You should be proud to be part of the Boy Scout movement.
The Boy Scouts of America's annual Report to the Nation highlights the achievements of the BSA's values-based program. A representative contingent of youth delegates is chosen annually to present the report to the Speaker of the House as required by our charter. Other government officials that traditionally receive the report include the president of the United States, Congressmen from both houses, and other government officials. Every U.S. president since William Howard Taft has received a BSA Report to the Nation delegation.
Here is the text of the report for 2010:
Who We Are
With the support of more than 1.1 million volunteers and 114,994 national community organizations, the Boy Scouts of America provides educational programs for 2.7 million young people in building character, developing leadership capabilities, training in the responsibilities of active citizenship, and developing personal fitness.
Who We Serve
1,601,994 boys ages 7 to 10 in Cub Scouting
898,852 boys ages 11 to 17 in Boy Scouting and Varsity Scouting
238,846 young men and women ages 14 to 20 in Venturing and Sea Scouting
664,063 boys and girls in elementary through high school in Learning for Life character education programs
113,062 young men and women ages 14 to 20 in Exploring career-based programs
What We Promise
The BSA prepares young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
A Century of Service to America
Since our founding in 1910, we have taught the importance of putting others before yourself and doing what is right, even if it is the hard thing to do. Scouting is as vital and relevant today as when our journey began, and we will continue to guide America’s young people during our next century of service.
As part of our Good Turn for America national service initiative, we have completed more than 15 million community service hours on projects such as food collection and distribution (Scouting for Food), litter cleanup/community beautification, conservation projects, and military support/appreciation.
Volunteer Service—On average, Scout volunteers give 20 hours per month in service to their community. This equals approximately 273 million hours of volunteer time given to support Scouting. That means more than $5 billion worth of volunteer time was given across America.
Military Families—With the support of 4,600 volunteers, we serve 11,800 youth annually in military bases around the world. Some of the service projects include: clothing drives for children in Afghanistan, and new trails and conservation projects on military recreational facilities.
Eagle Scouts—Eagle Scout is the highest attainable rank in Boy Scouting, and Scouts must demonstrate proficiency in leadership, service, and outdoor skills at multiple levels before achieving the Eagle Scout rank. In 2010, a record 56,176 Scouts earned the Eagle Scout badge, making it our fifth year of 50,000-plus Eagle Scouts. In addition to the 21 life skills badges required to earn Eagle Scout rank, each Scout must complete an extensive service project that he plans, organizes, leads, and manages before his 18th birthday. In 2010, Eagle Scout service projects provided approximately $210 million in service to schools, churches, and communities across the nation (based on a national volunteer hour value of $20.85).
Conservation Programs
Scouting for State Parks mobilizes Scouts, volunteers, and alumni to help save our state parks. We have teamed up with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to complete service projects, such as trail construction, grounds cleanup, and playground installation. We have also started working with the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism to help with trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, and river cleanups. These are two examples of many programs we hope to introduce with other state parks.
Healthy Living and Outdoor Programs
Obesity and inactivity among youth is a crisis in the United States. Healthy living, fitness, and overall wellness have always been part of Scouting’s DNA. There have always been multiple exercise/fitness requirements at every level of Scouting, making physical fitness an imperative to participation. In keeping with the Boy Scout Oath of being physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight, 635,257 life skills badges were earned related to physical activity, such as hiking, swimming, cycling, and personal fitness. The Cub Scouts Academic and Sports Program was developed to supplement the normal requirements and reinforce physical fitness.
We also had over 1 million Scouts attend our high-adventure camps in New Mexico, Minnesota, and Florida, as well as our day and summer camps. Some of the projects our campers worked on include restoring trails; clearing terrain for trails; constructing switchbacks, retention bars, and several other erosion controls; and removing invasive species.
Workplace Preparedness and Innovation
We have conducted student career interest surveys since the 1970s to help companies, businesses, or organizations provide young men and women a hands-on job experience that could enhance financial success, career preparation, and college endorsement.
Scouting has always encouraged a balanced mix of academics and sports along with active participation from parents. In all of our programs, more than half of the 125 life skills badges are related to science, technology, engineering, and math, including inventing and geocaching. We worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to design the Inventing merit badge, which encourages Scouts to gain an understanding of the importance of inventive thinking and the value of creativity in their service to society. We also introduced the Geocaching merit badge, for which Scouts learn how the principles of Leave No Trace apply and how GPS technology works.
We are working with ExxonMobil Corporation and NASA to develop programs that encourage active interest by young people in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The BSA STEM/NOVA program is designed to bring a Scouting focus to skills that are relevant and needed in our competitive world.
100 Years in Review, 1910–2010
Total youth served–117,004,329
Total number of life skills badges awarded–117,649,303
Total adult volunteers–34,464,261
The Next 100 Years
Scouting brings families and communities together to prepare America’s young people to live with character and integrity while at work and play. Ethical decision making is one of the lessons taught by Scouting through the Scout Oath and Law that will help carry us into Scouting’s next century. The Boy Scouts of America is where young people can learn what those values mean, commit them to memory, and—more important—put them into practice.
Robert J. Mazzuca
Chief Scout Executive
Tico Perez
National Commissioner
Rex Tillerson
President
Relax around camp by building a comfortable chair. It’s easy if you have the pioneering skills.
“Don’t go far,” Frank Simon’s mom called as Frank and his three friends set out to ski the backcountry from a lodge at Paradise Inn, Wash. It was a sunny day, but the temperature on the lower slopes of Mount Rainier wouldn’t climb above freezing.
REWARMING NO-NOS