Selby Chipman has accomplished a lot in the world of Scouting. She was a member of the BSA’s inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. Shortly after, she was a recipient of the Lawrence S. and Mabel Cooke Scholarship, offered by the National Eagle Scout Association. She’s still an active Venturer and Sea Scout. Now, as a college student studying biomedical engineering at the University of Missouri, she’s plenty busy with her current day-to-day tasks. And still, she makes time for Scouting. “When I was going through Scouts, there weren’t any role models that were women who were Eagle Scouts,” Chi ..read more

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, so it seems like the perfect time to talk with the BSA’s Youth Protection executive to get an update on the latest topics related to youth protection, both within and outside of the BSA. “Our goal and mission is to take in all the information from law enforcement, from academia, from other youth-serving organizations, and distill it and then share it in a way so that it works across the BSA at every level, all the way to the unit,” says Glen Pounder, who was hired last year to lead the BSA’s youth protection efforts. “The idea being that at the u ..read more

Every year, Venturers are selected to serve in the national Venturing officers’ association. With the support of adult volunteers and professionals, the six young people will help shape Venturing’s future, make decisions and serve as the public face for the youth-led co-ed program for those 14- to 20-years-old. Venturing officers’ associations exist at the national, territory and council level. The national VOA supports the overall program, whereas the territory VOAs support local councils. A council VOA can host events for Venturing crews, provide training, help crews’ social media ..read more

The Scout movement has a long, proud, rich and interesting history. To recognize those who have helped preserve that history, The “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt Foundation has established The Hillcourt Silver Medal for distinguished service to the history of Scouting at the national and international levels. The inaugural recipients are Dr. Allen Warren, York University, York, United Kingdom; Dr. Tammy M. Proctor, Utah State University, Logan, Utah; and Dr. Kenneth P. Davis, independent scholar and author, Alexandria, Virginia. The Hillcourt Silver Medal will be awarded annually to historians who ..read more

Your next outdoor adventure might be closer than you think. From little-known monuments near your home to famous national parks across the country, you can find them all, thanks to the free Chimani app. The app features thousands of points of interest, complete with information on public lands, offline maps and subscriber discounts. The app makes it simple to search for parks and monuments, national forests and wildlife refuges. When you find one you want to visit, check-in to the app when you’re there, and it will award you a special verified virtual badge. You can also log all your past ..read more

“You only get one shot at life. Make it count.” That’s how adventurer, author and Chief Ambassador of World Scouting Bear Grylls challenges readers in the introduction of his newest book, Do Your Best: How to be a Scout. He then outlines how you can do just that: living your best life through Scouting. The handbook covers how to be a leader, how to explore the outdoors and how you can improve emotionally, physically and relationally. “It’s a book for anyone who is a Scout, was a Scout or hopes one day to be a Scout — a book that will inspire people to do their best, learn new skills, live life ..read more

Adventure, leadership, personal growth and service are all critical components of the BSA’s Venturing program. They’re also the perfect words to describe the principles and ideals by which this year’s recipients of the National Venturing Leadership Award have chosen to live. This year, seven Greenshirts (the unofficial nickname inspired by Venturing’s distinctive uniform color) are being recognized for their selfless service to the Venturing program on the national level. They come from across the country, from the rocky shores of California to the sandy beaches of North Carolina. Venturing is ..read more

When a local food pantry needed help preparing a garden bed for growing vegetables, they knew just who to call. Scouts BSA Troop 38, along with other volunteers from the community, showed up at the plot in Southport, N.C., to do the dirty work in making the grounds suitable for growing food. The rest is easy: The food pantry will use the garden to supply fresh vegetables for underserved families. “In the old folk story of stone soup, villagers who were experiencing a famine learned that by working together with what they had, they could make a huge pot of soup to feed their hungry families,” s ..read more

From 5-year-old Lions to 20-year-old Venturers, Scouts of all ages serve their neighbors. Some projects go beyond local communities and have a national or international reach, where Scouts’ efforts help hundreds of people, and their work makes an impact that is felt for years. Your Scout’s service doesn’t always have be that grand. Your youth can follow the Scout Oath by helping other people at all times, in little or big gestures. By planning volunteer opportunities for your unit, you help your Scouts learn the value of service. And you can start instilling that value in Cub Scouts. We recent ..read more

The BSA’s Exploring program, created in 1935 under the name Explorer Scouts, welcomed its first female members in the early 1970s. In 1974, Exploring named its first female president, Mary Wright. Kathy Leach, a longtime BSA volunteer (and, incidentally, one of the first women to work as a ranger at Philmont Scout Ranch), caught up with Wright and asked her to reflect on her experience from 50 years ago. “Fifty years ago, at age 17, I became an icon,” Wright told Leach of her memories from her induction at the National Explorer Presidents’ Congress that year. “Standing in a spotlight on the st ..read more