Service Center Closure – Nov 23/24 ,2017

The Council Service Centers will be closed on Thursday, November 23rd and Friday November 24th for the Thanksgiving holiday.

New Member Coordinator Position

Introducing the New Member Coordinator Position

Sustaining strong membership in a unit depends on having new members join the unit and engaging youth and their families in a welcoming manner that makes them want to stay. The role of the New Member Coordinator is to insure that both keys to success take place.

If you are interested in serving as a New Member Coordinator, now is the time! The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is offering a “free” logo imprinted shirt or cap as an incentive to the first 2500 registered and trained New Member Coordinators (NMC) and the first 500 District-level Scouters.

To learn more, visit New Member Coordinator (http://scoutingwire.org/marketing-and-membership-hub/councils/new-member-coordinator/) today!

2018 Silver Beaver Award Nominations

In Scouting, we say “it’s about the boys” and none of our adults are involved for the recognition, but every now and then we need to say thanks especially to those volunteers whose leadership and example has left a lasting positive impact on the program and the broader community. One was we do that is through nominating a Scouter for the Silver Beaver Award, the highest adult recognition a council can bestow. Take a few moments to reflect on volunteers within your unit or district and consider nominating them for the Silver Beaver Award.

A detailed nomination form is available by clicking here and all nominations must be received by Friday, December 1, 2017.

Completed nominations can be sent via email or dropped off at the Canton or Marlborough service center.The awards will be presented at the Council’s Recognition Dinner in January.

Frequently asked questions about the Silver Beaver Award:

Overview

To recognize registered Scouters of exceptional character who have provided distinguished service within a council. The award is presented by the National Court of Honor on behalf of councils.

Who Can Earn This Award?

Anyone may nominate any deserving registered Scouter to the council, which selects recipients for the following year. Each council may process their own annual allotment of Silver Beaver awards and shall send a list of Silver Beaver awards presented each calendar year to the National Court of Honor no later than January 31 of the following year.

Canton Scout Shop Closing October 31st

Effective, Tuesday, October 31st, the Canton Scout Shop (Trading Post) will no longer be open. New England Scout Shops are located in Lancaster, Milton, Southborough, Woburn, and Swansea and will be able to fulfill your advancement and other Scouting supply needs. While the Scout Shop (Trading Post) is closing, the Canton Service Center will remain open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; from 10:00 am – 2:00pm. The Marlborough Service Center is also available Monday thru Friday; from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.

2017 Outstanding Eagle Scout Award Nominations

Outstanding Eagle Scout Award Nominations Now Being Accepted

The NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) is a prestigious recognition granted by the Mayflower Council’s NESA committee to Eagle Scouts who have demonstrated outstanding achievement at the local, state, or regional level. Unlike the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, which is a national award, the NOESA recognizes Eagle Scouts whose efforts have made a positive impact closer to home. All NOESA recipients must be Eagle Scouts in good standing with the Boy Scouts of America and either be registered with or have their primary residence within the boundaries of the nominating council. No length of time is required to have passed since earning the rank.

Each recipient’s actions and accomplishments should elevate the stature of Eagle Scouts in the public eye, and each recipient shall be held to the standards set forth in the Scout Oath, Scout Law, and national BSA standards for membership.

Eligibility

All NOESA recipients must be Eagle Scouts in good standing with the Boy Scouts of America and either be registered with or have their primary residence within the boundaries of the nominating council. No length of time is required to have passed since earning the rank.

To download the NOESA nomination form (BSA NO: 542_057_WB.PDF 2014 Revision) click here.

Submit the nomination and supporting documentation of their achievement(s) to:

National Eagle Scout Association Committee

NOESA Nomination (Confidential)

Mayflower Council, BSA

2 Mount Royal Avenue – Suite 100

Marlborough, MA 01752

Nominations are due at the Marlborough Service Center on or before November 27, 2017

Youth Protection Training Update

As of September 1, 2017, Youth Protection Training is required for all adult leaders at the time of registration. Paper applications from new leaders must be accompanied by a Youth Protection Training completion certificate, which must be filed with the application.

Because completion of YPT is now required for all leaders at the time of registration, unit leaders must obtain copies of the completion certificates from the leaders who register online before approving their application.

With the upcoming renewal cycle, the Internet Rechartering system will be updated so that units cannot submit the registration renewal of any adult who does not have current YPT as of the effective date of the renewal. Completion of YPT as part of the online registration system will be required in a future update. Additionally, council registrars will no longer be able to override the registration system to register any leader whose Youth Protection Training is not current.

