Boy Scouts of America - Mount Baker Council Programs
Growth
We are dedicated to the mission of the Boy Scouts of America and believe deeply in our ability to instill the values of the Scout Oath and Law in the young people of Northwest Washington preparing them for a lifetime of making ethical and moral choices and giving unselfish service to others. Every action we take, every decision we make, is aimed to support and increase the number of young people we serve that they might benefit from our deeply held beliefs.
Safety
The safety of our Scouts and leaders is paramount. Young people need three things to develop:
- Wholesome, productive and challenging things to do
- Safe settings in which to do them
- The influence of trained adult volunteers of good character.
In each of our program levels, from Cub Scouting through Venturing, we seek to accomplish the same basic outcomes. The methods and programs will differ but the values remain constant.
The following describe how we hope to prepare young people for productive adulthood.
- Scouting programs and activities help to build healthy and resilient children, youth and families: Reinforces the values that parents teach in the home.
- Increases positive relationships between family members.
- Promotes healthy and effective parenting as parents serve as leaders and mentors.Improves physical and social development of children (and their adult leaders).
- Provides a safe and healthy environment for family interaction.
Scouting promotes education and provides job skills, leading to productive, independent adulthood:
- Increases employability and job readiness, especially Boy Scouting & VenturingPromotes literacy skills.
- Increases self confidence and the learning and testing of new skills Teaches or improves work behaviors (teamwork, accountability, goal attainment).
- Promotes ethical decision making and positive moral values.
Scouting develops character, promotes personal fitness and fosters good citizenship in the community:
- Promotes care and respect for the environment.Encourages patriotism and respect for traditional American values.
- Teaches youth to respect other people’s beliefs, personal rights and property.
- Helps youth develop empathy for people in need and a desire to provide a lifetime of unselfish community service.Provides recognition for positive behavior and accomplishment.
- Gives positive alternative activities, other than TV, video games, etc. Discourages destructive behaviors, including use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
- Actively teaches youth protection principles to adult leaders and makes age specific materials available to youth members.
Our three Primary Programs
Cub Scouting
This home and neighborhood centered program is for families with boys in grades 1 through 5. It teaches boys to strive to do their best, to work as a team and to develop positive values, attitudes and habits. Cub Scout activities are active and fun, involving the family and strengthening family bonds.
Boy Scouting
Boys in grades 6 through 10 learn to live by a high personal standard, to respect other people and to learn responsibility and leadership. Outdoor adventures help these young men learn self reliance and confidence and to set and achieve their goals. Scouts are also taught the value and satisfaction of community service.
Venturing and Exploring
Young men and women ages 14 through 20 learn to run their own programs with adults taking an advisory role. Hands-on experience guided by caring adults help these young adults learn about career fields as well as rugged outdoor adventure. Chartered partners include police and fire departments, churches, community and professional groups as well as experts in outdoor programs.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Rankings for the National BSA’s “Journey to Excellence”
The National Council BSA has established a means of quantifying the achievements of each of the 298 councils chartered to the Boy Scouts of America. This recognition system includes achievement in growth and retention, fiscal stewardship, the quality of our youth programs, training of adult volunteer leadership, youth advancement and recognition, board development and much more. These reports told us the overall score and explained the criteria details. The value is in understanding where a Scout Council is now and what a council can do to implement the right strategies based on their Mission, Vision and Strategic Plan - especially in areas they are seeking to improve between now and December 31, 2011.
Stack ranking of the BSA’s Northwest Councils:
Mount Baker Council - 1,500 points (Gold)
Seattle, WA - 1,225 points (Gold)
Eugene, OR - 1,175 Points (Silver)
Kennewick, WA - 1,050 points (Silver)
Portland, OR - 925 points (Bronze)
Spokane, WA - 900 points (Bronze)
Fairbanks, AK - 875 points (Bronze)
Central Point, OR - 850 points (Bronze)
Anchorage, AK - 750 points (Bronze)
Yakima, WA - 625 points
Tacoma, WA - 575 points
The items we have been emphasizing for some time now are the items being emphasized by the National BSA's Journey to Excellence program. This will continue to be an excellent vehicle for us to gage how we are doing on our big picture items, as well as how we are stacking up against our fellow Area 1 Scout Councils. I hope this spurs on the other Councils to start problem solving, and getting themselves positioned to survive and thrive and in Scouting’s second century of service to our communities.
Our biggest need remains the ability to expand into unserved and underserved neighborhoods and to recruit enough volunteer leaders who can be trained to deliver high quality Scouting programs to thousands of local youth.