InquisitiveScouter

And for our older Scouts this summer, after summer camp we are cycling over five nights on the Great Allegheny Passage! I wonder if we can camp at @qwazse's house the night before we hit the trail? There might be a free dinner and beverages at Hofbräuhaus in it for you 😜

This is the ideal!! This makes me happy 😜 Except for the final clause of the last sentence...that one makes me a bit sad...😞

It is...Scouts want fun activities, not academics. Parents want academics and merit badges earned. Fun is our hook, built around patrol-based activities where we slip in all the character, citizenship, fitness, and leadership opportunities. I challenge you to sit in on the First Aid class at your camp, and see what I mean. Rarely is this one counseled to the requirements. To elaborate, each Scout must complete the requirements as stated. So, can you imagine how long it would take to teach and evaluate just requirements 1, 11, and 12?? 1. Demonstrate to your counselor that yo

Yes, many councils have created the merit badge mills, which parents love because their Scout gets lots of badges fast, and they can get their Eagle quicker, and move on to the next college-resume-padding activity... Merit badge mills get a lot more attendance. Our council is a perfect example: small camp offering 75 merit badges. 60% of our council revenue generated by the camp... A fairly industrial operation, camp is stuffed to the gills with people. And there are other camps very much like this... They went from giving the customer what they need to giving the customer what t

There are some camps left where this is still the model.

Yeah, I wish people weren't so messed up in the head, and would stop building cars for their kids. When you go to some district/council events, it is OBVIOUS that many were not the product of a Cub Scout. My son's car never won those events. He built one two years in a row, and competed. Where we lived at the time, it was blatant that parents were building and tweaking cars. Honed axles, graphite, teflon, or other lubes, etc, etc, I wouldn't do it for him. He got a little upset with me, but think he learned a valuable lesson...life isn't fair, and many people cheat and cut corne

As long as the instructors and counselors mentor Scouts to meet the requirements as stated, then sure. This should be a different topic, though... Summer camp is supposed to be a week in the woods "under canvas", with all that entails... “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.” BP It should focus on "...making camp, putting up a shelter, cooking over a fire, exploring our surroundings without getting lost, learning about the natural world and how to use what it provides, constructing things with pieces of tree and rope, tracking

@RememberSchiff, sorry, but this does not meet the country-club merit-badge-mill motif we are going for. Gotta shave off as much Troop & Patrol work as possible to maximize the number of merit badge classes a Scout can attend and be awarded!!! (I did not say earn) C'mon, man! Get with the revenue program!

Agreed...the Cit in Soc MB is a pig in a poke. With lipstick.

Adding to the requirements?? No no

No, they aren't...the key is the Troop Guide. Wanna really understand the Troop Guide role? Look at the patch. He is the Patrol Leader-mentor. We use Troop Guides to great effect. Usually, they are past Patrol Leaders for their Patrol. For six months, they go side by side with the PL of the New Scout Patrols until they "get it". Six months is about all it takes, depending on program. We camping trip every month, immediately followed by a PLC, a day trip every month, and have a service project every other month. Plenty of leadership opportunities. Train 'em, Trust 'em, Let them lea

Just makes you proud to be a part of it all, doesn't it?

^^^^^ There is no justice among men that can remedy this. My heart swells every time I read a similar account. And my anger burns at the mostly now nameless and faceless people who protected pensions and organizations rather than flesh and blood. It is my fervent hope and prayer that the burdens of victims be lifted one day with righteous judgment and recompense.

Welcome! Constant contact through our COR. Frequent contact with our IH. Service projects and Eagle Scout Service Projects for CO, Scout Sunday, and participation in some of their events. We are very satisfied with our arrangement.

I use my experiences in the military to teach these exact principles to Scouts. It is a beautiful thing to see when a Patrol Leader understands his Mission/Task/Purpose and just gets it done. Scouts tend to struggle with this at first, because they are so used to parents/teachers always telling them exactly what and how to do something, then constantly looking over their shoulders to see that it is done the way the adults would do it. (Russian style of leadership.) Thanks for the video link! The US has been working with Ukraine over many years to teach exactly this Patrol Method

Esse quam videre

Welcome! And may the Good Lord bless you and keep you and smile on your effort!

20 Centuries of Catholic Church on review, but with obvious analogies to the century of BSA... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRsaxXrjk3w&ab_channel=playinhard please take 20 minutes to view

Hope you don't mind the suggestions. It is we who do these things. It is we who bring the idea to life. Scouting is an idea and a movement, but it doesn't do anything of itself. BSA is a organization with a culture... The people in that culture knew there were wolves in the fold. They made decisions about dealing with the wolves that seemed (repeat, seemed) to sway more towards protecting the image and existence of the organization rather than the lambs in the flock. And, the continued decisions, actions, and conduct of those people, throughout this process, still seem (repeat, s

Exactly, we did not solicit the donation. Units may accept any and all unsolicited donations. Make sure you never give the council's or national's EIN when doing this, otherwise, the money is technically theirs!! And use your CO's EIN only with permission!! It's an IRS reporting thing We are talking several thousand dollars. $500 per employee per year... YMMV

Follow up: So, it all depends... Grants can be tricky, depending on the IRS reporting. In order to apply for this grant, the grantor wanted an EIN to verify we were a bona fide non-profit. Depending on nature of the grant, grantors and grantees may incur some IRS reporting requirements as well. https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/private-foundations/grant-defined https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/private-foundations/grants-to-noncharitable-organizations https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/private-foundations/reports-from-grantees In this

We live near a big pharma corporation. Several parents work for them. When the parents donate volunteer time to our Troop, the company will also make a $500 donation to the non-profit who sponsors you. We asked our chartering organization if they were fine with us using their EIN for IRS reporting purposes. They gave us enthusiastic approval. The first year we did this, the corporation sent the check, payable to our unit, to our local council. Fortunately, someone in accounting caught it, instead of trying to deposit it for the council. The council Director of Development w

Welcome @MattySchnides! Zero percent!!!!!!!! And the DE response is laughable.🤣 Units do not exist to provide a cash cow for the council. Give them zero and ignore any other correspondence on the matter.

It is bad...no need for any of that. It's just a scheme to generate revenue.