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BSA at a Glance
Purpose
The purpose of the Boy Scouts of America—incorporated on February
8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916—is to provide an educational
program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the
responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal
fitness.
Chartered Organizations
Community-based organizations receive national charters to use the
Scouting program as a part of their own youth work. These groups, which
have goals compatible with those of the BSA, include religious, educational,
civic, fraternal, business, and labor organizations; governmental bodies;
corporations; professional associations; and citizens' groups.
Program
Tiger Cubs is a year-round family- and home-centered program
that encourages the ethical decision-making skills for first-grade (or
7-year-old) boys. These boys participate in the program with their adult
partners. The program emphasizes shared leadership, learning about the
community, and family understanding.
Cub Scouts is a year-round family- and home-centered program
that develops ethical decision-making skills for boys in the second
through fifth grade (or who are 8, 9, and 10 years old). Activities
emphasize character development, citizenship training, and personal
fitness.
Webelos Scouts is a year-round family- and home-centered program
that develops ethical decision-making skills for fourth- and fifth-grade
(or 10-year-old) boys. Webelos Scouts participate in more advanced activities
that begin to prepare them to become Boy Scouts.
Boy Scouting. A year-round program for boys 11 through 17
designed to achieve the aims of Scouting through a vigorous outdoor
program and peer group leadership with the counsel of an adult Scoutmaster.
(Boys also may become Boy Scouts if they have earned the Cub Scouting
Arrow of Light Award and are at least 10 years old or have completed
the fifth grade and are at least 10 years old.)
Varsity Scouting. An active, exciting, year-round program
for young men 14 through 17 built around five program fields of emphasis:
advancement, high adventure, personal development, service, and special
programs and events.
Venturing. A year-round program for young men and women who
are 14 (and have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years of age
to provide positive experiences through exciting and meaningful youth-run
activities that help them pursue their special interests, grow by teaching
others, and develop leadership skills.
Volunteer Leaders
Volunteer adult leaders serve at all levels of Scouting in more than
300 local councils, 28 areas, and four regions, and nationally with
volunteer executive boards and committees providing guidance.
Each autonomous local council is chartered by the BSA, which provides
program and training aids along the guidelines established by the National
Executive Board and the national charter from Congress.
National Activities
Cub Scouting is where it all begins. Ninety-five percent of
all Boy Scouts participated in Cub Scouting at some time. Cub Scouting
strengthens the family, encourages physical fitness, and teaches core
values to live by through its program. A thrilling outdoor program starts
in Cub Scouting with day camps, resident camps, council-organized camps,
pack camping, and the fabulous make-believe themes of Cub World venues
such as castles, frontier forts, pirate ships, and more.
Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers have many special
activities available to them, such as camporees, summer camps, Scouting
shows, and national jamborees.
The Order of the Arrow, Scouting's national honor society, recognizes
those Scout campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their
daily lives. The order has local lodge, section, and national meetings.
Scouts who have become Eagle Scouts, the highest advancement award in
Scouting, may join the National Eagle Scout Association.
All Scout camps are inspected and accredited annually by teams of
trained volunteers to ensure the health, safety, and quality of program
for campers.
Scouting Anniversary celebrations, during February, include
observance of the BSA's February 8 birthday, Scout Sabbath, and Scout
Sunday. Unit activities feature blue and gold banquets, courts of honor,
and open house meetings.
National High-Adventure Bases
The BSA has three national high-adventure areas, and all three are
unique. The Northern Tier National High Adventure Program offers wilderness
canoe expeditions and cold-weather camping; the Florida National High
Adventure Sea Base offers aquatics programs in the Florida Keys; and
Philmont Scout Ranch offers backpacking treks in the rugged high country
of northern New Mexico. Volunteer leaders may attend the Philmont Training
Center each summer for a weeklong training conference.
Publications
The Boy Scouts of America publishes two magazines: 95-year-old Boys'
Life, produced monthly for 1.3 million subscribers in three demographic
editions (LOW demographic edition goes to all Tiger Cubs and Cub Scout
subscribers through age 8. MIDDLE demographic edition goes to all Cub
Scouts and Webelos Scouts 9 years and older and all adult Cub Scouting
leaders who subscribe. HIGH demographic edition goes to all Boy Scout-age
subscribers and all other subscribers); and 94-year-old Scouting, produced
six times a year for all adults registered in Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting,
Varsity Scouting, and Venturing. In addition, unit leaders and commissioners
receive special program inserts in Scouting.
The BSA publishes handbooks for all phases of the Scouting program,
more than 100 merit badge pamphlets for Boy Scouts, leader books, training
pamphlets, program helps booklets for unit leaders, and other literature
for use by youth members, adult leaders, and parents.
Financial Support
The National Council is supported largely through annual registration
fees paid by all members, charter and service fees paid by local councils,
an Annual Giving Campaign among national employees and selected volunteers,
income from the sales of Boys' Life and Scouting magazines and Scouting
equipment, bequests, and special gifts. Local councils are supported
by communities through an annual Friends of Scouting campaign, the United
Way, special events, foundation grants, investment income, bequests,
endowment gifts, and special contributions.
On the unit level, chartered organizations that use the Scouting
program provide meeting places and often furnish program materials and
other facilities. Youth members help to pay their own way by paying
dues to their pack, troop, team, ship, or crew treasuries, and through
approved money-earning projects, they can earn additional income for
their units.
Membership and Units
Membership since 1910 totals more than 110 million. As of December
31, 2005, membership was:
| Youth Members |
Adult Members |
Units |
| Tiger Cubs |
243,609 |
| Cub Scouts |
834,562 |
| Webelos Scouts |
667,153 |
| Boy Scouts |
879,789 |
| Varsity Scouts |
63,637 |
| Venturers |
249,948 |
| Total Youth |
2,938,698 |
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| Cub Scout leaders |
493,165 |
| Boy Scout leaders |
520,591 |
| Varsity Scout leaders |
23,380 |
| Venturing leaders |
63,821 |
| Council Scouters |
45,173 |
| Total Adults |
1,146,130 |
|
| Cub Scout packs |
51,469 |
| Boy Scout troops |
42,811 |
| Varsity Scout teams |
8,185 |
| Venturing crews |
20,117 |
| Total units |
122,582 |
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