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Submitted by Raju Shah:

The Boy Scouts of America celebrates Scout Sunday, which recognizes the contributions of young people and adults to Scouting. Many of the scouting virtues align with our Jain principles and there are even Jain Religious Awards the scouts can earn.

The Jain Religion is about 6 Million people worldwide, and the US Jain population is around 150K. There is one umbrella organization of Jains in North America – JAINA, and there are many temples and societies across North America. In the DC/Baltimore metro area there is one primary organization, and several other smaller / localized organizations. JAINA has a Scouting Committee, and a number of years ago they created the BSA Approved / Recognized Jain Religious Award.

The Jain Society of Metropolitan DC, an organization around 40 years old with about 500 families as members, and the bulk of them live in the DC/Baltimore Metropolitan area (a range from about an hour west of DC to about an hour north of Baltimore). The organization has a religious school (a Sunday School equivalent) with about 160 students meeting on a bi-weekly basis.

Below are our many  JAIN SOCIETY OF METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON (JSMW) Scouting members. Congratulations Scouts!

Aagam J. – Wolf – Pack 944 – Ellicott City, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Jiten T. – Webelos – Pack 1702 – Fulton, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Raj U. – Webelos – Pack 1450 – Rockville, MD – National Capital Area Council
Devika S. – AOL – Pack 1127 – McLean, VA – National Capital Area Council
Jayen T. – 2nd Class – Troop 540 – Fulton, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Anuva M. – 1st Class – Troop 1444G – Silver Spring, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Jainam S. – 1st Class – Troop 1130 – McLean, VA – National Capital Area Council
Lay S. – Star – Troop 874 – Ellicott City, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Maneet M. – Star – Troop 540 – Fulton, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Ajay M. – Life – Troop 1444 – Silver Spring, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Abhay M. – Eagle – Troop 1444 – Silver Spring, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Samyak J – Eagle – Troop 1998 – Frederick, MD – National Capital Area Council
Moksh S. – Eagle – Troop 1941 – Ashburn, VA – National Capital Area Council
Prasant U. – DL – Pack 1450 – Rockville, MD – National Capital Area Council
Jhalak M. – ASM – Troop 540 – Fulton, MD – Baltimore Area Council
Raju S. – ASM – Troop 1130 – McLean, VA – National Capital Area Council

JSMW has created an email list scouting_families@jainsocietydc.org for JSMW members who are also in Scouting so they can collaborate and stay connected (e.g., if you need help on Jain-friendly diets during camping.)

Feel free to reach out and ask for advice and join the community!

About the Author:
Raju Shah has been in the Scouting since elementary school (Baltimore Area Council), and is probably the first Jain Eagle Scout in the DC/Baltimore Metro area, and is among the first Jains that are Eagle Scouts. As a Jain pioneer in the Scouting program, he is now a proud father of 2 Scouts, and has remained active in Scouting in his new council (National Capital Area Council).

Dear Order of the Arrow Member:

Last year I had the honor of serving as the Lodge Chief of the Amangamek-Wipit Lodge, the largest Order of the Arrow Lodge in the nation, to serve and represent over four-thousand of my fellow Scouts and Scouters in NCAC. Through this experience and my time in the Order of the Arrow, I have gotten to meet many along the trail, including you. Our Scouting community needs us all to help build our endowment for future generations of youth!

One of my favorite stories to tell of my own journey along the trail—one that truly defines what it means to be in the world of Scouting—originates at our very own Goshen Scout Reservation. Not that long ago, I was sitting with all my friends in my Pack at Camp Ross. We were laughing, singing along to “Froggy,” chanting “Ross is Boss” at the top of our lungs, and having a fantastic time. Just along the ridge of the mountain came these giant, barreling purple clouds that threatened the camps that surrounded our Lake Merriweather. As those clouds grew closer to us, the winds picked up, and rain began to pelt our backs. The incredible Staff gathered all these crazy Cub Scouts in the dining hall, our new accommodations for the night. As the evening was coming to a close, the stories and skits and songs had dissipated from the room, the next question was “how do we sleep” came up. Without hesitation, those Camp Staffers ventured back into the storm to gather their own beds, blankets, pillows, and anything they could muster. In the end, we made it through the night, we woke up the next day and headed home having grown up a little.

