From the Mouths of Cubs

It’s important to the sustainability of Scouting to continue homepage to build membership from the youngest members of our organization, our Cub Scouts. It’s exciting to watch parent volunteers also take part in Scouting for the first time and work with these young boys as they progress http://whereslloyd.com/cls along the Scouting trail to hopefully earn their Eagle badge someday.

Along the way, they share the excitement of their Scouting experiences with classmates and other peer groups, helping us to deliver a quality experience with even more young people across the nation. That’s how we grow.

To illustrate the importance of bringing Scouts along at a young age and how much they can learn and do in a short period of time, I’d like to share this letter to the editor from a Cub Scout representing his pack in Topeka, Kansas:

Letter: Join the Boy Scouts

We are scouts from Den 1 Pack 246 out of Most Pure Heart of Mary. We are writing to encourage people to join scouting. Scouting has been alive for 104 years. Our pack has dwindled in size, and we want more boys to join and share in our fun.

Scouting is an opportunity to try new activities and sports. Two of our favorite activities are learning to safely shoot and handle a BB gun and a bow and arrow. We enjoy earning our belt loops and patches as rewards for successfully completing the requirements.

Scouting helps support our community by volunteering to help those in need. We have volunteered at Let’s Help, adopted families every Christmas within our parish, encouraged recycling to protect our Earth, collected food to fill the pantry at Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center, donated stuffed animals for the dogs and decorated shoe boxes for the cats at Helping Hands Humane Society and put together birdhouses that have been placed along Shunga Trail.

We recently learned how to administer CPR and first aid to an injured or ill person. Our parents supported us, and we all received a Family Certification from the American Heart Association.

Scouting is available to all boys beginning in first grade and can continue into adulthood. Young scouts who have earned Eagle rank may be eligible for college scholarships as well as a respectable job opportunity. We learn the Cub Scout promise and motto along with respect for our individual religious beliefs because it is our duty.

If you want to have fun, support your community, learn new activities and prepare for your future, contact the Jayhawk Area Scout Council office.

JACOB CONNER, Topeka – Pack 246

I fully admit I may be a little biased, but what a great letter from this young man!  In just four paragraphs, he described a long list of activities that many young people don’t get to try in a lifetime. I’d like to express our thanks from the National Office to Jacob Conner for taking the time to write this letter about Scouting – and sharing some personal insight into what makes it so special.

We can all use the initiative of young men like Jacob to help explain the benefits of what we do, whether it is Scouting or another youth-serving organization. Millions of young people depend on us to help them learn and grow to be prepared for life, and we need their voices to help others understand our respective missions. That’s an important sustainability factor for any organization serving young people – to have participants that will act as cheerleaders for your mission, sharing it with others who may otherwise be introduced.

Have you seen young people like Jacob step up and speak out in support of your organizations?  What do you think inspires them to visibly promote what you do for America’s youth? Tell us about your young champions!

Thanks!

Wayne