Frequently Asked Questions
Cub Scouts (Ages
7~10)
What are the
requirement to join Cub Scouts?
What does Cub Scouting offer my sons?
How does Cub Scouting develop character
and values?
What are the responsibilities of a parent?
Do Cub Scouts go camping?
How much is it going to cost?
Boy Scouts (Ages 11~17)
What makes Boy Scouts different from
other youth organizations?
Can a boy be a Scout and still be active
in sports and other activities?
Why would a parent want their son to
be in Boy Scouts?
Do you have to have been a Cub Scout to
become a Boy Scout?
Isn’t Scouting just about tying knots and
camping?
What is the significance of the Eagle Scout
Award?
Venturing (Ages 14~20)
Does joining Venturing require previous
Scouting background?
Is a uniform required?
Does a male Venturer working on his boy
Scout advancement have to be registered as a Boy Scout?
Can crews be all male, all female, or code?
Can a girl in the Venturing program earn
Boy Scout advancement, such as merit badges and the Eagle Scout Award?
Why would a parent want a son or daughter to
join Venturing?
Chartered Organizations
What does Scouting offer religious and
community organizations?
What is expected of a chartered organization
when it chooses to offer Scouting?
How much time will this require of the
chartered organization?
Does the chartered organization have a
voice in the pack, troop, or crew?
What kind of support does the boy Scouts
of America provide?
Can a chartered organization sponsor a
Cub Scout pack and not a Boy Scout troop or venturing crew?
It ‘s more than a motto, It’s a way of life.
Being prepared means having the ability to deal with the many tough challenges
life presents – that’s what scouting is all about. Through its time-tested
program, Scouting provides young people with opportunities of mentor to their
peers, build characters, and enrich their faith. These activities build
stronger family bonds and help youth reach their full potential by instilling
values that last a lifetime.
One of the strengths of the Scouting program is the unique relationship
between religious and community organizations, parents and leaders.
Working together, they are able to focus the necessary resources and leadership
on the single task of serving youth. The result is children, families,
and communities that are stronger and bettered for the future.
Cub Scouts (Ages 7~10)
Cub Scouting is a year-round program uniquely designed to meet
the needs of young boys and their parents. The program offers fun
and challenging activities that promote character development and physical
fitness.
Service projects, ceremonies, games, and other activities guild boys through
the core values and give them a sense of personal achievement. Through
positive peer group interaction and parental guidance, boys also learn honesty,
bravery, and respect.
Family involvement is an essential part of Cub Scouting, and parents are
encouraged to play an active role in the program. Through interaction
between parents, leaders, and friends, boys learn citizenship, compassion,
and courage. This family and community-centered approach to learning
means that Cub Scouting is truly time well spent.
I PROMISE TO DO MY BEST TO DO MY DUTY TO GOD AND
MY COUNTRY, TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE, AND TO OBEY THE LAW OF THE PACK.
Q What are the requirement
to join Cub Scouts?
Tiger Cubs (firs grade or age 7), Cub Scouts (second or third grade, or
age 8 or 9), Webelos Scouts (forth or fifth grade, or age 10).
Q What does Cub Scouting offer my sons?
Cub Scouting uses specific methods to achieve Scouting’s aims of helping
boys build character, train in the responsibilities of citizenship, and develop
personal fitness.
Q How does Cub Scouting develop character
and values?
Character is part of everything a Cub Scout does. Character development
lessons can be found in every aspect of the Cub Scout experience. In
an effort to make character development an integrate part of Cub Scouting,
the 12 core values are integrated throughout the boys’ handbooks and advancement
program.
The Core values are:
• Citizenship
• Compassion
• Cooperation
• Courage
• Faith
• Health and fitness
• Honesty
• Perseverance
• Positive Attitude
• Resourcefulness
• Respect
• Responsibility
Q What are the responsibilities of a parent?
• Provide help and support for the den and pack.
• Work with your son on advancement projects and activities.
