Over the years, Scouting has been associated with good turns because of the many major and national Good Turn events they have performed. Service has always been a big part of Scouting, and it was William Boyce’s experience with a selfless young London Scout in 1909 that started in motion the creation of the Boy Scouts of America.

In 1909, William Boyce was lost in a dense, London fog. A young Scout approached and asked if he could help Mr. Boyce find his way. The young man took Boyce to his destination, but refused a tip, explaining it was the Scout philosophy of doing a good turn daily. Boyce had a meeting to attend, but asked if the Scout could wait for him, and then take him to meet with Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement. William Boyce was so impressed with Baden-Powell and the organization he had put together, he decided to bring the Scouting program to the United States.

During World War I, Boy Scouts were being called upon to help the war effort in many ways. Scouts were used for everything from counting Black Walnut trees (used for making gunstocks and airplane propellers), passing out pamphlets for the government, and helping the American Red Cross, to collecting peach pits for gas mask filters. Thousands of "Scout Farms" were constructed to help feed soldiers. They also organized the sale of Liberty Loan Bonds to help finance the war effort, and sold over two million bonds. Scouting’s service during this time of national crisis was invaluable.

Scouts provided equally valuable service during World War II. During 1944 and 1945, President Dwight D. Eisenhower asked Scouts to help collect waste paper. The result was an astounding 318,000 tons of paper collected by 700,000 Scouts, bringing the total collected during WWII to over one-half million tons. They also began collecting aluminum and glass. Throughout the war, Scouts sold over 1.6 million defense bonds and stamps, and planted "Victory Gardens" to help feed Americans and their families.

During the 1950s, Scouts planted trees, distributed conservation posters, built bird nesting boxes, and placed over 36 million Get out the Vote door-knob hangers on doors across the nation. Although the war-time efforts had passed, Scouts continued to help our government, by distributing 40 million handbooks for the Office of Civil Defense Mobilization in 1958. Scouts handed out and hung over 50,000 posters in post offices across the nation.

Scouting continued to perform many major Good Turns during the sixties and seventies, including more Get Out the Vote campaigns, helping with the national census, and major conservation programs like S.O.A.R (Save Our American Resources).

In 1988, the BSA initiated the first Scouting for Food program, a national event aimed at helping feed hungry Americans. Over one million Scouts collected 65 million cans of non-perishable food that were given to people in need. The success of this program started an annual National Good Turn Day that still exists today, helping feed millions of homeless and underprivileged people living in America.

Millions of Scouts have been responsible for good turns and service projects for over 85 years, resulting in a better America. The Boy Scouts of America and their 4.7 million members have a great history of helping people, and will continue through their traditions of good turns and selfless service.