About Scouting

About The Scouting Program

Here are the basics about the Boy Scouts of America:

• Boy Scouts of America or BSA, also called Scouting/USA
• Founded on 8 February 1910, in Washington, DC, by Chicago publisher William Boyce
• Chartered by the US Congress in 1916 (the Girl Scouts of the USA are the only one other youth program with a Congressional Charter, granted in 1949)
• Headquarters in Irving, Texas (near Dallas)
• The BSA is the USA's only Scouting organization recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (many countries have several Scouting programs).
• The BSA is divided into about 300 local Councils.
• The BSA and its local Councils employ about 4000 full-time professional staff.
• The BSA is the second largest Scouting organization in the world (the largest is Indonesia).

Scouting is a GAME with a PURPOSE—to develop future leaders of:

• strong character
• good citizenship
• all-round fitness

The eight methods used by all good troops make Scouting unique:

• Scouting Ideals (Promise, Law, Motto, Slogan)
• Patrol System
• Advancement
• Outdoor Program
• Adult Role Models
• Leadership Development
• Personal Growth
• Scout Uniform

You can't get what Scouting offers anywhere but in Scouting!
It's more than fun—it's an Adventure!

Scouting's Bottom Line

What happens to a Scout? For every 100 boys who join Scouting, records indicate that:

- RARELY will one be brought before the juvenile court system

- 3 will become Eagle Scouts

- 17 will become future Scout volunteers

- 12 will have their first contact with a church

- 1 will enter the clergy

- 5 will earn their church award

- 18 will develop a hobby that will last through their adult life

- 8 will enter a vocation that was learned through the merit badge system

- 1 will use his Scouting skills to save his own life

- 1 will use his Scouting skills to save the life of another person

Scouting's alumni record is equally impressive. A recent nation-wide survey of high schools revealed the following information:

- 85% of student council presidents were Scouts
- 89% of senior class presidents were Scouts
- 80% of junior class presidents were Scouts
- 75% of school publication editors were Scouts
- 71% of football captains were Scouts

Scouts also account for:

- 64% of Air Force Academy graduates
- 68% of West Point graduates
- 70% of Annapolis graduates
- 72% of Rhodes Scholars
- 85% of F.B.I. agents
- 26 of the first 29 astronauts

Note: Since this was written the percentage of Eagle Scouts has climbed to nearly 4%. The Eagle Scout Service in 1997 announced that the figure was 3.89%.