Ten Scouts Selected To Report Boy Scouts of America's Impact On Communities And Youth To Washington Officials

IRVING, Texas, March 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, 10 youth delegates from across the United States are representing the Boy Scouts of America in Washington, D.C., to present the organization's annual Report to the Nation to top U.S. officials. The report, designated in the BSA's congressional charter, highlights the organization's achievements in 2016, including the highest number of volunteer hours served in communities over the last five years¹. The delegates were selected from among approximately 2.3 million youth members to share the annual report.

"With a steadfast focus on the four pillars of Scouting – service, leadership, learning and adventure – the Boy Scouts of America continues to help build the future leaders of our country through educational and fun experiences," said Michael Surbaugh, the BSA's Chief Scout Executive. "2016 proved to be a strong year – Scouts and Explorers showed compassion and leadership by logging nearly 15.4 million hours of service to their communities nationwide, more hours per Scout than we've seen in the last five years. At the same time, we also grew our Exploring and STEM Scouts programs, bringing new and innovative experiences to youth and families. As we share and celebrate our achievements of 2016, we look forward to an even more impactful year ahead."

Being selected to the Report to the Nation delegation is an extraordinary honor for youth. Each young person represents their communities and the more than 100 million youth members who have been part of the BSA and the millions who will follow. This year's delegation is made up of the following young people:

• Forrest Gertin; Rochester, New York
• Gilberto Grave; Providence, Rhode Island
• Francesco Grieco; Wilmington, Massachusetts
• Ronald King; Lumberton, North Carolina
• Tyler Schutt; Munster, Indiana
• Bryce Taylor; Tucson. Arizona
• Pratik Vaidya; Seattle, Washington
• Adam Vang; St. Paul, Minnesota
• Rachel West; Austin, Texas
• Hannah Wheaton; Virginia Beach, VA

The delegation is visiting with and delivering the report to key leaders of the federal government. To keep track of the Report to the Nation delegates during this incredible experience in Washington, D.C., follow the BSA on Twitter and Facebook.

The complete Report to the Nation is available online at ScoutingNewsroom.org. Highlights from the report include:

• Scouts provided more than 15.4 million hours of service to their communities at a value of more than $363.5 million (based on a national volunteer-hour value of $23.56).
• More than 55,000 young men earned the Eagle Scout Award. Earning the Eagle Scout rank requires the completion of an extensive service project, which resulted in more than $196 million in community service.
• More than 1 million Scouts attended BSA high-adventure camps in West Virginia, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Florida, as well as thousands of Scout day and summer camps.
• In all, Scouts and Venturers camped a total of more than 6.5 million nights during 2016.
• Scouts earned more than 2.4 million merit badges in 138 different subjects that reflect their interests and today's rapidly involving culture. 
• The co-ed Exploring program increased participation by 7 percent, empowering the program's 116,000 to explore future careers, from law enforcement to healthcare, teaching to STEM.
• The STEM Scouts pilot program expanded to 20 councils nationwide, doubling its program membership to help meet the needs of today's families.
• The BSA launched its largest-ever pilot program — Lions — in response to parents' increasing desire for more after-school programs that help kindergarten-age boys learn new skills and build character while having fun. The new Lion program introduces families to the adventures available through Scouting.

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 more than 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.

¹ Based on calculations of volunteer hours per youth member across all Boy Scouts of America programs.

SOURCE Boy Scouts of America

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