“To help other people at all times.” … For millions, that’s a promise made as a boy and kept as a man.

That promise was kept in 2011 by Scouting alumnus Mark Asper, who saved a man’s life with the Heimlich maneuver just days before playing in the Rose Bowl. It was kept by Scouting alumni Scott Keenan and Andrew Marston, who cycled the length of Japan to raise money for tsunami relief. And it was kept by 19-year-old Scouting alumnus James O’Dwyer, who used Facebook, email, and texting to collect enough supplies for tornado victims to fill four tractor-trailers, four box trucks, five cargo vans, and two dozen cars.

That promise was kept by countless men and women who claim a Scouting heritage. In 2011, we launched the Scouting Alumni Association to reconnect with our 50 million living alumni and, with their support, make the Scouting program stronger than it’s ever been. And that’s a promise.