Congratulations To Our On Time Recharter Units

Congratulation to the following units that completed their unit recharter on time this year (by November 15). Completing their unit’s charter renewal by November 15 allowed our staff to review and reach back out to them if there were issues. Their charters will be the first ones to post in January.

  • Crew 355 Newton
  • Pack 36 Randolph
  • Pack 41 Marlborough
  • Pack 47 Plymouth
  • Pack 59 Whitman
  • Pack 140 Wellesley
  • Pack 355 Newton
  • Pack 4480 Kingston
  • Troop 1 BT Stow
  • Troop 17 BT Brockton
  • Troop 42 BT Easton
  • Troop 51 BT Manomet
  • Troop 64 BT Plymouth
  • Troop 88 BT Bridgewater
  • Troop 99 BT Franklin
  • Troop 100 BT Westboro
  • Troop 126 BT Franklin
  • Troop 355 GT Newton
  • Troop 355 BT Newton

Our council’s Membership & Unit Service Team is committed to helping all of our units recharter by December 31. If your unit needs assistance don’t hesitate to contact us.




BSA Systems Maintenance Update

System Maintenance – Saturday, November 5, 2022 – from 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM

The My.Scouting and Scoutbook systems will be down this Saturday beginning at 9:00 AM for a system upgrade. All features will be offline during this time. This includes all My.Scouting tools, the training site, Online Registration, Internet Rechartering and Advancement along with Scoutbook.




Online Registration for Adult Leaders

Now available! Updates have been made to the national registration system that allows us to accept adult applications online. Now your unit can skip the paper and use a much more efficient and secure method to register adults.

In compliance with Massachusetts law, our council’s policy is to ensure that adult volunteers have the required Criminal Offender Records Information (CORI) before registering with the BSA and working with youth. This process is separate from the online registration system and should be completed before registering, just like submitting hard-copy adult applications.

The unit (chartered org. rep. or assigned delegate) approves online adult applications. Please watch the video below for review. If a volunteer is approved by the unit but doesn’t have the required CORI completed, we will suspend registration until the CORI has been verified. The applicant and unit key-3 will be notified if registration is suspended.

With this in mind, online adult applications are live and effective January 1, 2023: adult applications are to be completed and submitted using the BSA Online Registration System.

Please be aware that online registration is not currently available for youth-to-adult transfers. Paper applications are still needed for this function, but you can email the electronic version of the adult application to membership@mayflowerbsa.org.

We know that some will recognize this as another significant change to their routines. However, we all know that a Scout is Brave (and Cheerful).

Please contact the Membership & Unit Service Team if you have any questions or join us during any of our upcoming Live Office Hours, where we can answer all your questions.




Transfer Between Councils Now Available Online

The attached user guide is for for parents and/or volunteers to transfer between councils using the online registration system. This allows you to login and transfer from one council to another, and once the application is approved and the overnight sync is run all the training and advancement records for the member will follow.




We Want Your Old LEGO Bricks

Help your old LEGO bricks find a new purpose!

The Mayflower Council is looking at giving your unused LEGO collection a second life; assisting with new youth recruiting. We will be launching a LEGO Pinewood Derby activity as part of our new member recruiting efforts at community fairs, farmer’s and artisan markets, and other community events so that a whole new generation of youth and can experience the thrill of a Pinewood Derby and the the joy of building with LEGO while finding out about Scouting’s life-long values.

To make a donation, simply round up any loose LEGO pieces and place them into a cardboard box or zipper top bag. We are accepting loose LEGO bricks and Minifigures. They do not need to be full sets. We are unable to accept donations of DUPLO and Technic elements.

Donations can be dropped of at one of the following locations:

  • Council Service Center, 83 Cedar Street, Milford, Massachusetts.
  • Adventure Day Camp, 129 Hudson Road, Bolton, Massachusetts. (while camp is in session)
  • Camp Resolute, 75 Hudson Road, Bolton, Massachusetts (while camp is in session)
  • Camp Squanto, 200 Cuttersfield Road, Plymouth, Massachusetts. (while camp is in session)

If you have unwanted LEGO bricks lying around (and hurting your feet) we’ll take them!

Have questions regarding donating LEGO bricks to this worthwhile initiative contact Jack Colamaria or Rick Riopelle.




National BSA Member Fee Increase 2022

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has worked to keep the membership fee as low as possible. As you know, costs continue to rise, and the annual fee must be increased to address the fiscal realities we face to deliver a safe and quality Scouting program.

To ensure we have the resources to fulfill the promise of Scouting, the following national membership fee structure will take effect August 1, 2022.

  • $75 for Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts participants
  • $45 for Exploring participants
  • $45 for all adult volunteers (includes cost of background check)
  • $100 for a unit charter/affiliation fee
  • $25 one-time joining fee for new program participants in Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts (Not pro-rated)
  • $15 for Scout Life magazine; this is the first price increase since 2005

The Mayflower Council Activity Fee will remain at $36 per youth member.

The national membership fee helps cover the cost of essential services, including program resources, liability insurance for those participating in approved Scouting activities, criminal background checks, youth protection, and the development of intellectual property for national, council, and unit programs. As we move forward, we will continue to look at the membership fee structure and how we deliver the Scouting program for future generations.

Online registration remains the preferred method of transferring youth and will become the way to register new youth beginning August 1.

Thank you for your understanding, together we will continue to provide a great Scouting program for our families.




