A Scout’s “Duty to God” has been addressed by the BSA since the first Handbook for Boys was published in 1911 and continues to be an important aspect of Scouting today.
On July 7, 2017, this Scouting pillar was supported as the Boy Scouts of America completed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Community of Christ in Independence, MO.
Chief Scout Executive, Michael Surbaugh and Scott Murphy, director of field ministries for Community of Christ recognized the relationship as an opportunity for both organizations to continue working together to instill strong values in youth.
According to Community of Christ, the first Boy Scout troop west of the Mississippi River was started at the Stone Church, a Community of Christ congregation just a few hundred feet from where the Temple now stands.
For more information on this memorandum of understanding, you can review the details here.
As part of a new partnership with the Boy Scouts of America, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture will bring locally sourced food to campers at the Summit Bechtel Reserve during next month’s national event. This dynamic relationship will benefit not only the organizations, but also surrounding communities.
“Hosting Scouting’s biggest adventure in West Virginia is a great source of pride for us,” Summit group director, Todd McGregor said in a news release Wednesday. “Extending our support of this great state by sourcing food from local producers is a natural extension of this deep and valued partnership.”
From fresh honey, to mouthwatering maple syrup, Scouts and Scouters from around the U.S. will get to experience West Virginia’s local fare as they nourish themselves to Live Scouting’s Adventure.
“Working with the Boy Scouts and our West Virginia producers, we will open up huge opportunities for economic development within agriculture,” Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt explained.
Of course, this growth opportunity doesn’t end with the 2017 Jamboree. According to Leonhardt, the Department of Agriculture and West Virginia producers are working on a plan to provide future Summit events with fresh, local provisions.
“The Scouts have an amazing commitment to local food and helping West Virginia. This is a win for our state and the New River Gorge region,” Leonhardt said.
Read more about this partnership and learn about the West Virginia-based farms attending next month’s jamboree in the full article by the Register-Herald, and the news release from the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
A hospital can be a pretty unpleasant place for anyone who has to be there to have an illness treated. For children, the fear and discomfort associated with a hospital stay can be even worse.
These devices allow child patients to go for a ride. (photo: Chattanooga News Channel 9)
Eagle Scout Logan S. of the Boy Scouts of America Cherokee Area Council wanted to find a way that kids at his local hospital, some of whom were facing serious, life-threatening illnesses, could receive a moment of fun – a chance to just be a kid.
So, to help these children, Logan and a team of volunteers he organized created more than a dozen Lily Pads. These unique devices attach to a rolling IV pole and turn the rolling pole into a ride of sorts for child patients. Because the kids are small, they’re able to stand on the Lily Pad and use the IV pole as a fun means of transportation as nurses or family members pull them around.
To learn more about these remarkable devices Logan created for his Eagle Scout project, be sure to check out the heartwarming full story on Chattanooga News Channel 9.
Scout Daniel P. was born with blindness, and as he’s grown older, he has also suffered from progressive hearing loss. However, that hasn’t stopped him from earning Scouting’s highest honor.
“He works really hard, and he never gives up,” said a fellow Scout of Daniel.
Scout Daniel P. overcame challenges to earn his Eagle. (photo: Westchester News 12)
Indeed, he has served as an inspiration to many of the younger Scouts, accomplishing things that some might have previously thought would be impossible because of his blindness.
Daniel, who is a Scout in the Boy Scouts of America Westchester-Putnam Council, admits he has faced challenges along the path to Eagle.
“When you’re trying to supervise an activity and you can’t see if people are slacking off or whatever, so you have be sort of extra, extra alert,” he said.
But those challenges that may have stopped someone else just drove Daniel to work even harder.
He also had help from other members of his Scout troop that even created a special position to make sure that someone was always looking out to help Daniel navigate activities without added difficulty.
To learn more about this remarkable Scout and how he has plans to work at a Scout camp this summer, be sure to watch the whole story from Westchester News 12.
When a massive fire threatened to destroy his family’s ranch, an Eagle Scout’s quick thinking and commitment to be prepared helped protect the ranch from the danger of fire. For his efforts, he earned the Medal of Merit from the Boy Scouts of America.
Matt received the Medal of Merit (photo: Todd Dickson, Mountain View Telegraph)
The Medal of Merit signifies that a Scout has performed an act of service of a rare or exceptional character that reflects an uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others.
With his father away on a business trip, Eagle Scout Matthew L. of the Boy Scouts of America Great Southwest Council was in charge of preparing the house, moving livestock, and prepping for a possible evacuation.
He and his mother made sure all of the animals were safe and prepared so that they could be moved quickly if the fire approached the ranch. He also mowed grass, cleared away wood, and soaked the barn with water to help reduce the possibility of it burning should the fire reach the property.
The Scout’s preparations were so thorough that when an evacuation order did come for those living nearby, Matthew’s family was granted the ability to remain on their property.
To learn more about how Matthew knew what it means to truly be prepared, be sure to read the full story on mwtelegraph.com.
Imagine being at a local park when someone nearby experiences sudden cardiac arrest. Easy access to an automated external defibrillator, or AED, could mean the difference between life or death for that person.
He installed AED units at local parks (photo: centraljersey.com)
Unfortunately, in many public parks in communities across the nation, there may be no AED available.
For Eagle Scout Jack M., of the Boy Scouts of America Monmouth Council, making the community a safer place was an important goal. For his Eagle Scout project, he decided to install the lifesaving units in the four public parks in his city.
