| The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently recommended canceling all gatherings of 10 or more people. As that maximum will apply to most Scouting units, we are strongly recommending that in-person unit activities be suspended. We are investigating resources to facilitate distance learning and collaboration. The ultimate decision lies with your unit committee, but we encourage you to model good citizenship and public health in your decisions. National Capital Area Council is committed to keeping our Scouting families safe and modeling Citizenship in our Community. To that end, the Marriott Scout Service Center will be closed to the public until further notice. Our office may be shut, but we are not closed for business! All staff will be working remotely. If you need assistance from your District Executive or other team member, please contact them via email or cell phone. Staff contact information is located at https://www.ncacbsa.org/staff. To support units in their fundraising efforts, the Camp Card sale will be extended through June 15. Please contact Barb Perez for more information. If you have not yet received your camp cards, your District Executive will contact you to arrange delivery. It is very important to the continuation of our units and Council program to ensure the success of this fundraising event. Life Scouts and others working on awards with an age or time deadline should contact their District Executive with questions. Many requirements for these awards can be completed virtually. We are currently working with BSA to secure guidance on extensions and other challenges caused by this unprecedented public health event. Watch the NCAC Facebook page or https://www.ncacbsa.org/covid for updates. If you have an emergency or a youth protection issue, please contact Deputy Scout Executive Mario Perez immediately. He can be reached at 915-491-4473. For all other issues, you are encouraged to call MSSC at 301-530-9360 and leave a message. We will have limited staff coverage but will do our best to return your call within 48 hours.As we work together to get through this challenge, it is important to remember the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Let’s do all we can to support each other and help those who need our assistance most. As we work together to get through this challenge, it is important to remember the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Let’s do all we can to support each other and help those who need our assistance most. |
Archives for March 2020
Register for the Outdoor Ethics Leave No Trace Trainer Course!
What is the purpose of this class?
The Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Varsity Scout, Venturing, and Sea Scout programs all include outdoor stewardship, care for the environment, and Leave No Trace as part of their programs. This course is offered to train adults as Leave No Trace Trainers and youth aged 14+ to serve their units as Outdoor Ethics Guides. Every Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Varsity Scout, Venturing, and Sea Scout unit should have at least one individual fully trained in Leave No Trace.
We recommend that youth complete this course before serving as in the troop Outdoor Ethics Guide position.
Who should attend?
Venturers, Sea Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Scouts BSA aged 14+; adult Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Varsity, Venturing, and Sea Scout leaders; and District and Council leaders and trainers.
What will I learn?
This course is designed to enhance your understanding of Leave No Trace practices and outdoor ethics, and to increase your level of expertise and confidence in teaching Leave No Trace skills. This class is both active and highly interactive. You will be introduced to concepts and methods that will advance your knowledge of Leave No Trace issues in both developed and high adventure environments, expand your repertoire of low-impact skills, and increase your effectiveness in teaching these important skills to others. You will be qualified to lead a unit in completing the last requirement for the BSA Outdoor Ethics Awareness award and the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness award for Cubs.
On completion of this course, participants will be registered as Leave No Trace Trainers with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and with the BSA. Students will receive Leave No Trace teaching materials, a certificate of course completion, a Leave No Trace Trainer lapel pin and patch, and a BSA Leave No Trace Trainer card.
This course is instructed by nationally designated Leave No Trace Master Educators and Trainers. Attendance for the entire duration of the training is required.
(Campsite location, equipment list, and other course details will be emailed to participants a few weeks prior to the course. Each participant will have an assignment to prepare for the training.) Please remember this course is taught entirely in the outdoors and we will camp out Saturday evening.
To register for March 28-29, 2020 at Camp Snyder visit https://scoutingevent.com/082-NV1, for April 18-19, 2020 at Izaak Walton League in Gaithersburg please visit https://scoutingevent.com/082-MD1# or June 6-7, 2020 in Southern Maryland visit https://scoutingevent.com/082-SMD.
Troop 1547 Visits Northern Virginia Resource Center to Learn About the Deaf Community
Troop 1547 in the Sully District recently visited the Northern Virginia Resource Center (NVRC) for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons to work on the Disabilities Awareness merit badge and learn more about the deaf community.
The NVRC offered up its Fairfax, VA, office for a weekly Troop meeting, where NVRC employees gave a presentation to 36 Scouts on the deaf community. The presentation was given verbally, visually, and with sign language. The Scouts learned about how humans hear, types of hearing loss, and technology deaf and hard of hearing individuals can use for communication. After the presentation, the Troop worked on requirements and played a game.
NVRC serves eight counties with its mission to empower deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their families through education, advocacy and community involvement. Troop 1547 is very appreciative to NVRC for helping with the merit badge and opening up their offices to the Troop.
Help Celebrate NCAC Camping Centennial at Camp Snyder’s Work Days for All
Celebrate 100 years of NCAC summer camping by helping Camp Snyder get ready for the summer! Earn service hours and a free Camping Centennial patch for working on projects.
