"Service to America" patch?

[fgoodwin 23]

Whatever happened to this service award / patch? I never heard of it before stumbling across it while browsing the web. Did this program end in 2000?

 

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"Service to America" patch

 

BSA has created the "Service to America" patch featuring the Little Red Wagon to recognize Scouts' individual service achievements. The Order of the Arrow, Scouting's youth service organization, will provide leadership and direction to the national effort. Scout units representing 4.5 million Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Explorers in 50 states are involved in the effort. Locally, 1.5 million volunteer Scout leaders in 16,000 communities will provide leadership. Packs, troops and varsity Scout teams can also qualify for unit recognition for achievement in meeting the overall BSA youth service goals.

 

http://www.americaspromise.org/media/newsdetail.cfm?artID=365

 

Through the end of 2000 each Scout who completes a minimum of 12 hours of community service per year will qualify to receive a Service to America patch. If 75 percent of Scouts in a unit earn the patch recognition, then all unit leaders will be eligible to purchase a patch. The participation patch, No. 339, retails for $1.99 and is available for purchase from Scout shops or BSA distributors.

 

http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/00-ap.html

[clydesdale115 10]

Do you think maybe this was replaced by the Good Turn for America Award, which launched in 2004? I'm not familiar with the Service to America award, but our boys have earned the GTforA patch (in 2004), then got a rocker in 2005. We'll earn a 2006 rocker also. We bought them at the Scout Store. Seems like the patch was around $3.00 but the rocker was only 50 cents or so. You have to register and submit your project on the Good Turn website:

 

www.goodturnforamerica.org

 

You need your unit's ID number to register. I got ours from our Council office so I could register our Pack. It's a painless process and there is a ticker that shows the # of service hours that have been submitted. You do have to keep up with the number of hours (adults and youth, members and non-members) everyone worked. The website also has great ideas for service projects.

clydesdale115

[Crew21_Adv 25]

FG,

 

Greetings!

 

If I recall correctly.. (and without the all the resource literature in front of me) America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth, evolved from One Million Points of Light

http://www.pointsoflight.org/

 

The Service to America program evolved into an agreement between the BSA, GSUSA and the Dept of the Interior National Parks Service. Two patches were created, one for Boy Scouts, and a similar for Girl Scouts. They were in a similar shape of the National Park Service Ranger patch (Arrow head shaped). I never saw the little red wagon patch (although I read about a patch with it), and remember that logo with the initial promotional material.

 

Another BSA Fact sheet which explains the NPS involvement, and the NPS page about their patch.

http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/00-nps.html

http://www.servicetoamerica.org/

 

I believe in 2003'ish. The BSA began having deteriorating associations with the National Park Service (base on ACLU lawsuits concerning BSA and Federal agreements) In late 2003, the Service to America program was discontinued and the remaining stock of patches were sold by contacting the STA-NPS coordinator, without the need of certificates or appropriate service hours. (I missed the liquidation sale, by two months... darnit)

 

While living in Hawaii. I tried to negotiate my Troop to earn this award for a few years. Unfortunately, There is only one National Park Service site on Oahu, Hawaii. That is the Arizona Memorial, about two acres of land and the memorial in the Harbor that is visited by thousands daily. Manicured Lawns, clean buildings. What could we do? Sweep the already clean sidewalk for 12 hours? Oh Well... The Arizona Memorial Volunteer Coordinator (which is more familiar with senior adult WWII Historians) would not commit to allowing our Troop to work there.

 

Bottom line.. I would have loved to provided service to the NPS and earn the Service to America patch. But we never got past the discussion stages with the benefactors.

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv