We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Washington DC

Hiking the DC STEM Trek

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Eight Cubs (including 3 dual-enrolled in STEM Scouts) pose before the Washington Monument during their DC STEM Trek adventure.

Last weekend, our group of 8 Cub Scouts, including 3 Cub and STEM Scouts, completed the “Cub Scout portion” of the DC STEM Trek. We hiked all 14 stops from the Smithsonian Metro to the Boy Scout Memorial.

Our Scouts had a great time! They came prepared, answered every Cub Scout and On-site question, learned a lot about how STEM helped in the creation of Washington DC and enjoyed the time spent together.

Olivia, Nehemiah and David are in STEM Scouts Lab 605 together! Lab 605 is sponsored by the Burke Centre Conservancy and holds hybrid meetings.
Nehemiah and his dad Ty join STEM Scouts Lab 605 via ZOOM every Monday from Florida. They made a special trip to DC just to join this DC STEM Trek with their Lab friends!

While we are local Cub Scout pack from Ashburn, VA, we did have one STEM Scout from our Lab, fly from Florida to DC just to join our hike!

Editor’s note: The DC STEM Trek was designed by GTroop 1853 to encourage families to explore the Nation’s capital from a STEM perspective! To see the Trek Guide, visit www.ncacbsa.org/stem

Troop 98 Scout’s Eagle Service Project Featured by Several Local News Outlets

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Boy Scout Patrick Donnelly’s Eagle Scout community service project has attracted the attention of his neighborhood through local support and news coverage.

Patrick’s Eagle Scout project will bring 10 new Little Free Libraries across the neighborhoods of Ward 4 of Washington, D.C. bringing more books to the neighborhood beyond the one public library.

Patrick is a Life Scout in Troop 98, the Troop is chartered by at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Two weekends of work in January by scouts, scouters, and neighbors made quick work of the cutting, building, painting, and finishing of the buildings. Installation of the libraries will take place in the coming weeks and months.

The motivation for Patrick’s project was to help improve literacy in his community by making more books available and easy to access. His project has also received support from the community, through a GoFundMe campaign, a $500 grant from Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B, Annie’s Ace Hardware in Brookland, Galliher and Huguely in Takoma, and WT Construction in Manor Park.

Patrick’s work has also captured other local news coverage. The DC Line a local news organization profiled Patrick’s project in the story “Boy Scout prepares to seed Ward 4 neighborhoods with free book exchanges.” The DC Line story was highlighted in the Washington City Paper‘s “District Line Daily” .

Patrick was also interviewed about his project during the evening Fox 5 TV newscast on January 10, 2019.

Troop 544 Honors Five Eagle Scouts

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Scouts from left to right: Campbell James Wilson, Elmer Douglass Ellis, Jr., Columbus Jared Giles, James Omar Dorman, and Ian Groom

At the end of July, Troop 544, chartered by Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C., hosted an Eagle Court of Honor to jointly recognize the accomplishments of five of their Scouts who had recently completed the journey to earning the rank of Eagle Scout.

“Troop 544 is honored to recognize five distinguished Scouts who have recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout,” said Robert Simpson, Scoutmaster of Troop 544. “Their accomplishments highlight Troop 544’s proud lineage of Eagle Scouts which now stands at 49. As one of the first African American Boy Scout Troops in the country, with over 86 years in Scouting at Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ, we are proud to celebrate this historic event.”

Columbus “Jared” Giles became an Eagle Scout in February 2016, with Bronze, Gold, and Silver Eagle Palms, and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. He recently graduated from Blyth-Templeton Academy in Washington, D.C. and this fall began his studies to become a clinical psychologist.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Jared planned, designed, and supervised the construction of three weather stations, all of which were donated to Stoddert Elementary School in D.C.

Campbell Wilson became an Eagle Scout in August 2016, and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. Campbell currently attends a college prep program at the Gow School in Buffalo, New York.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Campbell oversaw the building of a retaining wall to stem the erosion of the garden walls into Sligo Creek to benefit his neighborhood community garden.

Ian Hunter Michael Groom became an Eagle Scout in July 2017. He graduated with honors in June 2018 from St. John’s College High School (SJC) in Washington, D.C., and was inducted into the National Honor Society in September 2016. He is attending Hampton University on an academic and athletic scholarship.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Ian worked with the non-profit Sole4Souls and organized a shoe drive to collect 750 gently used pair of shoes, and then worked to transport the collected shoes to Sole4Souls central distribution center in Nashville, TN.

James “Omar” Dorman became an Eagle Scout in May 2018, and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. He graduated from Georgetown Day School and currently attends the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Omar planned a book drive for children in Africa, working with non-profit organization that supplies books to libraries and orphanages in Africa, he collected approximately 1,000 books from his neighborhood, school, and church.

Washington, DC District Celebrates Ten Years and Honors Three Scouters with District Award of Merit

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From left: William Hemsley, Rhonda Gray, Thomas Scofield

The Washington, DC, District is now 10 years old and still going strong! Back in June 2008, the National Capital Area Council made some changes to existing boundaries and created three new Districts, including the consolidation of the Horizon and Benjamin Banneker Districts into the new Washington, DC District. 10 years later, only the Washington, DC District remains unchanged.

DC Scouters celebrated the 10th birthday of our District at our annual Family Picnic and Awards Campfire on June 12 in Rock Creek Park, where Scouts and Scouters sang a rousing “Happy Birthday” — led by two 10-year-old girl Webelos Scouts!

As part of the celebration, the Washington, DC District presented the District Award of Merit — the top honor a District can award to Scouters for rendering service of an outstanding nature — to three excellent and deserving Scouters. Receiving of the District Award of Merit were:

  • Ms. Rhonda Gray, who currently serves as the District Vice Chair for Membership; and the Committee Chair for Pack & Troop 1650
  • Mr. William Hemsley, who currently serves as the District Vice Chair for Finance; and the Chartered Organization Representative for Pack, Troop, & Crew 343
  • Mr. Thomas Scofield, who currently serves as the District Vice Chair for Camping and Outdoor Program; the Scoutmaster Troop 380; and the Order of the Arrow, DC Chapter, Associate Adviser
Two Webelos Scouts from Pack 666 lead us in song!

You can view more photos from the event on the District website at familycampfire.Scoutingindc.org.

DC Scouts and Scouters should mark their calendars for this Scouting year’s District Camporees. The District Fall Camporee is October 19 – 21, 2018 at State Forest in Brandywine, MD, and the District Spring Camporee is April 26 – 28, 2019 at Kings Landing Park in Huntingtown, MD.

All District and Council events can be found on our online calendar at calendar.Scoutingindc.org.