Century-old Boy Scouts of America celebrates
Posted On: Monday, Feb. 8 2010 05:29 AM
From staff reports
A British Boy Scout helping a man find his way on a foggy London street evolved into 100 years of molding young boys around the principles of leadership and service.
Today will mark 100 years since the founding of Boy Scouts of America. However, don't be misled by the name; the Boy Scout organization includes girls, too. All "have dedicated their efforts towards citizenship, character and fitness," a news release states.
The Venturing Crews are for boys and girls 14 years old and older.
There are more than 40 packs and troops in the Killeen and Copperas Cove areas, as part of the Leon Valley District of BSA, with hundreds of school-age boys participating.
The lost man, William D. Boyce, brought the idea of Scouting to the United States to establish the organization Feb. 8, 1910, according to the release.
After its founding, BSA established a national office in Washington, D.C., developed a temporary handbook and obtained a congressional charter in 1916.
Though BSA wasn't established until 1910, the history of Scouting began in 1899 when Robert Baden-Powell, a British general officer wrote a guidebook of outdoor skills for military scouts. Shortly thereafter, several scouting and outdoors organizations were formed.
Since its founding, the structure of Scouting has changed throughout the years. BSA is divided into three groups: Cub Scouts and Webelos for first- through-fifth graders and Boy Scouts for sixth- through 12th-graders.
BSA added the Webelo program to make the transition for boys between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts a smooth one.
BSA launched Hispanic Initiatives to increase Hispanic membership and volunteers.
"The Boy Scouts of America hope to double the membership of Latino youths in the short term and effect a new awareness, inclusion, and cooperation at the national, regional, and council levels in the longer term," the BSA Web site states.
Scouting has expanded its focus over the years to include science, computers and technology, in addition to other focuses.
"Scouting helps youth develop academic skills, self-confidence, ethics, leadership skills, and citizenship skills that influence their adult lives," the BSA Web site states.
To celebrate its 100 years, BSA developed the 100 Anniversary Celebration "to inspire a nation and to draw more people into the scouting family," a release stated.