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Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Aquia

Aquia District Cub Scout Day Camp a Huge STEM Success!

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Is it too early to start inspiring our future generation of scientists? Heck No! That’s what 50 Cub Scouts, boys and girls ranging in age from 6 – 10, discovered while having “Fun with a Purpose” exploring becoming scientists at the STEM-focused Aquia District Cub Scout Day Camp held at Pratt Park in Fredericksburg, from June 28 – July 2. The Founder of Scouting, Lord Baden-Powell said: “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.” And did this ever prove to be true – Everyone left already excited about coming back for next year’s Camp!

Director, Kristy Freeman, and Program Director, Jenna Cooper, led their all-volunteer Camp Staff of adults from Pack and Troop 26 and older Scouts from Troops 26 and 907, who kept these budding scientists busy all week with a variety of activities setup and run by the hard-working Camp Staff, including some pretty cool nature hikes. These included fun with model rockets, elephant toothpaste, bubble snakes, rock testing, lava lamps, leather work, robot hands, tie dye, marbles, exploding sticks, moon dough, slime, ooblick, learning about planets, yo-yos, puzzles and codes, as well as shooting archery, BB guns, and sling shots!

Scouts got to meet two of Stafford’s finest K9’s and their handlers, while Stafford Fire & Rescue stopped by to cool everyone down. Scouts also enjoyed singing some seriously silly songs with great gusto and much laughter!

All the Scouts grew from the experience and found it fun trying new things, working as a team and meeting new friends. They also learned about flexibility when weather threatened the fun – but the Staff made sure it was about K.I.S.M.I.F. (Keeping it Safe, Making it Fun!)

Kristy and Jenna had an amazing adult Camp Staff: Susan Wood, Hallie Graves, Joe Fijalkowski, Kari Hammond, Xander Korb, and Jennifer Bell. But the Staffers who truly made it the best week ever were teen Scouts BSA volunteers, Michael, Maddie, Jackson, and Nathan (aka Ranger Rick). Everyone is already looking forward to next summer!

Aquia and Mattaponi Scouts Team Up to Retire Old Glory with Proper Respect and Honors

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Troop 1889 of Aquia District, in conjunction with Troop 1422 of Mattaponi District, participated in a Flag Retirement ceremony hosted by the American Legion Post 320 in Spotsylvania County. Troop 1889 collected about 85 tattered U.S. Flags that needed to be properly retired with due respect and honors. These were added to the several hundred that the American Legion already had gathered from the community.

On August 15, 2020, Troop 1889 Scouts (Jackson, Jake, Bobby, Wesley, Tyler, and Daniel) and adult Scout Leaders, as well as three Scouts and the Scoutmaster from Troop 1422, reported to the American Legion at 10:00 AM to prepare the Flags and set them out on metal bars. At 2:00 PM, they all participated in the Flag Retirement Ceremony where over 350 flags were retired with dignity and honor while a bugler played taps. From the collection of worn U.S. Flags to the retirement ceremony, Scouts completed about 7 hours of community service while practicing social distancing.

The Founder of Scouting, Lord Robert Baden-Powell said: “The teaching of service is not merely a matter of teaching in theory, but the development of two distinct phases: the inculcation of the spirit of goodwill, and the provision of opportunity for its expression in practice. The teaching is mainly through example and … patriotic dedication of self to the service of [others], solely for the joy of doing it and without thought of material reward.” The Scouts of Troop 1889 and 1422 and their adult Scout Leaders clearly exemplified this kind of patriotic service in their honoring of U.S. Flags deserving of proper and respectful retirement.

A Second Aquia District Scouts BSA No-Contact Food Drive in August – Continuing to Serve Stafford Safely

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As summer drew to a close, Aquia District Scouts BSA focused their efforts on helping Stafford Community residents by holding a second No Contact Food Drive on August 22, 2020, due to the planning and leadership of Aquia District Scouter Laura Curran. Scouts and their families suspended their preparations for the school year for a moment and instead did their Good Turn by collecting 4,353 pounds of food to help replenish the dwindling supplies of local Stafford County pantries.

Like the Scouts BSA food drive service project in May, the goal was to support local pantries and keep Scouts, their families, pantry volunteers and donors all safe by maintaining safe physical distancing. Scouts were asked to help in whatever way they deemed appropriate for their family’s circumstances. When Scouts answered the call, they spread the word of the event virtually, shared flyers with neighbors and donned masks to collect donations from doorsteps and driveways. Some Scout units worked with their neighborhood homeowners’ associations to share information and created neighborhood collections points. The drop off point for residents who heard about the drive was operated with safety of all at the forefront.