To learn more about how Jack raised funds, installed the devices, and organized an instructional seminar on how to use the devices, be sure to read the full story on centraljersey.com.
These Massachusetts Scouts are touching lives in a big way through a service project that teaches skills both on and off the court. Troop 4 of the Mohegan Council recently formed not one, but three Special Olympics Unified Sports basketball teams.
Unified Sports teams include both members with and without intellectual disabilities, giving everyone on the team a unique opportunity to learn from each other. After all, playing sports is one of the most exciting ways to develop strong teamwork skills, so what better way to foster an active and inclusive environment than through team spirit?
Photo: Bryan on Scouting
In a recent blog post, Scouting expert Bryan on Scouting explains, “Through on-the-court teamwork, these Scouts have developed a better understanding of individuals different from themselves.”
Members from all three teams demonstrate the true meaning of “diversability,” celebrating teammates’ disabilities as something empowering, not limiting.
“It’s a way to spend time with people that I normally wouldn’t get to spend time with,” Star Scout Rosend told Bryan. “All the stereotypes that I believed in are gone. Now I believe that my teammates with disabilities are awesome, and I want to thank Special Olympics for giving me this special opportunity to change my perception.”
According to Lauren Hopper, the troop’s assistant Scoutmaster, the Scouts who participate on the teams are developing leadership skills that go beyond the court. Hopper explained, “we have found that our Scouts who participate have developed a broader understanding of their role in the community.”
Learn more about how these Scouts are using the excitement of basketball to make a positive impact in their community by reading the original story from Bryan on Scouting.
Each Memorial Day, in communities around the nation, there’s a familiar scene at many cemeteries. Scouts are out planting flags at the graves of members of the U.S. Armed Forces, recognizing their bravery and sacrifice in service to our nation.
It’s an opportunity for Scouts and others to reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day, and it’s a chance to show respect to the many men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, both past and present, who put the safety of the country ahead of their own safety.
Here are just a few of the places Scouts are planting flags for Memorial day –
A Scout participating in Memorial Day activities (photo: Lee Erwin, Clarksville Now)
“The purpose of Memorial Day is not to have picnics, miss a day from school and watch a parade,” noted Troop 82 Scoutmaster Bryan LeClerc. “It is to honor those men and women who gave their lives for our country while serving in the military. We owe these heroes our respect and honor. Thanks to them, we live in freedom today.” – Fairfield Sun
A Scout planting flags at veterans’ graves (photo: Lauri Shultis, Grand Island Independent)
“In scouts we teach that the flag isn’t just a cloth with red, white and blue,” said Assistant Scoutmaster Ray Fye. “It represents something, and the scouts can see how every veteran realized that meaning, and sometimes they gave their life for that meaning.” – Grand Island Independent
Finding an old, unused telescope in his basement launched a love of space for Scout Colin B., and as that love for space grew, Colin knew he wanted to offer that same sense of fun and wonder to others in his community.
Eagle Scout Colin B. in the local observatory (photo: Jen Rynda, Baltimore Sun)
After joining and becoming more active in his community’s astronomical league, he began visiting the local observatory, located in a town park. The site is used by children and adults in the community who are interested in astronomy.
Colin, a young man who believes in the ideals he learned in Scouting as a member of the Boy Scouts of America Baltimore Area Council, felt that he could help to improve the area near the observatory to offer something extra to people in his town.
For his Eagle Scout project, he worked with the city parks department and the director of the astronomical league to design and install a space walk that provides an educational look at our solar system.
With a team of Scouts and helpers under his direction, Colin and others worked for more than 200 hours developing and installing the space walk.
The trail is .4 miles long and displays the distance between each of the planets of the solar system to scale. At each stop along the trail, visitors can read about planets and other key celestial objects located in our solar system. It offers education and a little perspiration for those who enjoy a side of exercise with their lessons on space.
To learn more about this unique Eagle Scout project, be sure to check out the full article in The Baltimore Sun.
When John S. initially joined Cub Scouts as a boy, he was completely nonverbal as a result of autism.
John’s father, an Eagle Scout himself, encouraged his young son to join Cub Scouts in the Boy Scouts of America Garden State Council.
“He said it was fun, so I tried it out and liked it,” John said.
Scout John S. restored a veterans memorial park for his Eagle Scout project (photo: Taylor Henry, NJ Advance Media)
The Scout leaders and other Scouts worked closely with John to encourage him and help him along the way. Many of the Scouts became friends with John, and some even recently supported him by walking along with him in the annual Gloucester County Autism Walk in West Deptford.
Through the support of his family as well as his friends in Scouting, John continued through the Scouting ranks, earning merit badges, going on camping trips, and growing to love his Scouting experience. He even gave back to Scouting by instructing some of the younger Scouts in the principals of Leave No Trace outdoor ethics.
When it came time to start working on his Eagle Scout project, John thought long and hard about what would serve his community and honor his own family, many of whom had a background in service to the military.
The local veterans memorial in his community had fallen into disrepair over the years. Sunken marker stones, peeling benches, and faded signage made it virtually unusable for the citizens of the community. John decided to fix all that.
He worked with his fellow Scouts to complete a full restoration on the veterans memorial. They also planted flowers and fixed nearby items that also needed a touchup.
To learn more about this remarkable Scout and his project, be sure to read the full article in the New Jersey Advance Media.
A Scout’s “Duty to God” has been addressed by the BSA since the first Handbook for Boys was published in 1911 and continues to be an important aspect of Scouting today.
Those attending the 
