Scouting at Home

[RememberSchiff]

To our Scouting community,

In Scouting, we vow to help other people at all times. Now, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Scouting community must do its part to slow the spread of the virus, which will save lives and avoid overwhelming our local healthcare infrastructure.

The safety of Scouts, volunteers, employees and our communities is our top priority.

With safety in mind and based on guidance from national health officials, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is strongly advising that in-person meetings, activities, events and gatherings of 10 or more people be suspended through the end of March. Please also follow any restrictions outlined by your state and local health department or other state and local authorities. This applies to youth and adults out of an abundance of caution.

In accordance with national guidelines, please focus on the following through the end of March:

• Avoid in-person gatherings; instead, utilize available digital and online resources, such as video conferencing, to continue Scouting meetings, projects and advancement, adhering to the current youth protection guidelines already in place for digital communications.
  • If you must meet, limit participants to fewer than 10 people and remain at least six feet apart.
  • Follow BSA blogs and social channels, as well as #ScoutingAtHome, for great examples and ideas of how to continue Scouting.
• If you or any member of your family feels sick, DO NOT go into the office or attend any gatherings. Contact your health professional to get care and notify your supervisor so they can take the appropriate measures while you focus on recuperating.

We will continue to evaluate the ongoing situation and prioritize the safety of everyone involved in Scouting – youth, families, volunteers, employees and our communities – is our number one priority.

We realize these decisions are not without their challenges, and we thank you for helping meet the needs of our communities in difficult times.

The steps we are taking reinforce the many ways – big and small – that Scouting empowers character and leadership today and for generations to come.

Yours in Scouting,

Roger C. Mosby

President and CEO

Source  link:

https://www.scouting.org/coronavirus/

Also thanks to @RichardB  for notice. 

Edited March 21, 2020 by RememberSchiff

[John-in-KC]

In my neck of the woods, the number of people is right, but the date is already overtaken by events.  Local governments have set an ENFORCEABLE public health ban on such gatherings until April 24.
 

Watch your own local guidance. Comply with governmental mandates.  

[DLikens]

I had a question about this. I am looking for the requirements so my son can start merit badges and I am finding different variations of requirements for merit badges. My question is, where is the best place to find the most up to date merit badge requirements? As a note, I did search around in the forum to try and find the answer, but didn't have any luck. Maybe I missed it, but I could not find what I was looking for. 

Edited April 1, 2020 by DLikens

[RememberSchiff]

@DLikens on behalf of moderators, welcome to scouter.com.

[RememberSchiff]

The official source.

https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/merit-badges/

Scroll down the long page and click on MB of interest to get current requirements.

Hopefully other members will reply with more detailed advice.

Edited April 1, 2020 by RememberSchiff

[DLikens]

33 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

The official source.

https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/merit-badges/

Scroll down the long page and click on MB of interest to get current requirements.

Hopefully other members will reply with more detailed advice.

Awesome, thank you. I don't know why I didn't think to check there. I basically just did a Google search for the merit badge and had so many findings. 

[qwazse]

12 minutes ago, DLikens said:

Awesome, thank you. I don't know why I didn't think to check there. I basically just did a Google search for the merit badge and had so many findings. 

@DLikens, welcome to the forums! And sorry about the scouting digital echo chamber. BSA was late to the digital game, so others went through a lot of hoops to provide what it didn't.

Also, your troop library should have collected used merit badge pamphlets, and there should be a way for your troop librarian to dead-drop the desired pamphlet.

If you already subscribe to Kindle, you can purchase some pamphlets.

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/09/03/merit-badge-pamphlets-leader-guides-fieldbook-now-kindle/

I don't recommend it because there is no way to transfer ownership of the pamphlet to another scout once yours is finished with it.

[DLikens]

3 minutes ago, qwazse said:

@DLikens, welcome to the forums! And sorry about the scouting digital echo chamber. BSA was late to the digital game, so others went through a lot of hoops to provide what it didn't.

Also, your troop library should have collected used merit badge pamphlets, and there should be a way for your troop librarian to dead-drop the desired pamphlet.

If you already subscribe to Kindle, you can purchase some pamphlets.

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/09/03/merit-badge-pamphlets-leader-guides-fieldbook-now-kindle/

I don't recommend it because there is no way to transfer ownership of the pamphlet to another scout once yours is finished with it.

yeah, our library is a little out dated. that is why i am looking for online versions. I do know that if you have a kindle version you get a pdf version to send elsewhere. I have seen that before. I will look into the kindle versions too, thank you. 

[qwazse]

Just now, DLikens said:

yeah, our library is a little out dated. that is why i am looking for online versions. I do know that if you have a kindle version you get a pdf version to send elsewhere. I have seen that before. I will look into the kindle versions too, thank you. 

Well, a lot of troops don't take the Librarian position of responsibility seriously. And that's a shame, because the first step in teaching a scout skill is reference.

News to me about the .pdf. If you make a purchase, look into the fine print on the copyright for us. If that pdf is transferable between scouts, librarians could take advantage of it to fulfill their positions this month.

[DLikens]

6 minutes ago, qwazse said:

Well, a lot of troops don't take the Librarian position of responsibility seriously. And that's a shame, because the first step in teaching a scout skill is reference.

News to me about the .pdf. If you make a purchase, look into the fine print on the copyright for us. If that pdf is transferable between scouts, librarians could take advantage of it to fulfill their positions this month.

Yeah..my son was the librarian for a short time he did a little bit of checking the books, but was not on top of it all the time. I will look into it and let you know.