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About the Scouting Programs

For almost 100 years, Scouting programs have instilled in youth the values found in the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Today, these values are just as relevant in helping youth grow to their full potential as they were in 1910. Scouting helps youth develop academic skills, self-confidence, ethics, leadership skills, and citizenship skills that influence their adult lives.

The Boy Scouts of America provides youth with programs and activities that allow them to

Try new things
Provide service to others
Build self-confidence
Reinforce ethical standards.

While various activities and youth groups teach basic skills and promote teamwork, Scouting goes beyond that and encourages youth to achieve a deeper appreciation for service to others in their community.

Scouting provides youth with a sense that they are important as individuals. It is communicated to them that those in the Scouting family care about what happens to them, regardless of whether a game is won or lost.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Scouting promotes activities that lead to personal responsibility and high self-esteem. As a result, when hard decisions have to be made, peer pressure can be resisted and the right choices can be made.

Cub Scouting in Northeastern Pennsylvania

What Is Cub Scouts?

In 1930 the Boy Scouts of America launched a home- and neighborhood-centered program for boys 9 to 11 years of age. A key element of the program is an emphasis on caring, nurturing relationships between boys and their parents, adult leaders, and friends. Currently, Cub Scouting is the largest of the BSA's three membership divisions. (The others are Boy Scouting and Venturing.)

Membership

Cub Scouting has program components for boys in the first through fifth grades (or ages 7, 8, 9, or 10). Members join a Cub Scout pack and are assigned to a den, usually a neighborhood group of six to eight boys. First-grade boys (Tiger Cubs) meet twice a month, while Wolf Cub Scouts (second graders), Bear Cub Scouts (third graders), and Webelos (fourth and fifth graders) meet weekly.

Once a month, all of the dens and family members gather for a pack meeting under the direction of a Cubmaster and pack committee. The committee includes parents of boys in the pack and members of the chartered organization.

The Purposes of Cub Scouting

Cub Scouting has nine purposes, to:

Positively influence character development and encourage spiritual growth
Help boys develop habits and attitudes of good citizenship
Encourage good sportsmanship and pride in growing strong in mind and body
Improve understanding within the family
Strengthen boys' ability to get along with other boys and respect other people
Foster a sense of personal achievement by helping boys develop new interests and skills
Show how to be helpful and do one's best
Provide fun and exciting new things to do
Prepare boys to become Boy Scouts

The Cub Scout Promise

I, (name), promise to do my best
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people, and
To obey the Law of the Pack.
The Cub Scout Motto
Do Your Best.

The Law of the Pack

The Cub Scout follows Akela.
The Cub Scout helps the pack go.
The pack helps the Cub Scout grow.
The Cub Scout gives goodwill.

Cub Scout Colors

The Cub Scout colors are blue and gold. The blue stands for truth and spirituality, steadfast loyalty, and the sky above. The gold stands for warm sunlight, good cheer, and happiness. Together, they symbolize what Cub Scouting is all about.

Boy Scouting in Northeastern Pennsylvania

What Is Boy Scouts?

Lord Robert Baden-Powell began Scouting in Great Britain in 1910 and was immediately successful in attracting boys and adult leaders to its adventurous and fun outdoor program. In addition to teaching boys outdoor skills and teamwork, boys learned responsibility, character, and the need to do good for others. Several years later, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated to provide a program for community organizations that offers effective character, citizenship and personnel fitness training for youth. Almost 100 years later, Scouting is one of the largest youth organizations in the world.

Membership

The Boy Scout program is for boys ages 11-17. Members join a Boy Scout Troop and are assigned to a patrol, usually a neighborhood group of six to eight boys, similar to a Cub Scout Den. Troops and their patrols meet weekly, practicing skills, playing games, and learning to plan and manage for themselves as the boys help organize outings, such as hikes, campouts, and outdoor trips, and other activities.

The role of the Scoutmaster and his staff of adult leaders is to coach the boys in developing leadership skills, thinking through problems and tasks, and learning how to work and play together as a team. The Troop Committee includes parents of boys in the Troop and members of the chartered organization.

The Purposes of Boy Scouting

Specifically, the BSA endeavors to help boys develop into American citizens who:

Are physically, mentally and emotionally fit
Have high degree of self-reliance as evidenced in such qualities as initiative, courage and resourcefulness
Have personal values based on religious concepts
Have the desire and skills to help others
Understand the principle of the American social, economic and governmental systems
Are knowledgeable about and take pride in their American heritage and understand our nation's role in the world
Have a keen respect for the basic rights of all people
Are prepared to participate in and give leadership to American society.

Personal Growth

As Boy Scouts plan their activities and progress toward their goals, they experience personal growth. The Good Turn concept is a major part of the personal growth method of Boy Scouting. Boys grow as they participate in community service projects and do Good Turns for others. Probably no device is as successful in developing a basis for personal growth as the daily Good Turn. The religious emblems program also is a large part of the personal growth method. Frequent personal conferences with his Scoutmaster help each Boy Scout to determine his growth toward Scouting's aims.