• Attend pack meetings with your son and present his
advancement awards to him at the pack meeting.
• Attend and assist with den outings.
• Attend Cub Scout family campouts with your son.
Q Do Cub Scouts go camping?
Yes, but they ease into it, beginning with what we call “soft camping.”
They may go camping with a parent, or even their entire family.
Q How much is it going to cost?
The national registration fee to join Cub Scouts is $10 per year.
Boys’ life magazine, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America,
is $9 per year. Other costs include uniforms, insignia, and hand books.
Youth members participate in fund-raising projects and pay dues to cover
the cost of the events, activities, and equipment. This teaches boys
to earn their own way and teaches the value of the money.
Boy Scouts (Ages 11~17)
Most people associate Boy Scouting with outdoor
adventure – and with good reason. Scouting is an outdoor program designed
to develop character, citizenship, and fitness. With the Scout Oath
and Law as guide, Scouting helps a boy develop into a well-rounded young
man.
Through the advancement program, a Scout can progress in rank through
achievements, gaining additional knowledge and responsibilities. Earning
merit badges provides opportunities for Scouts to be introduced to a lifelong
hobby or a rewarding career.
In Boy Scouting, youth take responsibility for the activities of the troop.
By planning and organizing activities, they develop teamwork and learn to
lead as well as follow. Through the support of parents and religious
and neighborhood organizations, Scouts develop an awareness and appreciation
of their role in their community.
ON MY HONOR I WILL DO MY BEST TO DO MY DUTY TO GOD
AND MY COUNTRY AND TO OBEY THE SCOUT LAW;
TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE AT ALL TIMES;
TO KEEP MYSELF PHYSICALLY STRONG, MENTALLY AWAKE, AND MORALLY STRAIGHT.
Q What makes Boy Scouts different from other
youth organizations?
The Scouting program has a lot of unique features; the most unique is
that Scout troops are boy-led and boy-run. Adults train youth members
to assume leadership positions, and boys are allowed to plan the program
and carry it out.
Q Can a boy be a Scout and still be active
in sports and other activities?
Scouts are encouraged to be active in their community, and many do.
Athletic programs are seasonal, but Scouting is year-round. The values
youth learn is Scouting may help them excel in other activities.
Q Why would a parent want their son to be
in Boy Scouts?
Parents want their sons to be in an organization that teaches values.
The boy Scouts of America is a value-based organization that has its own
code of conduct: the Scout Oath, Law, motto, and slogan.
Q Do you have to have been a Cub Scout to
become a Boy Scout?
No. Any boy between the ages of 11 and 17 may be eligible to join
the Boy Scouts.
Q Isn’t Scouting just about tying knots and
camping?
Scouting was chartered by Congress as an educational organization.
Every year, Scouts earn over 1 million merit badges; every merit badge is
an educational experience. Currently, there are 120 different merit
badges.
Q What is the significance of the Eagle Scout
Award?
The Eagle Scout Award is the highest rank a boy can achieve in Scouting.
A boy who has earned the Eagle badge will have all of the fundamental outdoor
skills and be proficient in camping, hiking, cooking, and first aid.
He will have earned at least 21 merit badges that symbolize knowledge and
achievement. He will also have held leadership positions and participated
in numerous community service projects, one of which he personally planned
and directed. More important, the lessons of discipline, character,
and service learned in learning this highest honor last a lifetime.
Venturing (Ages 14~20)
Venturing is a program for young men and
young women ages 14 through 20. Venturing is one of the fastest growing
programs in Boy Scouts of America.
The purpose of Venturing is to provide experience to help young people
mature and become responsible and caring adults. Young people in Venturing
learn leadership skills and participate in challenging outdoor activities.
Venturing focuses resources that help a community organization provide
wholesome, flexible, well-rounded, challenging activities, tailor-made for
teenage youth. Those resources include access to Boy Scout camping
properties, a recognition program, youth protection training, and specific
program helps for a variety of outdoor disciplines.