Effective for the 2018 BSA summer camp season, any adult accompanying a Boy Scout troop to a residence camp or other Scouting activity lasting 72 hours or more must be registered as a leader, including completion of a CBC and YPT, even if they are the parent of a youth on the trip.

Please Note: Although YPT is strongly encouraged for adults attending any overnight activity, at this time, the requirement applies only to individual adults staying three or more nights at a resident camp.

2017 National Membership Fee Increase

The mission of the Boy Scouts of America 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 Scout Law.

To do this — while delivering the nation’s foremost youth development program — the BSA must remain vigilant in controlling costs. Although we have been successful in reducing our expenditures in many areas, it has become necessary to evaluate our annual membership fees.

Based on feedback from both volunteers and employees, the BSA membership fee will increase to $33 for all registered youth and adult leaders, effective December 1, 2017.

Membership fees support the services that are necessary to provide Scouting to youth from 7 to 21 years of age. From education to high-adventure experiences you can’t get anyplace else, the BSA provides unique growth opportunities at a great value.

Services include primary liability coverage for all volunteer leaders and chartered organizations, ongoing advances in technology, fundraising support, new program development and membership recruiting strategies, and support materials. In 2016 alone, the BSA served 2.3 million youth members through approximately 270 local councils across the United States and its territories.

With the help of all of our volunteers and Scouting parents, we will continue accomplishing incredible things for young people and the communities we serve.

Questions and Answers:

Why are you increasing the membership fee? What is the additional money from the fees going to be used for?

To deliver the Scouting program to our 2.3 million youth members, it is occasionally necessary for the organization to increase membership fees to offset rising costs. As a result, the BSA is increasing our membership fee to $33 for all registered Scouts and adult members effective December 1, 2017.

Membership fees support the services that are necessary to provide Scouting programs to a growing number of youth. Services include ongoing advances in technology, council visits to assist in fundraising, program development and membership campaigns, liability insurance costs, and administrative costs. It is important that we continue to maintain a strong financial position in the future to support and grow Scouting.

What is directly contributing to the need for this increase?

There are a variety of factors taken into consideration, all of which have led to an increased cost of doing business.

When will the increase go into effect?

The membership fee change for all registered youth and adult leaders will go into effect December 1, 2017. This change will affect Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Venturing crews, Sea Scout ships, and Exploring posts/clubs. However, it will NOT apply to LDS-sponsored units, nor to those units with council-paid memberships. Note: All November and December 2017 recharters will have to renew at this new rate (since November recharter renewal actually spans from December 1, 2017, to November 30, 2018).

Does the BSA increase membership fees often?

There have been 10 fee increases in the organization’s history. Since 1969, the BSA has increased our fee, on average, every five years. The last membership increase took effect on January 1, 2014, and, prior to that, in 2010.

How much does it cost to be a Boy Scout?

All youth and adults who wish to become a member or leader of the Boy Scouts of America must pay the annual membership fee. Beyond that, families incur additional costs related to uniforms and the activities of their individual units.

Will the fee for Cub Scouts, Exploring, and Venturing/Sea Scouts increase as well?

Yes. This change will affect Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Venturing crews, Sea Scout ships, and Exploring posts/clubs. However, it will NOT apply to LDS-sponsored units, nor to those units with council-paid memberships.

Who gets the membership fee?

Local councils collect — and forward to the National Council — membership fees from each youth and adult who wishes to become a member of the Boy Scouts of America.

How is the National Council funded?

The National Council is funded through membership and service fees, investments, Boys’ Life magazine subscriptions, sales of uniforms and equipment, fees from national high-adventure bases, and contributions from individuals.

What does the National Council do for Scouting on the local level?

The BSA’s National Council provides program materials and support for approximately 270 local councils that administer the Scouting program, with each covering a specific geographic territory. The following are the key functions of the National Council:

Provide training to local council volunteers and staff
Maintain a national training center at Philmont Scout Ranch
Develop and maintain four year-round national high-adventure bases and execute national events (jamborees, National Eagle Scout Association and Order of the Arrow conferences, and National Council meetings)
Continue our leadership role in protecting our youth by providing youth protection resources, training, and criminal background checks for all registered volunteers and staff
Provide local councils with program as well as tools for camp and office planning and evaluation, extensive financial counseling, planned giving and fundraising information, and professional personnel support
Coordinate a communications network through magazines and literature (handbooks, merit badge pamphlets, brochures, training materials, and professional development training), including providing Scouting magazine to all registered leaders
Make available uniforms, equipment, and program supplies
Maintain and develop new relationships with chartered organizations that use the Scouting program (religious institutions, civic organizations, labor unions, professional organizations, business, and industry)
Serve in a leadership role with Scouting associations in other countries as a member of the World Scout Conference
Set and maintain program standards (e.g., advancement, health and safety, etc.) to ensure consistency of the brand throughout councils across the country

With the increase in membership fees, is Scouting still a good value?