Each time I recount that story, it continually inspires me. The young men and women that the Scouting program has developed were willing to give everything they had to seemingly random strangers, and those Scouts were bound together by the ties of brotherhood in Scouting—the pinnacle of the Scout Oath and Law, executed without hesitation, showing the incredible resiliency and dedication of Scouts.

But what strikes me, each time I look back on my time or listen to others describe their times in Scouting is that this story is not unique. Looking back on our journeys along the trail, it becomes wholly apparent that the most important thing that Scouting has provided each and every single one of us: a community.

Like almost every organization, this pandemic has shaken our community to the core. With every meeting, event, and class moving online, the continual question gets asked: “Why do I stay?”

For me, I stay for the immense opportunity to grow in a safe environment, where I can learn immeasurable skills that will apply to my everyday life. This organization has been a second home for me and millions of my friends. Years ago, when we were sitting around the fire at Camp Ross, gearing up for the Centennial Celebration of Scouting, we were made a promise that this family would build these children into young adults. The challenges we face, a pandemic exacerbated by bankruptcy, can only be overcome if we have local leaders to ensure the future of Scouting is still burning bright. At the end of the day, it is not about endowing tomorrow, but endowing the next century of Scouting and ensuring that the promise I had as a Cub Scout is still there for tomorrow.

I encourage you to visit www.ncacbsa.org to see all the fantastic opportunities we give the young people of the National Capital Area Council. To learn more about how you can ensure that our community of Scouts and Scouters will live on, give Jenna Welle (301-214-9113) or Forrest Horton (703-919-4636) a call soon!

Yours in Scouting,

William Gouker
2019-2020 Lodge Chief

Join us for an informative webinar on Planned Giving and Endowment and learn how you can help secure the future of Scouting. To register please sign up at: www.ncacbsa.org/plannedgivingseminar

Please join the NCAC Conservation Committee in applauding conservationist and dedicated scouter John Wiltenmuth of Mattaponi District for receiving the prestigious BSA Hornaday Gold Badge. The Gold Badge is awarded by the local council to an adult Scouter or Venturing leader who has demonstrated leadership and a commitment to the education of youth on a council or district level for significant conservation efforts for a period of at least three years. Fewer than 40 Scouters nationwide received this highly coveted award in 2020. Read below the nomination letter that outlines John’s exceptional conservation leadership and dedication to youth education.

John Wiltenmuth has been a continuing supporter and promoter of environmental education and conservation within the Mattaponi District and BSA for over thirteen years. In addition to promoting conservation opportunities for district units at Roundtable since 2013 as well as with the several units he continues to serve in as a volunteer, he has also served as staff for two National events – a Squad Leader for ArrowCorps 5 in 2008 and on the Environmental and Conservation staff of the 2010 National Jamboree. He has promoted the OA’s High Adventure program with the local chapter and in three of the past four summers, two Scouts from Mattaponi have participated in portage trail construction at Quetico Provincial Park (Northern Tier) and one each doing mountain bike trail construction at New River Gorge (adjacent to Summit Bechtel) and beach cleanup at Fort Jefferson in the Keys with OA Ocean Adventure.

He has been an advisor/consultant in over 30 local Eagle projects, many of which supported local conservation efforts at national, state, and local parks. Eagle Scout trail construction projects have included a relocated trail section at Caledon State Park, “Salamander Loop” trail constructed in support of Spotsylvania Greenways Initiative at Massaponax, several projects removing invasive ivy at local National Park Service sites, new trails, and maintenance of existing trails at Fredericksburg Chapter of Izaak Walton, and Order of the Arrow trail work with Fredericksburg Trail Alliance in the Quarry Trail system. He has fostered the involvement each year of many local troops and packs participation in “Park Day” service projects with the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield at local National Park Service sites. One particularly interesting Eagle project involved site preservation/interpretation of a Civil War field cemetery at the local Izaak Walton League.

