this will not change.
Rather than arising out of pressure from outside
organizations, the desire to include girls developed
organically among the families served by BSA. This is a
decision made at the national level, after thoughtful
consideration, to benefit American families. In England,
where scouting began, girls have participated since 1991 and
now make up more than one quarter of the membership.
Last year, our local council served nearly 6100 youth from
Wood, Sandusky, Lucas, and Ottawa Counties and the town of
Swanton.
Erie Shores Council is the proud owner/operator of two of
the finest camps in the United States. Camp Miakonda, at
the DeVilbiss Scout Reservation, is 160 acres of outdoor
adventure in the Toledo metropolitan area and is the sixth
oldest camp in the United States. The Wildlife & Nature
Center opened in 2017 for year-round education and training
opportunities for schools and other youth groups. Camp
Frontier, at the 1100-acre Pioneer Scout Reservation in
Williams County, offers camping, cross country skiing,
hiking, backpacking, fishing and more. It is the home of Boy
Scout resident camp where we serve 2800 Boy Scouts every
summer from approximately 7 states.
BSA is not in competition with the Girl Scouts. In fact,
our council partners with Girl Scouts through the Scoutreach
program in the central city. Today girls have many options
to grow outside the classroom. Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA
will be an important addition to that list.
Scouts learn hundreds of lessons and many of these are
carried to adulthood. What has made Scouting an enduring
success is the tenets of Scouting and the way lessons are
learned. A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly,
courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean
and reverent. These timeless qualities are learned through
fun activities such as camping, hiking, and whitewater
rafting. Scouts grow to be leaders in business, the
military, their communities, government, and various
professions. Girls and their families want and deserve this
experience.
Boys and girls are eager to be challenged and to leave their
zone of comfort. Scouting offers this in a safe,
supportive, and non-threatening environment. Success in any
endeavor in life comes after getting up one more time than
you have fallen. Scouts know how to do this.
To learn more about Scouting, visit:
www.scoutingnewsroom.org
and
www.scouting.org
To learn more about our local council and Camp Miakonda
Summer Day Camps visit
www.erieshorescouncil.org.
Summer camp is open to all boys & girls entering grades 1-5,
whether they are new to Scouts or have been Scouting this
past year. For five full days, youth can enjoy swimming,
fishing, archery, BB gun shooting, BMX biking, STEM
education, team-building activities and more.
Ed Caldwell
Scout Executive/CEO
Erie Shores Council
Boy Scouts of America
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