The Boy Scout Oath

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country,
And to obey the Scout Law,
To help other people at all times
To keep myself physically strong,
Mentally awake, and morally straight

The Boy Scout Motto

Be Prepared

The Scout Law

A Scout is:
Trustworthy
Loyal
Helpful
Friendly
Courteous
Kind
Obedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
and Reverent

Scouting Memories

Long after a young man matures and grows into adulthood, the imprint of Scouting and what he learned and experienced in the program will stay with him. There are tons of stories about how Eagle Scouts frequently can be found in positions of leadership in their communities, churches, companies, and even in military service. But the fact of the matter is that even if a boy only gets as far as Tenderfoot, years later he will more than likely remember the Scout oath and the words "On my honor...", remember the name of the summer camp he went to, and the names of his patrol mates - even when he can't remember the date of his own wedding anniversary. Scouting soaks into the very core of the people who get involved in it because it gives meaning to Honor, Friendship, Trust, Faith, and all the other things that form us and sustain us as individuals. So even when a man stands hunched over his cane and his knurled fingers have to be willed to form the Scout sign, it's no surprise that many will say with a choked voice of pride packed with memories, "I remember...". And we're all better for it.

Venturing in Northeastern Pennsylvania

What Is Venturing?

Venturing is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth, adult leaders, and organizations in their communities. Local community organizations establish a Venturing crew by matching their people and program resources to the interests of young people in the community. The result is a program of exciting and meaningful activities that helps youth pursue their special interests, to grow, to develop leadership skills, and to become good citizens.

Venturing crews can specialize in a variety of avocation or hobby interests. Venturing programs are developed around six experience areas of emphasis: Citizenship; Leadership; Fitness; Social; Outdoor; Service.

Membership

Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 (and have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years of age.

Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.

The Purposes of Venturing

Young adults involved in Venturing will:

Learn to make ethical choices over their lifetimes by instilling the values in the Venturing Oath and Code
Experience a program that is fun and full of challenge and adventure
Become a skilled training and program resource for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and other groups
Acquire skills in the areas of high adventure, sports, arts and hobbies, youth ministries, or Sea Scouting
Experience positive leadership from adult and youth leaders and be given opportunities to take on leadership roles
Have a chance to learn and grow in a supportive, caring, and fun environment.

Personal Growth

The methods of Venturing have been carefully chosen to meet the needs of young adults and help them grow into adulthood with confidence and fully developed interpersonal skills that can help them throughout their lifetime. These methods are:

Voluntary association between youth and adults. Because Venturing is voluntary, youth are receptive to new ideas, experiences, and relationships. For the youth members, these relationships provide a connection to new ways of thinking and acting, and a new identity as a responsible young adult.
Ethical decision-making. By asking young people to be responsible for themselves, for a program of positive activities and experiences, and for other people, Venturing provides numerous opportunities for making decisions and ethical choices. With the influence of positive adult role models and structured activities, youth learn to make effective and ethical decisions.
Group activities. Venturing activities are interdependent group experiences in which success is dependent on the cooperation of all youth and adults.
Recognition of achievement. Recognition might come through the achievement of one of the many awards available to youth members, but peers and adults also achieve it through the acknowledgement of a young person's competence and abilities.
Democratic process. Venturing crews provide exposure to democratic ideas and skills that are needed throughout life.
Curiosity, exploration, and adventure. New experiences and Venturing activities provide an excellent opportunity for acquiring new skills and participating in action-oriented activities.

The Venturing Oath

As a Venturer,
I promise to do my duty to God
and help strengthen America,
to help others, and to seek truth, fairness,
and adventure in our world.

The Venturing Code

As a Venturer, I believe that America's strength lies in our trust in God and in the courage, strength, and traditions of our people. I will, therefore, be faithful in my religious duties and will maintain a personal sense of honor in my own life. I will treasure my American heritage and will do all I can to preserve and enrich it. I will recognize the dignity and worth of all humanity and will use fair play and goodwill in my daily life.; I will acquire the Venturing attitude that seeks truth in all things and adventure on the frontiers of our changing world.

The Outdoor Code

As an American, I will do my best to -

Be clean in my outdoor manners.
I will treat the outdoors as a heritage.
I will take care of it for myself and others
I will keep my trash and garbage out of lakes, streams, fields, woods, and roadways.
Be careful with fire.
I will prevent wildfire.
I will build my fires only where they are appropriate.
When I have finished using a fire, I will make sure it is cold out.
I will leave a clean fire ring, or remove all evidence of my fire.
Be considerate in the outdoors.
I will treat public and private property with respect.
I will use low-impact methods of hiking and camping.

and

Be conservation minded
I will learn how to practice good conservation of soil, waters, forests, minerals, grasslands, wildlife, and energy.
I will urge others to do the same.

Learning for Life and Exploring in Northeastern Pennsylvania Council

Learning for Life and Exploring in Northeastern Pennsylvania

What Is Learning for Life?

Learning for Life offers classroom-based programs that provide an action-learning process with grade-specific lesson plans for grades K through 12, plus a complete supplement for special-needs students.

Learning for Life helps youth develop social and life skills, assist in character development, and helps them formulate positive personal values.