Stafford pantries were grateful for the donations, as the need to help those affected by the pandemic continues. The pantries are expecting a prolonged demand due to corona-virus related job loss and furloughs and still need support to continue their fight against food insecurity. Donations of food via food drives are the main source of non-perishables for these food pantries.

This coming November, Aquia District Scouts BSA will be conducting “Scouting For Food,” a national food drive Scout BSA campaign. For this event held annually in November, Scouts “Do a Good Turn” to help Stafford County and Dumfries food pantries stock their shelves, not just for the holidays, but for the months beyond.

This year’s Scouting For Food may look a little different with the added emphasis on the safety of all participants. However, Aquia District Scouts BSA will continue to do their part to meet the needs of Stafford County, their efforts perpetuated by them living the Scout Oath for service to others by “Helping Other People At All times.”

Aquia OA Chapter Leaders Bring 2020 Virtual Flag Day to Life

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All of us have been living the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic with many of this year’s annual spring and summer Scouting events being canceled. But, as Baden-Powell once said: “A Scout goes about with a smile on and whistling. It cheers [them] and cheers other people, especially in times of danger, for [a Scout] keeps it up all the same.” A Scout is Cheerful! All Scouts live this part of the Scout Law; Order of the Arrow Arrowmen are specifically committed to “Cheerful Service” and promise to “… seek to preserve a Cheerful Spirit” (excerpted from the Order of the Arrow Obligation).

And so, in true Scouting Spirit, the Arrowmen of the Aquia Chapter of the Amangamek-Wipit Lodge 470 of the Order of the Arrow (OA) cheerfully pressed on, looking for ways to uphold the OA’s commitment to community service. The Fredericksburg Luminary is the Chapter’s biggest service event leading into the summer months, followed by the Flag Day Ceremony at Quantico National Cemetery. The Luminary was really beyond a creative solution, but the Aquia OA leadership were determined to put their heads together to figure out a way to offer a virtual alternative to the Flag Day event.

A typical American Flag retirement ceremony is mostly centered around disposal – putting Old Glory to flames in a way that honors those U.S. Ensigns whose service life has ended and are no longer fit for public display (e.g., ripped, torn, frayed, faded, etc.). As an alternative, Aquia OA Advisors, Lorraine Lince and Karen Purinton offered the challenge of a virtual Flag Day event to the Chapter Chief and his team. Chapter Chief David Grabber and his Vice Chiefs Josh Floersheim, Michael Holliday and Sean Nodurft seized the opportunity and moved out smartly. They recruited fellow Aquia OA Arrowmen and family members to help produce various segments for their Flag Day video.

Enthusiasm was running high! The Scouts immediately began to come up with ideas that would both honor our Nation’s Flag and offer instruction, demonstration, and education to fellow Scouting families. Every level of Scouting incorporates a Scout’s Duty to Country. The OA leaders’ goal was to make it so any individual Scout or Scouting Unit would be able to use the video as a resource. Parents could use this at home with their Scouts and other family members as well. Since the idea began the last week of May, they only had about two weeks to hit their video’s targeted release date of June 14th, Flag Day – this included production and editing. Very ambitious!

For the virtual event, the OA leadership wanted to offer all Scouts information about the history of the American Flag itself and give information about how U.S. Flag care fits into advancements – ranks, belt loops and merit badges. The Chapter Officers decided that the first order of business was to demonstrate opening (Flag raising) and closing (Flag lowering) ceremonies, complete with appropriate bugle calls. Other elements included how to correctly fold the Flag, display the Flag, and show how to properly retire a Flag in a ceremony honoring its service to our Nation and Citizens. The Scouts also included “fun Flag facts” highlighting important dates and lesser known facts about our national ensign.

The biggest challenge was doing this virtually. Obviously, due to the on-going COVID-19 constraints, the Aquia OA team couldn’t work in person or as a group, so the collaboration had to be done completely via group phone calls and video conferences. Another challenge was that everyone had different devices that took videos in different ways – a real challenge when editing; but the team pressed on undaunted. A Google Drive was set up so that each participant/contributor could upload a video or slide from home. The Aquia OA Advisors then took all submissions and put them together into one presentation. It was successfully uploaded to the Aquia and Aquia OA Facebook pages on the target date for Flag Day, June 14, 2020 and shared at this link: https://youtu.be/qX6BQCQiY1E.

