|
100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America
|
By Diana Elbasha
Founded: 1910
By: William D. Boyce, an American newspaperman and entrepreneur. When Boyce was lost in London in 1909, he was assisted by a local man who declined a tip for his help, stating that he was doing his good turn as a “scout.” Boyce was impressed by the gesture and visited the London headquarters of the Boy Scout Association of the United Kingdom. Inspired, after his return to Washington, D.C., he created the Boy Scouts of America.
Mission: “To prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.” The focus is on outdoor activities and good citizenship.
Staff: 7,451 full-time equivalent employees at national headquarters, nearly 300 local Scout councils and the national supply group.
Volunteers: Nearly 1.2 million adult volunteers.
Youth served: 2,912,039 youth members as of December 2009. Scout programs are designed for boys ages 7 through 20.
Budget: BSA had an annual budget of $110 million at the end of 2008.
Anniversary celebration: The U.S. Mint is producing a BSA centennial commemorative coin.
Leader: Chief Scout Executive Robert Mazzuca.
Headquarters: Irving, Texas.
Contact: http://www.scouting.org, (972) 580-2000.
Notable Moments
1927 – Created the Interracial Service to promote scouting in African-American, Hispanic and Japanese communities.
1930 – Established Cub Scouts for boys as young as 8.
1960 – John F. Kennedy became the first former Scout to be elected president.
1982 – Established Tiger Cubs for 7-year-olds.
1988 – Removed gender restrictions on all adult leadership positions. Previously, while women had long served as Den mothers for Cub Scouts, they had been banned from serving in other positions, such as Scoutmaster.
1991 – Established Learning for Life, a separate organization, to coordinate school-based programs that focus on character, citizenship and life skills. It has no membership restrictions regarding gender, sexual orientation or taking an oath that includes a belief in God.
2000 – In a case that drew national attention, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the BSA can ban homosexuals from being Scout leaders.
Registered its 100 millionth youth member.