The BSA has always taken into consideration the cost of delivering the Scouting program and has worked to keep our fees reasonable.

When you compare the BSA to other youth-serving organizations, we provide unique growth opportunities at a great value. The following are costs associated with other youth activities:

Tackle football, $142: In Plano, Texas, second- through sixth-graders who play tackle football pay $140 for a three-month season. That fee doesn’t include equipment.
Youth orchestra, $1,000: Members of the prestigious Los Angeles Youth Orchestra pay $100 to audition, $1,000 annually (if accepted), and must buy their own instruments.
Select soccer, $400: In Cleveland, select youth soccer players ages 15 to 18 pay $400 a season, plus $180 for uniforms.
Youth basketball, $525: In Queens, N.Y., boys ages 8 to 13 pay $525 a year, not including uniforms.
4-H program, $25: Participants of the 4-H program in College Station, Texas, pay $25 a year, not including fees for individual activities.

From education to high-adventure, the Boy Scouts of America provides unique growth opportunities at a great value and we want all eligible youth to receive these benefits and participate in Scouting

Mayflower Council Program Activity Fee

2018 will be the first full year our new Mayflower Council will be operating as its own council. We’ve had a very successful summer at both Camp Squanto and Camp Resolute and with those big efforts behind us the staff and board are working diligently to put together a new and unified program year.

Mayflower Fee Change Memo

The BSA Expands Programs to Welcome Girls

Today, the Boy Scouts of America Board of Directors unanimously approved to welcome girls into its iconic Cub Scout program and to deliver a Scouting program for older girls that will enable them to advance and earn the highest rank of Eagle Scout. The historic decision comes after years of receiving requests from families and girls, the organization evaluated the results of numerous research efforts, gaining input from current members and leaders, as well as parents and girls who’ve never been involved in Scouting – to understand how to offer families an important additional choice in meeting the character development needs of all their children.

“This decision is true to the BSA’s mission and core values outlined in the Scout Oath and Law. The values of Scouting – trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example – are important for both young men and women,” said Michael Surbaugh, the BSA’s Chief Scout Executive. “We believe it is critical to evolve how our programs meet the needs of families interested in positive and lifelong experiences for their children. We strive to bring what our organization does best – developing character and leadership for young people – to as many families and youth as possible as we help shape the next generation of leaders.”

Families today are busier and more diverse than ever. Most are dual-earners and there are more single-parent households than ever before [1], making convenient programs that serve the whole family more appealing. Additionally, many groups currently underserved by Scouting, including the Hispanic and Asian communities, prefer to participate in activities as a family. Recent surveys [2] of parents not involved with Scouting showed high interest in getting their daughters signed up for programs like Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, with 90 percent expressing interest in a program like Cub Scouts and 87 percent expressing interest in a program like Boy Scouts. Education experts also evaluated the curriculum and content and confirmed relevancy of the program for young women.

“The BSA’s record of producing leaders with high character and integrity is amazing” said Randall Stephenson, BSA’s national board chairman. “I’ve seen nothing that develops leadership skills and discipline like this organization. It is time to make these outstanding leadership development programs available to girls.”

Starting in the 2018 program year, families can choose to sign up their sons and daughters for Cub Scouts. Existing packs may choose to establish a new girl pack, establish a pack that consists of girl dens and boy dens or remain an all-boy pack. Cub Scout dens will be single-gender — all boys or all girls. Using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts program, the organization will also deliver a program for older girls, which will be announced in 2018 and projected to be available in 2019, that will enable them to earn the Eagle Scout rank. This unique approach allows the organization to maintain the integrity of the single gender model while also meeting the needs of today’s families.

This decision expands the programs that the Boy Scouts of America offers for both boys and girls. Although known for its iconic programs for boys, the BSA has offered co-ed programs since 1971 through Exploring and the Venturing program, which celebrates its 20^th anniversary in 2018. The STEM Scout pilot program is also available for both boys and girls.

For more information about the expanded opportunities for family Scouting, please visit the family Scouting page.

About the Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of nearly 2.3 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21 and approximately 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.

Service Center Closure – Oct 9, 2017

The Council Service Center will be closed on Monday, October 9, for the Columbus Day holiday.