To help get service hours for rank advancement or just being stuck at home missing maps can help you! There are still lots of locations around the world that are not mapped. Using satellite imagery you can map structures and routes of travel for emergency services. Scouts visit https://www.missingmaps.org to learn more!
NCAC kicked off the 32nd annual Scouting for Food on November 2nd. The Safeway Foundation provided thousands of door tags for Scouts to distribute to homes throughout our Council last Saturday. Our Scouts will be returning this Saturday, November 9th to collect non-perishable food items that will nourish the area’s hungry.
Scouting for Food (#SFF) is one of the largest annual food drives in the DC metropolitan area. Last year Scouts collected one million pounds of food, and this year’s goal is to top that. Capital Area Food Bank and other local food banks will use these items to help with its distribution of 45 million pounds of food – equivalent to 37.5 million meals – to 478,100 people through a network of 500 partner agencies and direct service programs.
SFF is held every fall prior to Thanksgiving. Local food banks rely on it to stock their shelves for the upcoming holiday months, when food demands are the greatest.
Items in highest demand include:
Scouting for Food is co-sponsored by Capital Area Food Bank, the Safeway Foundation, and WUSA9.
Thousands of girls registered in Scouts BSA will be participating in 2019 summer camps. To help you find out all you need to know to ensure you are ready for Family Scouting in the outdoors, BSA will be offering a livestream webinar on Monday, February 25th at 7pm CST (that’s 8 pm for those of us in the DMV). Best practices from around the country will be shared, as well as Q&A time with a panel of BSA professionals from the Scouts BSA program team, Youth Protection, and Outdoor Programs. Anyone serving in camp leadership this summer is invited to attend. Mark your calendar and save this link to join the livestream broadcast.
For the first time this year, Goshen had two Family Camps – one during Memorial Day Weekend and one during Labor Day Weekend. The inaugural Memorial Day Family Camp had good turnout for the new event. It was a little stormy, but campers crammed in fun in the sunny mornings at Aquatics and Shooting Sports and then, when the storms came in the afternoon, tried their hand at crafts in Handicraft. The event was popular enough that Goshen is happy to announce it will be offering Memorial Day Family Camp again in 2019!
The traditional Labor Day Family Camp once again had great attendance this year and had the full range of activities. Families could have fun shooting rifles and BB’s, test their skills at archery, go swimming and boating, fly on the giant swing, and more. It was a little rainy on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the hike to the Swimming Hole, where families could hop in and float down the river. The sky was nice and clear the next day for the Viewing Rock Hike, which afforded those who went beautiful views. In addition to swimming and boating, Aquatics also offered tours of the lake on the pontoon boat.
The newest aspect of Family Camp during the Labor Day Weekend was the return of the Saturday evening Square Dance. Way back in the day, the Square Dance was a staple of Family Camp, but it gradually faded away as there was no one who knew how to call. Lucky for Goshen, one of the current summer camp staff members, Lauren Brown, knows how to call from her off-season job at an outdoor school. She led much of the camp in square dancing and line dancing at Forster Hall. Everyone had a fantastic time and we’re looking forward to adding the Square Dance back in as a regular event at Goshen’s Family Camps.
Family Camp closed off, as usual, with the Sunday evening campfire. Families, Troops, Packs, Staff, and Staff Alumni shared their favorite songs and skits before heading back to their campsites for bed.
Miss out on the fun? Want to come back again? Join us for Family Camping fun in 2019. Goshen Family Camps will be offered Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-27, 2019) and Labor Day Weekend (August 30-September 2, 2019). The cost is $20 per person. Bring your own tent, bring your own food, and Goshen supplies the program. All ages are welcome. Registration is already open! Learn more and sign up at www.gotogoshen.org/family-camp.
