Camp Tales Tell of Great Progress in Scouting

Summer camp gives our Scouts a chance to stretch their wings and learn what it’s like to assume leadership, make decisions on their own and build confidence.  There’s plenty of fun, too, but deep down, we also want our Scouts to learn the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law while experiencing these new adventures.

I’d like to share two stories to help illustrate these points.  One is a first-person account from a Scouting Mom, who blogs about her experiences serving as a leader during her son’s summer camp near Springfield, Mo.  While it’s a great blog about how her “Be Prepared” attitude came in pretty handy during her three-and-a-half days at camp, it also shares how the Scouts around her jumped in to take action, came up with solutions on their own, and picked up some new skills along the way.  Here is her story.

I also was encouraged to read an online report about how a Cub Scout day camp near Charlotte, N.C. was getting young people hooked on Scouting at an early age.  That’s important to the sustainability of our movement. Our new Cub Scouting program is training our new leaders to continue to build on that momentum as their Cubs grow and reach Scouting age. The headline itself told me this story was on the right track:  “Cub Scout day camp builds confidence, teaches skills.”

Camp tales also serve as a terrific form of “grassroots” advertising as our Scouts return home to share their adventures with their non-Scouting friends and let them know what they are missing. Word-of-mouth is a valuable resource we all should capitalize on when striving to build our ranks.

I look forward to hearing more encouraging camp tales as the summer camping season continues.  Share your stories here!

Thanks, Wayne