By Kyle LoJacono
At the start of the new school year Girl Scout and Boy Scout organizations actively recruit new members at all levels of the programs.
The organizations take new scouts throughout the year, but make a push during the start of the school year.
Both organizations have been around for some time. Girl Scouts was founded in the United States in 1912, while Boys Scouts of America was established 100 years ago this year. Despite that age, the two groups are finding ways to stay as relevant as ever.
GIRL SCOUTS
Girl Scouts of the USA was founded by Juliette Gordon and her organization has grown to include 3.4 million girls and adults. Each year the Suncatchers Service Unit in East Pasco County celebrates the founder’s birthday, which is on Halloween.
“It’s one of the fun things we do each year,” said Michelle Barbour, the unit’s manager. “We also go camping trips, have dances and other fun trips. We also participate in the Dade City Christmas Parade each year.”
Suncatchers has 20 troops within it that are from mostly Wesley Chapel and San Antonio, but also extreme east Land O’ Lakes and west Zephyrhills. Barbour’s three girls — Deysha, Sadye and Lyric — are in the program. She was also a member of Girl Scouts as a child.
“It definitely gets them involved with things other than themselves,” Barbour said. “They volunteer at the Joshua House, the pregnancy centers and domestic violence shelters. It teaches them everything isn’t about them.”
The Suncatchers also collect books to donate to the Academy at the Farm in Dade City and participate in the Coastal Cleanup. Barbour said doing so helps the girls take ownership and builds pride in the area.
The service unit is going to the various area schools to let parents and children know more about the program and will also have an ice-cream social in October for the public to further explain what girl scouting is about. For more information about the unit or for the date of the event, call Barbour at (813) 215-3287 or e-mail her at .
Suncatchers are part of Girls Scouts of West Central Florida (GSWCF) that includes all service units in the Tampa Bay area including Pasco and Hillsborough counties. Susan Barnes, spokesperson for the organization, was also in the program as a child.
“As an Army brat, Girl Scouts helped me adjust to the places I’d move every three years or so,” Barnes said. “In addition to making friends, some of whom I’m still in contact with today, I believe being a part of Girl Scouts helped me discover the sense that I can do whatever I set out to. There are no barriers that I can’t overcome.”
Barnes also said Girl Scouts is reaching out to the growing Hispanic population in the area by increasing the number of staff members who can speak Spanish while looking at ways of embracing the culture with traditional programs.
For more information on GSWCF, visit www.gswcf.org or call (813) 281-4475.
BOY SCOUTS
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has three types of organizations: Cub Scouts for children in first to fifth grade, Boy Scouts for those 11 to 17 years old and Venture Crews for boys and young men ages 14 to 20.
It is the Cub Scout packs that do much of the recruiting of new members.
“Getting them into the program at a young age I think helps keep their interest in the program,” said Bryan Gifford, Cub Scout roundtable commissioner for the Allohak District covering east and central Pasco County. There are 30 BSA groups of all levels in the district.
The district is part of the Gulf Ridge Council, which is the BSA organization that covers all of the Tampa Bay area including Pasco and Hillsborough counties.
As the roundtable commissioner, Gifford helps get information from the district and council to the various Cub Scout packs in the area.
Gifford is also the Scout Master for Pack 323, which meets at Myrtle Lake Baptist Church, 2017 Reigler Road off SR 54 in Land O’ Lakes, each Monday at 7 p.m. The group has children from both Lutz and Land O’ Lakes. His two boys, Skyler and Dakota, are in the pack and he also was in the scouts.
Pack 323 will have a recruiting night at Lake Myrtle Elementary at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 9. Anyone interested in joining should attend.
Also in Land O’ Lakes, Tom Harrison, assistant scout master for Pack 3, is planning a day to teach the community about scouting at Tibbetts Lumber. He said children from all areas a welcome and is not specifically for Pack 3. It is only to spread the word about scouting, including Girl Scouts.
“For me scouting is a great way to teach kids the right values,” Gifford said. “It also shows them they can accomplish anything they want to if they put their minds to it and lastly it’s a great way for parents to spend constructive time with their kids.”
Gifford said the younger age for the kids in Cub Scouts means parents have a more direct role in the meetings, but when they move on to Boy Scouts the boys take more control.
The next step in the program is Venture Crews, which was added in 1998 to the program to keep older kids interested. Scouts do not have to join a crew to progress in the program.
The crews tend to go on more high-adventure trips like mountain hiking, white-water rafting and scuba diving. Also, unlike other levels of boy scouting, girls are allowed in the crews.
“The venture program is really interesting and I wish we had it when I was in scouts,” Gifford said. “It’s part of how Boys Scouts is staying new and interesting as time changes.”
For more information about Boy Scouts in Pasco and Hillsborough, visit www.boysouting.com.