The Mattaponi Order of the Arrow Chapter typically conducts spring and fall ordeals at the local Izaak Walton chapter where John has been instrumental in aligning the service work to meet the conservation needs there to include bat houses, solitary bee houses, bluebird houses, erosion control, and trail construction/improvement and maintenance.

As noted above, much of John’s efforts have aligned with environment/nature interpretation and instruction and trail construction/maintenance. He has developed a local network of organizations that support service and education for responsible outdoor recreation and protection and consistently provided opportunities for local Scouts to be involved with these groups. Among the groups he has worked with are Virginia Master Naturalists, National Park Service, Fredericksburg Parks and Recreation, Friends of The Wilderness Battlefield, Caledon and Widewater State Parks, Spotsylvania Greenways Initiative, Fredericksburg Trails Alliance, Izaak Walton League, Gari Melchers Home and Studio, Friends of the Rappahannock, Tri-County Soil and Water District, and Friends of Crows Nest. He is now working to bring these groups into closer communication and mutual support with the establishment of the Rappahannock Conservation Coalition.

John’s efforts have not been restricted to Scouting youth. As a volunteer interpreter he has had interactions with hundreds of youth and adults each year at the Motts Run Nature Center and as a guide for the monthly Woodland Walks at Gari Melchers Home and Studio in Stafford County. He has maintained his annual recertification credentials as a Virginia Master Naturalist and shares his knowledge on nature hikes with Scouts and other youth.

While not pertinent to Scouting youth, in his 25 years at the University of Mary Washington he led the design and construction of 10 LEED-certified projects, initiated environmental stewardship programs of student/staff behavior modification for water and power savings resulting in annual savings of over $250,000/yr., and stream restoration projects to improve water quality. With his leadership, the Fredericksburg Campus has been certified as a “Tree USA” campus and as an arboretum. He established the school’s Office of Sustainability and was an advocate for creating the President’s Council for Sustainability.

Program Term – January 1 to December 31, 2021

The Environmental Protection Agency, as part of a public awareness campaign to celebrate its first 50 years, has partnered with the Boy Scouts of America to create an award for members of troops, crews and ships. This new award will recognize youth who research and learn about the subjects of human health and the environment, as the EPA develops its vision for the next 50 years.

The objective of the EPA award is to combine a variety of disciplines to challenge and educate youth; introduce them to the breadth of the EPA’s involvement in environmental protection and conservation; and encourage them to research, investigate, experiment, demonstrate, survey, and study air pollution, water pollution, solid and hazardous waste, and ocean dumping.

Complete or already have completed* one merit badge from each category:

1. Animal Study (circle badge completed)
a. Animal Science
b. Bird Study
c. Insect Study
d. Mammal Study
e. Reptile and Amphibian Study

2. Outdoor Activity (circle badge completed)
a. Backpacking
b. Camping
c. Canoeing
d. Climbing
e. Fishing
f. Fly-Fishing
g. Gardening
h. Hiking
i. Kayaking
j. Scuba Diving
k. Whitewater
l. Wilderness Survival

3. Earth Science (circle badge completed)
a. Energy
b. Forestry
c. Geology
d. Nature
e. Oceanography
f. Plant Science
g. Soil and Water Conservation
h. Weather

4. Earn the Public Health merit badge.

5. During the 2021 calendar year, participate in an environmental/public health community service project as part of an approved Scouting program totaling at least 6 hours.

* Merit badges may be earned retroactively

Link to the application: https://i9peu1ikn3a16vg4e45rqi17-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/512-09821_EPAAward.pdf