Local Scouts partner with Boys and Girls Club for unique program

The De Soto Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America is looking to expand its reach this year through a unique program designed to usher in children who might be otherwise unable to participate into scouting.

Jeff Schwab, Scout executive at the De Soto Area Council, said that the organization has entered into a partnership with both the Boys and Girls Clubs of El Dorado and Magnolia to hold Cub Scout programs.

The De Soto Council sends part-time employees called program delivery specialists to the Boys and Girls Clubs during after school program hours.

"What this does for a number of young people is, it gives them a chance to take part in scouting when they may not otherwise have chance, whether because of logistics or their parents' schedules or any variety of reasons to not have access," Schwab said.

Currently, the program is structured for Cub Scout-aged youth, Kindergarten through fifth grade. Schwab said the program reaches around 135 children between the El Dorado and Magnolia Boys and Girls Club facilities.

The program is largely similar to a more traditional Cub Scouts program with some small differences. The biggest difference, Schwab said, is that rather than the Scout dens being divided strictly by grade, they are instead divided in pairs, putting Kindergarten and first-, second- and third-, and fourth- and fifth-graders together.

"We incorporate all their advancement programs together, so they actually grow and advance in the traditional Cub Scout program," Schwab continued.

The participants in the Boys and Girls Club-based program are invited to all the Council's weekend activities. Since the program just began this academic year, Schwab was unable to say yet how much additional interest in weekend events has been generated.

He has, however, seen interest from Boys and Girls Club fifth-graders in continuing from the Cub Scouts to the BSA.

"We're seeing movement in that direction. That's our hope and our goal, for this program to serve as a gateway into more Scouting activities," Schwab said.

And Scouting activities continue within the De Soto Council's purview, which ranges across 11 south Arkansas counties and centers at the Union County-based Camp De Soto.

Starting tonight, Schwab said, BSA troops will meet for a winter camp that will combine morning merit badge challenges with a unique evening scavenger hunt.

The evening event will require Scouts take on a challenging program that tasks them with using their land navigation skills to make their way to several waypoints. The first waypoint will contain a recipe and the remaining six ingredients; Scouts will then be asked to cook a meal with all of the ingredients they are able to find.

Schwab emphasized that the BSA is available to both boys and girls.

"Scouting is open to all - in fact, young ladies can be part of Scouts BSA as well, it's not just for boys. All our programs are age appropriate and even in the Scouts BSA grouping, we have full girl and boy troops. It's not co-ed, but they do the same activities and earn the same badges," he said.

For more information on the De Soto Council and local Cub Scout and BSA troops and activities, contact the council at 870-863- 5166 or email Schwab at [email protected].

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