Boy Scouts of America Yucca Council

BOOST Network Member Profile

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) provides the nation’s foremost program of character development and value-based leadership training, which helps young people to be “Prepared. For Life.” 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. Since its inception in 1910, more than 130 million young men and women have participated in the youth program, and more than 35 million adult volunteers have helped carry out the BSAs mission.

For more than 100 years, the Scouting program has instilled the values found in the Scout Oath and Law in youth. Today, these values are just as relevant in helping youth grow to their full potential as they were in 1910. Scouting helps youth develop character, academic skills, self-confidence, ethics, leadership skills, physical fitness, and citizenship skills that influence their adult lives.

The BSA provides youth with programs and activities that allow them to:

· Try new things

· Provide service to others

· Build self-confidence

· Reinforce ethical standards

Scouting goes beyond the usual activities and encourages youth to achieve a deeper appreciation for “Service to Others.” Scouting provides youth with a sense that they are important as individuals. Finally, and perhaps more importantly, Scouting promotes activities that lead to personal responsibility and high self-esteem.

Since 1910, Scouting has helped mold the future leaders of this country by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun. The BSA understands that helping youth puts us on a path toward a more conscientious, responsible, and productive society.

The first charter in El Paso, for the Yucca Council is dated August of 1918 and covers a report of activity during the year of 1917. The Council was composed of only El Paso County with 8 troops at that time. At the end of 1922, there were 35 troops and 673 scouts in the council with service in El Paso, Dona Ana and 2 Mormon colonies in Chihuahua. Currently, the Yucca Council serves, El Paso, Hudspeth, and southern New Mexico counties. BSA programs are divided by age and activity. Cub Scouting is for boys and girls in Kindergarten through 5th grade. Scouts BSA is open for young men and women in grades 6-12. There are also other programs available to young men and women such as Venturing, Sea Scouts and the Exploring programs.

Since 1921, the Yucca Council prides itself in supporting scouting:

· 230,000 adults have served as volunteers

· 700,000 youth have benefited from participation

· 950,000 rank advancements have been earned

· 1,000,000+ pieces of food collected through the Scouting for Food Program

· 7.7 million hours of community service hours provided by scouts and leaders

Meeting times and locations vary. Typically, units meet in-person weekly or bi-weekly during the school year. Each individual unit will work to set a meeting location and schedule that is convenient for its members. The programs are year-round, and they provide fun, adventure, learning, challenge, and responsibility for the youth members to become the best version of themselves.

The BOOST network is our strongest ally in helping to ensure that every single youth is given the opportunity to participate in Scouting. The BOOST network is critical in helping us maintain our goal to reach and serve disconnected youth. The BSA has been working with the BOOST Program since its inception in 2015. We continue to participate to maintain our service to the community and to the nation with Scouting programs. This includes after-school activities that may be the only source of support, besides the school itself, to provide structure some of these youth need.

Some of us have been working with the BSA since we were kids ourselves and believe that it helped many of us to become the productive citizens we turned out to be. Supported by the BOOST network, we continue to help youth that may need additional resources to strengthen their upbringing. We, at BSA, believe the key benefits of OST programs are creating experiences that assist youth in building a positive self-perception and reducing risky behaviors, mental health problems, and delinquency, which will lead to better outcomes personally as well as in the community.