This fall, the Coachella Valley scouting programs are in full swing, with exciting adventures planned for all.
The desert’s Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops are revving up for a year full of adventures. The area counts more than 500 scouts in fifteen Cub Scout packs, twenty three troops, ten Venturing crews, and three Explorer posts.
Many Cub Scout packs, which serve kids kindergarten through 5th grade, opened to girls in June. There, the kids work toward the Lion, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos and Arrow of Light ranks – and have a whole lot of fun in the process!
The Boy Scout program serves kids 11-17. They will start welcoming girls and will be renamed Scouts BSA in February 2019. The Venturing and Explorer units are for kids 14-20, and have long been co-ed. Youth in the Scout BSA program work to rise up through the ranks and become Eagle Scouts. Venturing crews focus on more high-adventure activities like kayaking, backpacking and rock climbing. The Explorer units groom kids for careers in law enforcement, firefighting and aviation. Kids can earn more than two hundred merit badges, all designed to expose them to new hobbies or careers. Above all, the programs emphasize leadership, good citizenship, and outdoor skills. The program teaches kids to follow the 12 points of the scout law: A Scout Is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.
All scouting units also perform community service. Just this past year local Eagle Scouts sewed cloth hearts for babies in the NICU, made improvements to the Bump and Grind trail, built new benches for the Patton Museum, built a new media cart for Carter Elementary, renovated rooms at Martha’s Village and at Gerald Ford Elementary, and made improvements to an animal sanctuary in Thousand Palms.
The Cub Scouts and Scouts USA have many exciting activities planned, including a huge 1500-scout camp out in September called Adventure Weekend, and a spooky Halloween-themed camp out called Eerie Emerson in Idyllwild in October. Pam Ramont, with Troop 1701 in Indian Wells, says, “Scouting provides experiences that other programs do not give. Whether flying a plane, learning about horses, archery, game design or canoeing – kids master new skills, make lifelong friends, and most of all, really learn what it takes to be a person of strong character.” To join, go to www.BeAScout.org and enter your zip code; the site will provide contact information for all the BSA units near you.
Meanwhile The Girl Scouts are also very active, with about 16-hundred girls in 86 troops in the low desert area. They usually meet twice a month and plan special events like camp outs, hikes, a color run, and other fun trips. Their annual Fall Rally, which is a kickoff for their fall sale of nuts, candies and magazines, is set for Splash Kingdom Water Park in September. Girls work their way up as Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors. There’s a lot more to the Girl Scout program besides cookies: in the spring, many troops travel to San Francisco for a bridging ceremony on the Golden Gate Bridge. Each year many of the older girls run an activities program for kids called Half Pint Hootenany at Stagecoach. Hundreds of girls spent the summer going to one of three local camps, and some even spent a week on Catalina Island. Dozens of local girls have participated in the week-long Cyber Security program at Cal State San Bernardino, learning about coding, drones and more. All year round the girls work to earn the Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards. In fact, last year 23 girls in the desert earned Girl Scouting’s highest honor, with Gold Award projects benefiting the community. Some of the many projects included efforts to establish a book bag drive for foster children, plant milkweed to provide habitat for a dwindling butterfly population, and a program to educate student athletes about concussions.
Chuck MacKinnon – Chief of Development with the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council says, “We are keeping the ‘girl’ in Girl Scouts and we find that the way we are able to work with girls in a single gender environment offers them the best chance to learn and discover. There really is a true sisterhood.” For more information, contact the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council at www.gssgc.org/join, or call 800-400-GIRL, or text “Join” to 59618. Membership is $25 per year.
Photo credit: Boy Scouts of America
