JUNE 2024

The BSA National Council has studied and prepared a comprehensive update to the Cub Scout program, and the Washington Crossing Council recently published a summary of these program updates. These changes are being made to make the program more fun for Scouts, simple to explain, and easy to administer.

NOTE: The New Hope rally was previously announced as August 6, but a conflict with "National Night Out" was recognized. So, the rally was moved to August 7.

REMINDER: ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR ADULTS

Units can now accept and approve adult applications online. An adult volunteer can start with the same BeAScout.org website that a family uses to locate units within their community. Once a unit is selected from the search, the system will provide options to register a youth or an adult volunteer. The applicant will be prompted to sign into their my.scouting account - or, if they don’t have an account yet, they can create one. Once the application is submitted, a notification will be sent to the unit’s key 3 leadership. Note that only the unit’s charter organization representative (COR) or COR delegate can approve an adult application. 

Some key points:

• The applicant’s youth protection training must be current before the application can be approved.
• For Pennsylvania residents, the PA Act 15 clearances must be submitted to the council office. Failure to submit will result in the membership being suspended. Information on the PA Act 15 clearance and how to submit can be found at: www.washingtoncrossingbsa.org/pa-act-15.
• The unit no longer has to collect and remit the application fees to the council office.
• Once the application is approved, the COR or delegate can assign the volunteer a position.
• Video instructions on setting up a COR delegate are available here.

Any questions on the registration process, please reach out to Council Registrar Anna Marie Pepper.

SIGN UP FOR THE POPCORN SALE!

The popcorn sale is the perfect opportunity to teach Scouts the valuable life lesson of earning their own way and funding the most exciting year of Scouting ever! More than 70% of the popcorn sale supports programs and local Scouting! Plus, the Washington Crossing Council does all the pre-work to set up the sale, eliminating the need to research opportunities, calculate returns, create sales and promotional materials, manage a relationship with a vendor, and more.

Last year's popcorn sale was a big success - growing by 38% over the previous year! This allowed for a lot of great Scouting adventures! New support and tools from the council and Trail's End helped propel that growth. Plans are already underway to continue last year's success.  All units are encouraged to take a look at the popcorn sale to see if it is a good fit for them.

There are two steps to get involved in this year's sale:

Step 1: Enroll in the sale. Unit leadership needs to officially "sign-up" for the sale. When doing this, they need to designate a "popcorn kernel" (a person who will run point on their sale). Units can change this info later in the summer, if needed.

Step 2: RSVP for one of the council popcorn kickoffs. These are training events for the unit popcorn kernels. There are two opportunities: July 18 (New Hope) & July 23 (Yardley).

INDIVIDUAL CAMPER PROGRAM AT OSR

NEXT SUMMER AT OSR: SCOUTS BSA CAMP

Troops can start planning now for summer camp 2025 at Ockanickon! With over 80 merit badges to choose from, every troop should consider OSR as a summer camp option. Unit deposits are now being accepted!

Next summer, there will be six weeks of camp to choose from. The sessions are:

• June 15 – June 21
• June 22 – June 28
• June 29 – July 5

• July 6 – July 12
• July 13 – July 19
• July 20 – July 26

Troops that sign-up with a $150 deposit by September 30 will lock-in a special discounted rate guarantee allowing their Scouts & families to have until April 30 (two extra months) to qualify for the deepest discounts in camp pricing.

NEW! FAMILY OPTION FOR CUB SCOUT ADVENTURE CAMP!

Tons of Fun for Cub Scouts at Adventure Camp!

Adventure Camp is a great opportunity to experience many different program areas and work on some of the new rank adventures. Campers will spend two days traveling around camp visiting 10 different program areas and interacting with the summer camp staff. Programs include archery, arts, BB guns, boating, climbing tower, ecology, fishing, swimming, outdoor skills, and slingshots. Cub Scouts will be able to work on the requirements for several adventures for their grade level. Other activities include an opening campfire and an evening of camp-wide games.

Camp Sessions

There are two sessions, each running three days and two nights:

• July 28-30
• July 31-August 2

CUB SCOUT DAY CAMP IS HANDS-ON FUN!

How to Register for Day Camp

Scouts may attend day camp with a family member or with their pack. If the pack is not going, the council can help interested families join with another group for the week.

A family can pick the week of camp that best fits their schedule (listing is above). Then, go to www.washingtoncrossingbsa.org/cub-scout-day-camp to sign up. Shirt size and “rank as of September 2024” are very important. Entering the correct rank information ensures the child is placed in the correct den at camp. 

Payment is required at the time of registration. The standard rate is $250 for a full week of day camp. $50/day for a safe, quality Cub Scout-focused program is a great deal. Participants bring their own lunch, but snacks are provided. There are considerable discounts for the children of full-week volunteers. The standard rate is in effect up until two weeks before the first day camp; a late fee will be applied after that.

Questions about camp should be directed to day camp staff advisor Janet Boris.

The Silver Beaver is Scouting's award for distinguished service. Recipients of this award must be a registered Scouters who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given at the council level. All Scouters are encouraged to think of someone deserving of this honor and nominate them.

Completed nominations are due to the council office by September 15. They may be submitted by email to Anna Marie Pepper or submitted to the council service center (1 Scout Way; Doylestown, PA 18901).

Find copies of the most recent (May) district newsletters by clicking below:

The Washington Crossing Council has a number of special newsletters. Scouters may self subscribe to any of them by using this subscription link.