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The Boy Scouts of America Celebrates 100th Anniversary – Presents Report to the State of Colorado
Youth Delegates Highlight Community Service, Past Year’s Accomplishments, and Future Goals
Denver — On MONDAY February 8, 2010, the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), a delegation of young men and women embodying the goals of Scouting and exemplifying the Scout Oath and Law will present the BSA’s 2009 achievements and 2010 goals during its Report to the State at the Colorado State Capitol hosted by Speaker of the House Terrance D. Carroll.
( Speaker Carroll was an Eagle Scout. As Becky Bye wrote in the Denver Bar Association’s The Docket: “After high school, he spent five summers working at the High Adventure Camp — a Boy Scout camp in the Blue Mountains of Virginia and “the Boy Scout version of extreme camping.” By his final summer there, he was promoted to program director. Among his duties, Carroll taught campers lumberjack skills, which included throwing axes and building houses. “) – KR
The Report will be in given in the Old Supreme Court at 9 a.m. followed by a Tribute to the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th Anniversary in the House Chambers at 10 a.m.
Delegates from across the state will then have an opportunity to tour the capitol and then join together for a fellowship luncheon at the Colorado History Museum at 12 p.m.
Through the efforts of 26,474 dedicated volunteers and the support of over 2,210 community and religious organizations in every neighborhood the state of Colorado has been positively impacted. In 2009, the Boy Scouts of America served more than 108,342 young people with its program of citizenship, mental and physical fitness, and character development.
“For 100 years, the mission of the Boy Scouts of America has been to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by teaching the values of the Scout Oath and Law,” said John Cabeza, Scout Executive for the Denver Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. “As the specific needs of Colorado youth have changed, the BSA has evolved to meet those needs while remaining a positive influence. Today, one of every two American males has had an affiliation with the Scouting program, and their combined contributions continue to significantly benefit our state and nation.”
In 2009, the BSA in Colorado met the emerging needs of society with youth programs and services, including Good Turn for America, a national service initiative that addresses critical areas of need in society; and increased emphasis on the overall well-being of children through encouraging American youth to live an ongoing healthy lifestyle. Over thousands of Scouts throughout the State provided projects in their communities including food, clothing and toy drives, clean-up of local schools, serving food to senior citizens and shelters, visiting nursing homes and collecting coats for Denver Homeless. In addition, 1,014 youth achieved Eagle Scout – the highest rank in the Boy Scouts. Together this class of Eagle Scouts facilitated over 141,090 hours of volunteer service and provided $2,857,073 in value to their communities through completion of their Eagle Scout projects over the past year.
“We use numbers and statistics to measure our success in delivering the Scouting program,” Cabeza said. “But behind the numbers, you will find young men and women learning leadership, developing character, and serving their communities with the caring guidance of countless volunteers and supporters. The BSA will continue to rise to the challenges of the 21st century and seek to help ordinary young people become extraordinary adults. We do this by recruiting quality leaders, generating adequate funding for our programs, inviting youth from all backgrounds to join, and offering fun and relevant programs that are founded on strong values.”
Besides presenting the official report at the Colorado Capitol, there will also be several engagement programs throughout 2010 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary. Serving over 108,342 young people between 7 and 20 years of age with 6 councils throughout the state of Colorado, the Boy Scouts of America is one of the nation’s foremost youth programs of character development and values-based leadership training. If you would like more information about the programs available through the Denver Boy Scouts, please contact www.denverboyscouts.org
About the Boy Scouts of America
Serving more than 4.6 million youth between the ages of 7 and 20, with more than 300 councils throughout the United States and its territories, the BSA is the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. The Scouting movement is comprised of 1.2 million volunteers, whose dedication of time and resources has enabled the BSA to remain the nation’s leading youth-service organization. For more information on the BSA, please visit www.Scouting.org.
More information about 100 Years of Scouting can be found at www.Scouting.org/100years.
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