We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

The Scouter Digest Staff

Ashburn Troop 997 Ups the Ante with Scouting for Food

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Last summer, Troop 997 Scouts came together to collect food in their neighborhoods to help restock the depleted shelves at the Dulles South Food Pantry. Forty Scouts, parents and siblings worked to collect nearly 1400 pounds of donated food and accrued 100 service hours across the Troop.

Seeking to help restock again after the Thanksgiving holiday, newly elected SPL Martin M. and his ASPLs Andy J. and Joe W. led Troop 997 in their own Scouting for Food effort, gathering over 2600 pounds of food last Sunday for the Dulles South Food Pantry, with Scouts and adults hanging door tags, collecting food, sorting and delivering. “It was great seeing both old faces again and new faces for the first time all working for a good cause, regardless of our unique circumstances”, said SPL Martin M.

Troop 997 has most recently been conducting Troop meetings via Zoom, but remains committed to a monthly, safe outdoor program. Recent activities include a hike to Sky Meadow, a day trip to the Sandy Spring Adventure Park, a day hike at Gettysburg, a better-late-than-never New Scout campout in rural Vermont and an Arrow of Light Invitational field day. Upcoming events include a December ten-miler along the Potomac River, and a ski/sled/tubing day trip in January. Troop 997 meets on Thursday nights, at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Ashburn when safety permits, and over Zoom when weather or health conditions require. Arrow of Light Scouts interested in more information or a Troop visit should contact Scoutmaster Terry Kolb at 703-624-0794 or tkolb118@gmail.com.

Weekly Pow Wow Webinars Week 5

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Join us for our last and final Pow Wow webinar, Duty to God on Monday, December 21 at 7:30 pm.

Learn how to organize a Religious Emblems program in your pack.

NCAC Cub Scout Leader Pow Wow is a supplemental, action-packed training event for adult Cub Scout Leaders and all other adults interested in learning more about the Boy Scouts’ Cub Scout program. In the Pow Wow Webinars you will learn new ideas and concepts that will enhance your ability to deliver and support a fun-filled, exciting program to Cub Scouts.

Webinars will include relevant topics for every Cub Scout position and are designed to help you make their Cub Scout programs more fun for the Cub Scouts … and for the leaders too!!!

This 45-60 minutes session is offer by Zoom©. Link to registration: https://ncacbsa-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErdeyqrzgvHdF0hesqVg2ArFDEibXEJ0iG

Week 3 of the Cub Scout Fall Funstravaganza – Community

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Even as we practice social distancing and head into a different holiday season than we are used to – Community is still an important part of Scouting.

Connecting with your Den or Pack over Zoom or following safety guidelines for small groups is a great way to keep on Scouting. Service projects in your local area can help to show your neighbors and friends that Scouting is still going strong!

Here are some adventure guides for the Community based adventures for all the ranks:
Lions – Animal Kingdom: https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/hNFtswn5X25WEw8c3h5P8npN
Tigers – Team Tiger: https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/z1z9nTbCAo3ALmLKeb3BXACt
Wolves – Council Fire: https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/nruKyYS2gSLJUQc2FhA6CgfM
Bears – Paws for Action: https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/zz4Df8VaHb6xDrxwDgiDQCiJ
Webelos – First Responder:
https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/TtHWmBW1QvyVNhw37YFhwrDk
Arrow of Lights – Building a Better World:
https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/TtHWmBW1QvyVNhw37YFhwrDk

Free Winter Leadership Seminar presented by NYLT Staff

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Sharpen your leadership skills this winter
Because our full NYLT Winter course has been postponed, youth staff will deliver two online seminars. These free 50-minute zoom webinars are not substitutes for NYLT but will help Scouts explore topics relevant to their development as leaders.

Winter Seminar #1: Grow Your Enthusiasm… and Retain Your Scouts!
Learn how to harness your Enthusiasm to keep your fellow Scouts engaged and involved. We will also share new tips and tricks to take advantage of the latest updates in zoom.

NYLT Staff will offer this live 50-minute webinar on
Monday, January 18th @ 5pm

 

Winter Seminar #2:

NYLT Staff will offer this live 50-minute webinar on
Tuesday, January 26th @ 5pm

  • Registration opening soon

University of Scouting Cub Welcome

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Welcome from the College of Cub Scouting. We’d like to explain a little bit about the nature and perspective of Cub College courses, because they are a little different than the supplemental training classes you might have taken at other training venues. Most such classes are presented from a mechanical perspective, in that its focus is to give you the immediate “how-to” practical knowledge necessary for running meaningful, successful, fun and exciting den and pack meetings and outings, while making the best and most efficient use of your time, talents, and energies.

The University of Scouting Cub College differs in that it has not a mechanical, but a philosophical perspective. To appreciate this philosophical perspective, think of the Cub College as akin to an experienced hiker taking periodic compass bearings in the woods. He might have all of the right gear in his pack, he might have acquired all of the knowledge needed to hike and camp in the woods, his walking techniques might be optimized to conserve energy, but none of that really matters if he is walking in the wrong direction.

In Cub College classes, we offer insight into the direction of your “travels” through the Cub Scout program. What are you as a Den Leader, a Cubmaster, or a Committee Member, trying to achieve in the Scouts in your charge? How can you understand your growing Scouts as they advance in rank, so you can meet their needs? How have others tailored their Cub programs to meet Scouting’s overall goals and objectives? How do you know when your program is succeeding, or when you need to adjust to make the Cub Scouting experience better and more meaningful? Answers to these questions – and many more – can be found here in the Cub College!

To view the full guide please visit https://bit.ly/uos2020

Scoutmaster’s Minute: Be A Reflector

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One of the easiest ways to share light with others is a reflector. We use reflectors in a larger variety of safety items, from bike reflectors to reflectors around the lights of cars, to the reflective material used in clothing to make a person more visible to others. Reflectors are passive light systems; they do not necessarily generate their own light, but they enhance the light from other sources. They take the light we emit and they share it back to us, often even brighter.

Sometimes , especially when things seem dark or dreary, we can be reflectors as well. We can recognize the energy, the effort, that someone else is making and to give that energy back to them, even brighter. To say “I see you and I appreciate you”, especially when someone is feeling less than appreciated or alone, or sad.

You might be familiar with the Sanskrit word Namaste’, which is sometimes translated to “The divine light in me bows to the divine light in you.” The practice of Namaste’ is meant to impart that every being has a divine energy; we are all children of the light.

For us, as Scouts, it is a perfect example of the twelfth point of our Scout Law: A Scout is Reverent. We can show our reverence by understanding and respecting the divine in everyone, and by being a reflector to help them see their own light when things get rough.

Namaste’ Scouts.