Open to all Scouts, Cubs through Venturers, and Families. Projects for all skill levels, which may include building and installing bird houses, splitting and stacking logs, staining and painting, digging and installing sign posts, assembling traffic barriers.
Be sure to bring work gloves, lunch, water, sunscreen and insect repellant. Check for ticks when departing. And, wear old clothing that can get dirty or stained with paint. No scout uniforms and no open toed shoes or sandals. Check In/Out at the Admin Building at the Camp Entrance.
Join us on Saturday, April 4th and/or Sunday, May 17th, from 9am to 4 pm. Come for the day or just part of the day!
Free registration at https://scoutingevent.com/082-35883
See you on April 4th and/or May 17th!
Scouts From Across the Country Deliver the 2019 Report to the Nation Highlighting Scouting’s Unparalleled Service to Youth and Communities
IRVING, Texas, March 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — This week, 13 youth delegates from across the United States will represent the Boy Scouts of America in Washington, D.C., to present the organization’s annual Report to the Nation to top U.S. officials. The report, designated in the BSA’s congressional charter, details the impact millions of Scouts and Scouting volunteers have made throughout 2019.
“The accomplishments and milestones achieved in 2019 reinforce the important role that Scouting plays in the lives of young people and our communities,” said Roger C. Mosby, President and CEO of the Boy Scouts of America. “From standing up to bullying to recovering hundreds of acres of wilderness after the Ute Park Fire, this past year saw millions of young people join together to improve our communities, through actions big and small. I am both inspired and optimistic about what that means for the future of the organization and, more importantly, for our nation.”
Being selected as a Report to the Nationdelegate from among approximately 2.1 million youth members is an honor for BSA youth members. The delegates were selected due to their outstanding representation of the values BSA strives to instill in our nation’s young people. Each delegate represents their communities, as well as more than 130 million youth members who have been part of the BSA and the millions who will follow. The 2019 delegation includes:
- Zachary Bryant; Atlanta, Georgia
- Hannah Carter; Santa Ana, California
- Maya Chimal; Kennewick, Washington
- Isabella Tunney; St. Paul, Minnesota
- Bryan Fencl Jr.; San Diego, California
- Laura Sun; San Jose, California
- Keerthin Karthikeyan; Tupelo, Mississippi
- Terry Hendriex; Peoria, Illinois
- David Taylor; Florence, South Carolina
- Jaden Jenkins; Enid, Oklahoma
- Pamela Petterchak; St. Louis, Missouri
- Gisselle Lugo; Massapequa, New York
- Zachary Schonfeld; Bethesda, Maryland
The delegation will deliver the annual report to key members of U.S. federal government leadership. To keep track of the Report to the Nation delegates during their time in Washington, D.C., watch for daily blog posts on Bryan on Scoutingand follow Scouting magazine on Facebook and Twitter. You can also view photos updated daily on BSA’s Flickr page. The complete Report to the Nation is available online at ScoutingNewsroom.org. Highlights from the report include:
- More than 150,000 young women joined Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA by the end of 2019.
- Scouts provided more than 13.2 million hours of service to their communities at a value of more than $335 million (based on a national volunteer-hour value of $25.43).
- A record 61,353 Scouts earned the Eagle Scout Award, beating the 2012 record. Earning the Eagle Scout rank requires the completion of an extensive service project, which resulted in more than $218 million in community service.
- Nearly 900,000 Scouts attended BSA high-adventure camps in West Virginia, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Florida, as well as thousands of Scout day and summer camps.
- In all, Scouts across all programs camped a total of more than 5 million nights during 2019.
- Scouts earned more than 1.7 million merit badges in 138 different subjects.
- The co-ed Exploring program celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2019, marking decades of helping young people explore future careers, from law enforcement to healthcare, teaching to STEM.
- For the first time in more than 50 years, the World Scout Jamboree was held in North America, where more than 40,000 attendees from more than 150 nations gathered at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.
- The iconic Philmont Scout Ranch, which suffered extensive damage from the Ute Park Fire, reopened in 2019 thanks to more than 71,000 hours of service provided by hundreds of Scouts, Venturers, and volunteers. Soon after, the National High-Adventure Base welcomed more than 24,000 campers, making it Philmont’slargest summer ever.
The BSA is proud to be a part of preparing our young people for life and for leadership, and the organization looks forward to helping shape tomorrow’s leaders for many years to come.
About the Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of more than 2.1 million youth members between the ages of 5 and 21 and approximately 800,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.Scouting.org.
SOURCE The Boy Scouts of America
2020 D.C. United Scout Day
Attention NCAC Scouts, Scouters and families, are you ready for an awesome and exciting experience with D.C. United? Then join us on March 7th for the 2020 D.C. United Scout Day as we takes on Inter Miami!!
Each Scout with the purchase of a ticket will receive a Scout Patch from D.C. United. And the first 100 Scouts will receive an exclusive invite to the Scout Clinic on March 20th at Audi Field to participate in drills and meet D.C. United Players and Coaches! Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity!
To register please visit: https://fevo.me/dcuscouts
For additional questions please contact Tristan Atterbury from D.C. United at (202) 655-2854.