THOUGHTFUL ITEMS FOR SCOUTERS

Thanks to Scouter Jim from Bountiful, Utah, who prepares this section of Baloo for us each month.  You can reach him at bobwhitejonz@juno.com or through the link to write Baloo on www.usscouts.org.   CD

Roundtable Prayers

CS Roundtable Planning Guide

We give thanks as we join in the Cub Scout Spirit with our friends and families.  Help us to do our best in all activities tonight and enjoy each other’s company. As we strive for excellence, please help us remember the rules of sportsmanship and fair play. Amen

The Summer Olympics will be held this August in Beijing, China. The Olympic spirit is one of friendship, fair play, honor, peace and glory. Men and women compete as they showcase their skill and determination. May our Cub Scouts show their Cub Scout spirit in friendship and fair play as they do their best this month. Amen.

Do Your Best

Scouter Jim, Bountiful Utah

The Cub Scout Motto is, “Do Your Best.”  Not only is “Do Your Best,” the Cub Scout Motto, it is also part of the Cub Scout Promise.  Why is “Do Your Best” so important to Cub Scouting that it is both the Motto and part of the Cub Scout Promise?  What does “Do Your Best” mean? 

“Do Your Best” means, that each boy does the very best he is able to do and tries as hard as he can with the abilities he has.  Every Cub Scout is different and so each boy’s Best is different.  In the Olympic Games they give Gold, Silver and Bronze metals.  Not every athlete gets a medal.  In Cub Scouting, we do not give medals for competition.  Each boy completes only with himself and his own Best.  Cub Scouting doesn’t have winners and losers, it has young men doing their Best.

The following is from a BSA Fact Sheet on Scouts with Disabilities:

 Since its founding in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has had fully participating members with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities. James E. West, the first Chief Scout Executive, was a person with a disability. Although most of the BSA’s efforts have been directed at keeping such boys in the mainstream of Scouting, it has also recognized the special needs of those with severe disabilities.

In 1965, registration of over-age Scouts with mental disabilities became possible—a privilege now extended to many people with disabilities. Today, approximately 100,000 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers with disabilities are registered with the Boy Scouts of America in more than 4,000 units chartered to community organizations.

As a father of a special needs son and Cubmaster to two special needs Cub Scouts, I know the meaning of the word “inclusion.” Inclusion means that we include all the boys in our packs that qualify, and we get help to support them in the program if they need help.  Each boy should be allowed to achieve his very best. 

One of the Assistant Scoutmasters of my youth was asked to be the Scoutmaster for the Special Needs Troop in our area.  At his funeral, there were six Eagle Scouts from that troop serving as honorary pallbearers.  These young men had been allowed to do their best, and receive the reward and honor from that effort.  All boys deserve to be rewarded for doing their best but not with Gold, Silver and Bronze, but with Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and Arrow of Light.  (I know, Wolves and Bears have Gold and Silver Arrow points.) 

Remember as Scout Leaders, our job is to “Love Them!”  We love those best, we serve.  Anyone that has felt the love from their boys, will understand, that the rewards are far greater than the effort expended.  All leaders deserve to be loved by the boys they serve.  Go out and “Do Your Best,” and help all Cub Scouts, do their best.

Special Awards for Special Leaders

• Woods Services Award. This annual award was established to recognize volunteers who have performed exceptional service and leadership in the field of Scouts with disabilities. Nomination forms are sent annually to councils every September with a December 31 deadline. One person is selected each spring for national recognition. (BSA Form 89-258L) 
• Torch of Gold Certificate. This is for local council use in recognizing adults for outstanding service to youth with disabilities.

Read about both at http://www.scouting.org/Media/FactSheets/02-508.aspx

I am not sure how widespread the knowledge of these awards is.  Let m know if your Local Council knows about them or not.  Thanks.  CD