Family Den Pilot Program

Mayflower Council has been accepted into the Boy Scouts of America National Family Den Pilot Program.




Scouts Honor: Eric H., Troop 28BT Cohasset

Eric H. of Troop 28 Cohasset Earns Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award

Eagle Scout created “first responder sensory kits” to help first responders 

Wrentham, Mass. — The National Eagle Scout Association established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award to recognize valuable service of an exceptional nature by a Scout to a religious institution, a school, community, or other entity. 

The award recognizes a Scout for their Eagle Scout leadership service project, which is part of the requirements for earning the Eagle Scout Award. Each year, local councils select a council-level winner, and each region selects a region-level winner from that pool. A national winner is then chosen from the four regional finalists.

On June 13, 2022, The Mayflower Council, BSA proudly presented the 2021 Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Award of the Year to:

Eric H.
Troop 28 Cohasset
Sensory Kits for First Responders

Eric’s project raised awareness of autism while providing first responders with the resources and tools they need when they assist people with special needs. His project included: providing 80 sensory kits to multiple towns in the surrounding South Shore towns of Cohasset, Hanover,

Hingham, Hull, Norwell, Scituate.

Eric saw this need for sensory kits after experiences with his older brother, who has autism, where first responders were not equipped to respond to his brother’s needs. To address this need, Eric spoke with a family friend who was a former EMT and Eric’s brother’s teacher at the Amego School in Franklin, Mass., to form his idea of creating a “first responder sensory kit” go bag. 

The kits contain items to help first responders communicate with the person in need as well as bring them comfort.

Following the presentation of the Adams Award, Eric also received a citation and a medallion from Brigadier General (Ret.) Emery Maddocks of the Military Order of the World Wars.

“We have a really outstanding project to recognize,” said Gen. Maddocks of Eric’s Sensory Kits. “For dedication to the principles of the Boy Scouts of America as evidenced by not only by his achievement of the highest achievement in Scouting – the Boy Scout Eagle Award –but further by [earning] the 2021 Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award.”




Scouts Honor: Carlie B., Troop 209GT Newton

Just before Memorial Day, one Mayflower Council Scout collects clothes for veterans…

Beyond trips to the beach, hot dogs, and lawn mowing, Memorial Day retains one true purpose: Remember.

And while some Scouts will carefully place flags beside the graves of those who served, and many others will proudly march in parades, one Eagle candidate sought to remember and honor those veterans who still walk among us.

Carlie B. of Newton’s Troop 209G explained her project on its GoFundMe page.

“My name is Carlie,” she posted. “I’m a 13 yr old Life Scout in troop 209 located in Newton, MA. I’ve partnered with the… New England Center and Home for Veterans as part of my Eagle Scout Project.”

That partnership – noticed by WHDH – garnered Carlie and the project some well-deserved attention at this important time of the year.

“I think that joining scouting teaches you plenty of great lessons in life,” said Carlie. “it really helps you out.”

And in turn, Carlie – who raised almost $17,00 – helped out many veterans; 250 or so were gifted clothing, toiletries, and shoes.

Speaking of the good turn, Carlie implied she simply followed the example of another Scout.

“My dad, he’s an Eagle Scout,” she told WHDH’s camera. ”And so, when I receive Eagle in the next few months, I will become an Eagle Scout just like him.”

 Here at the Mayflower Council, we think her fellow Scouts should follow Carlie’s example, too.




Newton’s Srikanth Family Is An Inspiration

Troop 209G Scoutmaster and her Scouts garnered national attention from Bryan on Scouting…

Scoutmaster Sangeet Srikanth is a trained educator. But she insists that some of the most important lessons are taught outside the classroom.

“None of the experiences in Scouting can be measured in terms of letter grades, GPA, test scores,” she told Bryan on Scouting. “But you can witness and experience it every day in your son and daughter’s life.”

It was a chance exposure to Scouting that changed the lives of Sangeet, her son Arnav, and her daughter Anishka.

Bryan Wendell of ScoutingMagazine.org explained that Srikanth “first learned about the BSA in 2010 on a family trip to Boston when they happened upon an event celebrating the BSA’s 100th birthday. Her son, Arnav, wanted to sign up right away. Her daughter did, too, but this was before the BSA had opened all its programs to young women.”

Enter Troop 355 of Newton. Or, make that, Arnav entered the venerable unit. Then, fast forward to 2017, and an Eagle Scout court of honor.

“Every rank advancement was a clear sign of leadership building,” explained Sangeet. “Every merit badge was a new life skill.”

Two years later, it was Anishka’s turn to join Scouts BSA.

“Every day, my admiration for her increases as she excels in her maturity and ability to deal with the challenges of life,” Srikanth said.

However, it’s not like Arnav or Anishka were alone on their journey. Their mother was there – unofficially – every step of the way. 

Later, after a two-year stint as an assistant Scoutmaster, Sangeet was named Scoutmaster of Troop of 209G.

It’s a commitment, but Srikanth indicated it’s more than worth it.

“It’s about five to six years from start to finish — weekly meetings, camping trips, outdoor trips, and finally the long-awaited Eagle project,” she says. “Some families find it hard to commit with their own busy careers.”

That said, the end rewards, particularly for Eagle-earners, are worth it. 

Meanwhile, Sangeet hopes that other families, particularly those in the Indian community, see Scouting as a viable adjunct to traditional education.

“Scouting structures their lives and gives them the most valuable experience that even the best classroom education may not fully provide,” she said.