For well over 100 years, “scouting programs” have been established for young boys and girls. As summarized from Wikipedia, “Beginning in the British Empire, the ‘Boy Scout Movement’ swiftly established itself in many countries around the world. By 1908, Scout organizations could be found in many countries with British influence, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In 1909, Chile was possibly the first country outside the British dominions to have a national Scout organization. By 1910, Argentina, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States had Boy Scouts.”
Girls were not left out. “Many girls took up being Girl Scouts and were part of the Scout Movement as soon as it began. The values of the time would not allow young boys and girls to “rough and tumble” together. Robert Baden-Powell, a British Army officer and author of scouting books as early as 1884, and a founder of the youth scouting movement, with the help of his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell, formed a separate organization for girls in Britain in 1910, the Girl Guides Association, with similar groups soon established in other countries. Girl Scouts in the United States were founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she had met Robert Baden-Powell.”
At St. Francis, we follow the tradition of many faith organizations in the United States of sponsoring scout troops. Cub Scout Pack 352 is open to boys and girls in grades kindergarten through 5th grade. For those in 6th grade through the age of 18, the Scouts BSA program, Troop 352 and 219, is available. Josh and Angela Riley, who are parents whose children are involved in the scouting program at St. Francis through the St. Francis Community Center, say about the program, “Our leaders and parents help the kids learn to follow the Scout Law, which tells the scouts how to behave and act, not only in meetings but in daily life.” As those who have experience in the scouts know, the Scout Law says a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Many of these attributes overlap with a faith tradition, especially at an involved parish like St. Francis.
As the Rileys mention, “Each year the scouts participate in several service projects directly in the community. The younger scouts typically participate in activities such as trash clean-up or food donations. The older scouts have cleaned up several areas around the St. Francis campus, along with several projects for the schools and parish that our Eagle Scouts have done. We encourage the scouts to give back to the community that they are a part of, no matter how small.”
If you are interested in learning more, check out the St. Francis-sponsored programs here. Feel free to attend a meeting or event to see if the Scouts are for you. We offer a variety of activities for all age levels. Our events vary; some are indoors, encouraging learning and skills, while others are outdoors to help scouts stay physically active. If you are a parishioner with a service project that you think the scouts could help with, please reach out. We also always encourage any parishioner who is a member of a service organization and would like to talk to the scouts about that organization to please reach out as well.