AS A VENTURER, I PROMISE TO DO MY DUTY TO GOD AND
HELP STRENGHEN AMERICA, TO HELP OTHERS, AND TO SEEK TRUTH, FAIRNESS, AND
ADVNETURE IN OUR WORLD.
Q Does joining Venturing require previous
Scouting background?
Any young personages 14 and 20 can join Venturing. No previous Scouting
background is required.
Q Is a uniform required?
A uniform is not required in Venturing. Many Venturing crews create
their own T-shirt or other way of identifying themselves with the group.
Q Does a male Venturer working on his boy
Scout advancement have to be registered as a Boy Scout?
No, he can register only as a Venturer, if preferred.
Q Can crews be all male, all female, or code?
Yes, it is up to the chartered organization. However, one of the
aspects of Venturing the makes it popular with young people is that it is
coed.
Q Can a girl in the Venturing program earn
Boy Scout advancement, such as merit badges and the Eagle Scout Award?
No, Girls are able to earn only Venturing Advancement.
Q Why would a parent want a son or daughter
to join Venturing?
A recent survey concluded that 96 percent of Venturers made new friends,
93 percent had opportunities to go places and do things they have never experienced,
91 percent were encouraged to share ideas and opinions, and 89 percent said
Venturing activities helped develop more self-confidence.
Chartered Organizations
The Boy Scouts of America is an educational
resources. It charters churches, schools, community organizations,
and other groups to use Scouting as a part of their service to their own members,
as well as the community at large. Every pack, troop, or crew belongs
to an organization with interests similar to those of the BSA.
By making a commitment to operate a Scouting unit, you will help enrich
the lives of youth and make a difference in the kind of adults they will
become. Your organization will provide an opportunities for youth to
adopt and live by meaningful personal standards and have them as a cornerstone
for success in life. Youth in Scouting develop into leaders who have
integrity, are responsible, and show reverence to their God and respect for
their country.
Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. Show the community that
your organization is committed to building a better tomorrow through the
youth of today.
Your Organization Benefits
• Your organization is providing
service to the community by offering a time-tested, high-quality youth program.
• Your organization is fulfilling its mission and has
strengthened community outreaching.
• Your organization has greater potential for increasing
and strengthening its membership by developing more responsible young adults
in the community.
Q What does Scouting offer religious and
community organizations?
Scouting provides a fun and exciting avenue for organizations to serve
their own youth and families, and also to reach others in the community.
For many groups, it provided a way to strengthen bonds with its members while
sharing values with young people.
Q What is expected of a chartered organization
when it chooses to offer Scouting?
When an organization decides to offer Scouting, it is issued a charter
by the local council. Under the charter, the organization agrees to
provide adequate meeting facilities and quality leadership for the unit,
and to appoint a chartered organization representative to coordinate all
unit operations within the organization.
Q How much time will this require of the
chartered organization?
The Boy Scouts of America encourages all chartered organizations to be
involved in the activities of the unit and to incorporate the activities
of the unit into the life of the organization. Like many things, what
a chartered organization gets out of Scouting depends on how much time it
invests.
Q Does the chartered organization have a
voice in the pack, troop, or crew?
The pack, troop, or crew is owned by the chartered organization, and the
unit committee is the board of directors. An organization approves
and selects the adult leadership, provides the meeting place, and determines
how the program will be administered to meet its specific aim and purposes.
Q What kind of support does the boy Scouts
of America provide?
The BSA has developed a wide variety of support literature, materials,
and adult leader training courses to help chartered organization, adult leaders,
youth members, and parents carry out the Scouting program. Local BSA
councils provide leadership, management, and overall direction to organizations
using the Scouting program.
Q Can a chartered organization sponsor a
Cub Scout pack and not a Boy Scout troop or venturing crew?
The Scouting program offers something for youth of almost all ages.
By providing Cub Scouting, boy Scouting, and Venturing, the organization
offers programs for all its youth. It is possible to start with Cub
Scouting and to grow the Scouting program from that point on.
