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Determined Scout with Disabilities Earned His Eagle

Brandon Merrill held the door open for others walking into a restaurant. “Young Man, you must be an Eagle Scout,” an older gentleman said. Brandon proudly stated, “Yes sir. I am.” For Boy Scouts, becoming an Eagle is something to feel proud of. It takes time, effort, and dedication. But for Brandon, his accomplishment means even more. Brandon was born mostly blind and deaf, with short-term memory and Asperger’s Syndrome...

How A Merit Badge Counselor Shaped A Professor’s Career

He volunteered to spend several Saturday mornings with me hiking in the foothills behind my home. He taught me the names and uses of plants, and the animals that relied on those plants. His attention and expertise made nature and biology come alive for me in a way that few other subjects in school had ever achieved. All these blessings were opened to my view by a man whose name and face I can’t recall, but whose generosity will be forever reflected in my own willingness to serve...

INSPIRING STORIES

Why Two Cub Scouts Ran A Marathon

“Not all peer pressure is bad. If you have peers who are pushing you to go further in life and believe in your dreams. Man, you got it made!” The BSA discovered this after conducting research and learning that the most effective way to recruit a young man is from youth speaking to youth. They can engage a friend by asking a him to help plan activities or they can invite their friends to attend their court of honor ...

DUTY TO GOD

Caltholic Scouters Celebrate Priesthood Sunday: October 30, 2016

Priesthood Sunday, celebrated by Catholics nationwide on the last Sunday of October, is a special day to honor Priesthood in the United States. Catholic Scout packs, troops and Venture crews are encouraged to make a special effort to involve the youth in programs of making appreciation cards to be presented after Mass on this day or at an event planned in your parish ...

BUILDING YOUTH

How is a young man's mind like a mailbox?

Ralph Voelker uses a mailbox as a metaphor for a child’s mind. That mailbox, he says, “is closed a lot. We try to deliver things like character, citizenship, service to others, faith, physical fitness, and loyalty, but the delivery just won’t go in. So a good Scouting leader has meetings, activities and outdoor programs so that there will be times that that mailbox opens, or that child’s mind opens, and they can deliver that mail.” ...