The Boy Scouts of America is a program for boys between ages ten and seventeen. The focus of the organization is to help young men grow into leadership roles in the world and their community and to learn how a live a moral and charitable life. The Boy Scouts also are meant to grow in knowledge of the world around them through community service and merit badges.
History
The Boy Scouting program was brought to America from England in 1907 by Lord Baden Powell. W.D. Boyce,a rich American entrepreneur, founded what is now the Boy Scouts of America program. Legend has it that he was lost in a London fog one morning and he couldnt find his way out. He was found by an unknown scout that lead him out of the fog. When Boyce attempted to tip the boy for helping him the boy refused to accept his tip explaining that he had only done his duty as a Boy Scout. Boyce was so impressed by this boy's generosity that he brought the Scouting program to America in 1910. His organization soon melded with other youth groups of the time that were similar in nature to his.Over the next hundred years the program would grow almost exponentially from the small group of boys centered in New England to nearly one million young men.
Purpose
The Boy Scouts is a program built on the foundations of service to the community and leadership. "It is meant to help young men grow in self-esteem,citizenship, and outdoorsmanship through various activities like camping, aquatics, and hiking"(wikipedia.com) The Scout Law is a list of virtues that the program tries to develop and build upon.
Accomplishments
The Boy Scouts compile nearly 200 million hours of community service in a year. They have founded dozens of programs benefitting the community and those who need help the most.
www.stlbsa.org
Especially important is the Scouting for Food program which provides food to the hungry and the homeless every Thanksgiving in order for them to have a meal for the holiday. The Boy Scouts are also involved with organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army
Faith in the Boy Scouts
The people who founded the Boy Scout program in America had a huge amount of faith in the fact that Boy Scouts would be able to change the world for the better and would be an especially good way to temper American youth into good young men who work in their community. Also, the Boy Scouts displays tremendous amounts of faith in the idea that everyone deserves a good and safe community to live in, and so their message is to do that by keeping the community proper through service to others.
By: Matt Vonderheide
Sources:
wikipedia.com
pinetreeweb.com