We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Articles

EMT Crew Expands Scouting in Damascus

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Crew 713, sponsored by the Damascus Volunteer Fire Department, was chartered in January 2018 and is set to make a difference for the lives of others and Scouts! This Crew is focused on learning the skills of Emergency Medical Technicians and hopes to soon staff all sorts of events within Seneca District as First-Aiders. Led by Advisor Tricia Taylor and Committee Chair Jonathan Bjorson, both EMTs with DVFD, this crew has already had CPR training and is working on First Aid skills, providing a unique opportunity to explore careers in Fire/EMS in the Upper Montgomery County area. The Crew invites you to come out to their next event: a visit to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, MD followed by a hike on July 15, 2018. Contact matt_beyers@yahoo.com for further information.

Team at Camp Howard M. Wall Achieves Full Accreditation Award for the 2018 Season

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We are pleased to announce that Camp Howard M. Wall has achieved full accreditation for 2018. The purpose of the Boy Scouts of America’s National Camp Accreditation Program (NCAP) is to help councils elevate camps to new levels of excellence in delivering Scouting’s promise to youth. Councils will engage in a rigorous review of camps and properties, continuous improvement, and correction or elimination of substandard practices.Only camps that successfully complete all five aspects of the NCAP are BSA accredited camps.

Congratulations, team. Well done.

Chain Bridge District Day Camp Hosts Over 170 Campers

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The annual Chain Bridge Cub Scout Day Camp was held at the LDS Arlington Ward during the week of June 25 – June 29 this year. We had over 170 Cub Scouts attend the day camp to compete and participate in amazing activities including Scout Skills taught by members of Ship 1942, Shooting Sports instructed by members of Troop 350, Crafts and Games taught and instructed by Boy Scouts from various Troops across Chain Bridge, and numerous more fun activities. Our Cub Scout Day Camp was lucky enough to be able to acquire a ROCK WALL for a day where the participants at camp were able to compete in a race to see who could get to the top first!

Scouts who came to day camp this year were able to earn rank specific Shooting Sports patches, learn cool and useful Boy Scout knots, make interesting crafts to take home, develop new friends and great memories, but most importantly, our Scouts who came to camp had FUN!

All of this would not have been possible without the help of our amazing volunteers who dedicated their time and effort to make this camp fun and exciting for our campers. A HUGE shout out to our Camp Director, Erin Freeman, who has been on the day camp senior staff for over 10 years, and Tony Baker, our Program Director, who spent all his time out in the field helping our program areas function, and the rest of our staff who spent their time helping our Cubs learn through having fun!

We are currently in the process of beginning preparations for our day camp next year. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or helpful advice, please do not hesitate to reach out and let us know! We can’t put on great programs like this without the help of all of our families and volunteers like yourself!

Vietnamese Scouts Celebrate Culture & Scouting @ Camp Snyder

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This summer, Thẳng Tiến returned to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area for the first time in 20 years, and Camp William H. Snyder was thrilled to be the host site for the largest gathering of Vietnamese Scouts in the nation. For 7 days from June 28th to July 4th, Vietnamese Scouts from around the globe for a week of action-packed adventure and fellowship, This year’s theme was “Tighten our Bond & Set New Record”.

Join Us for a National Day of Service

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Can we Scout You In for a National Day of Service on the National Mall?

Through a partnership with our great friends at The Trust for the National Mall and the National Park Service, the Boy Scouts of America have scheduled September 22nd as a National Day of Service right here in our nation’s capital. To register, please visit https://scoutingevent.com/082-ServiceProjectMall2018.

For each Youth and Adult, a special Council Shoulder patch is being secured to thank each registered participant for their dedication to this project, benefiting our National Mall.

As the days grow closer, the National Park Service will be confirming the exact meeting location and a list of projects. Projects that may be undertaken include painting posts and chains, painting park benches, landscaping work, and/or debris removal.

Participants are encouraged to please consider taking the Metro system down to the National Mall to prevent having to find parking in the area.

To best manage this project, there will be two groups of volunteers with the first starting at 8:30 am and the second group taking over after lunch at 12:30 pm.

Proposed Schedule:

Group 1 – 200 Total (8:30am-12:30pm; includes lunch)

  • 8:30 am Group 1 arrives at central/meeting location and checks-in (Lockkeeper’s House)
  • 9:00 am Introductions, walk through activities, instructions, and itinerary for the day presented by the National Park Service and Boy Scouts of America staff.
  • 9:30am Volunteer Service Begins; divides into smaller teams and travel to specific sites. 4-6 groups of 25-50 scouts.
  • 11:30am Group 1 concludes volunteer activity and reconvenes at central meeting location. Ranger talk/info about National Mall. Closing.

LUNCH FOR BOTH GROUPS

Group 2 – 200 Total (11:30-3:30pm; includes lunch)

  • 12:30pm Introductions, walk through activities, instructions, and itinerary for the day presented by the National Park Service and Boy Scouts of America staff.
  • 1:00pm Volunteer Service Begins; divides into smaller teams and travel to specific sites. 4-6 groups of 25-50 scouts.
  • 3:00pm Group 2 concludes volunteer activity and reconvenes at central meeting location. Ranger talk/info about National Mall. Closing.

Remind Leaders to Complete YPT 2.0 Today

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Over the decades, the Boy Scouts of America has been a leader in developing training and policies designed to keep young people safe. Groundbreaking when they were developed, they soon became the standard used by other organizations for safeguarding youth. But when it comes to the safety of children, our goal is to continually improve. Sustained vigilance on youth protection is a central part of our culture.

Over the past two years, the BSA has worked with experts in the field of child abuse, child sexual abuse and maltreatment to develop new training and resources that will further strengthen our ability to protect youth. These changes include:

  • Fully updated and revised Youth Protection Training with the latest strategies for recognizing and preventing major forms of abuse.
  • Expanded youth protection content across all our communications channels will inform and engage our volunteers and parents.
  • Expanded ScoutsFirst Helpline to aid volunteers & families in addressing potentially dangerous situations.
  • The BSA also provides unlimited counseling and support for healing to anyone who has ever been abused in Scouting.
  • Youth protection training for youth members will be available in 2019.

In addition to updated training and resources, the BSA announced new policies to ensure compliance with mandatory training requirements. These policies have been in place in the NCAC for a number of years. These policies include:

  • As of January 1, 2018, no new leader can be registered without first completing youth protection training.
  • As of January 1, 2018, no council, regional or national leader will be allowed to renew their registration if they are not current on their youth protection training.
  • As of September 1, 2017, no unit may re-charter without all leaders being current on their youth protection training. Registrars no longer have the ability to approve charters without full compliance.

By October 1, 2018, all new and currently registered leaders will be required to complete the updated training. The enhanced and updated content will allow leaders and councils to comply with all current legal requirements. While this may be inconvenient for some, it reflects the BSA’s commitment to the safety of all youth.

For camps this summer across the BSA, adults accompanying units on activities who are present at the activity for 72 hours or more, must be registered and take Youth Protection Training. The 72 hours need not be consecutive. If your unit desires to set a stricter policy (e.g. ALL adults going to camp must be registered and have current YPT), that is certainly permitted.

To learn more, discover additional resources, or take the training now, please visit

www.Scouting.org/youthprotection.

Or stop by the Marriott Scout Service Center to use one of our training stations. Be on the lookout for additional live trainings this summer and fall.