All in all, it was a great learning experience for the Scouts. They did a great job coming together as a team, working towards their common goal and they did a great job executing and overcoming the challenges caused by the pandemic. We are proud of them!

Aquia District Scouts Serve Stafford County Residents with a Special No-Contact Food Drive

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The Call to Action: “Will you Do your Duty to help others?” This call went out to Aquia District Scouts BSA last month asking them to participate in a No Contact Food Drive held May 16, 2020.

The Answer: “We will Do our Best to Help Other People!” – that’s part of, and the heart of, the Scout Oath well-known by every BSA Scout.

The Results: Scouts and their family members across Stafford County answered the call and collected 5,706 lbs of food and over $2,500 was raised for several food pantries, by Scouts sharing the pantries’ electronic donation links with local churches that had requested that information be provided, as another avenue for community residents to help.

Scouts in Aquia District traditionally participate in Scouting For Food, a BSA national food drive held every November. Going door-to-door in neighborhoods and collecting in front of stores that grant BSA Scout units permission, Scouts work hard. Last November, Scouts collected 24,899 pounds of food for eight Stafford County pantries. In retrospect, that seemed like an easy feat in the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge: How to support local pantries and keep Scouts, their families, pantry volunteers and donors all safe?

Before the current crisis, pantries supported by the annual Scouting For Food food drive were regularly feeding anywhere between four to forty families per week depending on the pantry. Corona-virus related job loss and furloughs created a greater need and most Stafford County pantries have remained open on the front lines of the fight against food insecurity. However, as pantries face an increase in clients, they are experiencing a decrease in ways to garner donations of food. Donations of food via food drives are the main source of non-perishables for these food pantries.

Scout units are typically assigned neighborhoods to canvas during Scouting For Food and the publicity is Nation-wide and the event well-known. In a team effort, Scouts band together to deliver sticky notes requesting donations on the first weekend of November and collect food on the second weekend filling their trailers, trucks and vehicles with the generosity of Stafford residents.

However, the mid-year call to fill the pantries due to the impacts from the on-going pandemic required a new approach to get the word out to Stafford residents for this food drive and to gather food safely without physical contact. Aquia District Scouts were asked to participate to whatever extent they could manage that would honor their individual family’s rules for safely addressing risks associated with COVID-19. This ranged from Scouts sharing information about the items needed by the pantries via email and social media or by paper fliers asking neighbors and friends to bring their donations to one of two drop-off points on May 16, to sharing that information with their neighbors on their surrounding streets and then, on May 16, donning masks and gloves and picking up donations from doorsteps and bringing them to the drop off location. Drop off locations manned by Aquia District Scouts were carefully orchestrated to maintain distance between Scouts, pantry volunteers and community bringing in donations. Each station, from holding signs directing traffic to Scouts collecting bins filled with donations to other Scouts weighing those donations, were “self-contained” activities.

Stafford food pantries continue to meet the needs of the Stafford community every week. This No Contact Aquia District Scout BSA food drive showed what Scouts can do even during this tough time. Their efforts helped stock shelves that were quickly emptying. “On My Honor, I will Do my Best, to do my Duty to God and my Country…” is also part of the BSA Scout Oath. Our Scouts did their duty and we should all be proud of their meaningful service to our community.

The need continues as the community struggles with the fallout created by the current health crisis. As one of the pantry workers said: “We believe our Food Pantry is the most important part of the “Service” element of our ’Worship, Witness, Service’ Church mission statement. As the second chapter of James says, ‘Faith without works is dead’. Bless you and all our Scouts and parents for all that you do to help us!” Service remains a cornerstone of Scouting and Aquia District Scouts will pull together again this August to do another food drive.

Are you ready to help others too? To join BSA, go to www.beascout.org to find a BSA Scout unit near you – Cub Scouting serves families with children in Kindergarten through 5th Grade; Scouts BSA serves families with children ages 11-18. There are also BSA programs for families with older Youths, ages 14 – 21, including becoming Venturers, Explorers or Sea Scouts.

The mission of the BSA is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. The Aquia District is part of the National Capital Area Council (NCAC) of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The Aquia District includes Stafford County, Virginia, and Marine Corps Base Quantico. For more information on Scouting in the Fredericksburg area, including how to donate, join or volunteer, contact Tom Friedel, District Executive, at Tom.Friedel@Scouting.org or call Tom at 301-221-4286.