For over 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America has provided boys from 11-18 with the chance to learn citizenship, life and safety skills, and leadership, all while having a great time. Through regular meetings, outdoor activities, and merit badges, kids learn while having fun and making friends, developing self-confidence as they pass what they’ve learned to younger kids.
The Boy Scouts of America is the only US scouting organization that is a part of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, providing opportunities to young boys and girls all over the planet.
In 1930, the BSA expanded their program to include the Cub Scouts, now offering these same opportunities to kids from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade. And in 1998, they expanded again with the Venturing program, a co-ed program for all youth aged 14-21.
Last year, the BSA introduced Family Scouting, which expanded Cub Scouts to include girls. And beginning February 1, the BSA renames it’s Boy Scout program to Scouts BSA and opens registration to girls 11-18!
Founded in 1956, Troop 893 in Centreville is one of the oldest units in area. The troop has developed a strong and successful program, providing leadership opportunities for youth (and adults) for over 60 years. Many current and former troop leaders are also active at the regional level, committed to advancing the ideals of BSA programs for all area youth.
We are pleased to announce that this tradition of leadership will continue, with the establishment of a Scouts BSA Girls’ Troop!
The new girls’ troop will join an extended BSA family at the Centreville United Methodist Church, which includes a Cub Scout Pack and a co-ed Venturing Crew. The Crew has been sponsored at CUMC for nearly 20 years, and is a co-ed crew — so we already have extensive experience delivering BSA programs to both boys and girls.
Our program will draw heavily from the boys’ approach, including the troop’s strong New Scout program, occasional joint meetings with the boys, and key joint events and campouts. We will (eventually — see below) meet at the same time as the boys’ troop, but in a different room, to further allow adult leadership to mix and support both troops. However, we don’t expect that the troop will be a complete carbon copy of the boys’ — as with all youth-led units, the girls will be blazing plenty of new trails of their own.
We currently have five “Charter” members. Many of these scouts are active in our Venture Crew, and already participate in select Troop activities, including supporting the annual Mission Impossible event in the fall, and Klondike Derby in the winter. They’re even heading to Philmont this summer! They are super excited about starting a new program, training themselves quickly, and then leading new scouts as they join us later in the spring.
Come join us! We’d love to have more initial members, to build out as strong a leadership program as possible. If you know anyone who might be interested — friends, family members, siblings of current Cub or Boy scouts — please pass this information along to them. The earlier they join up, the better — we’ll also be attending the Merit Badge University run by and for the 893 boys in February, so join now and earn some merit badges in the first month!
And if you know an Arrow of Light scout who’s looking for a troop — let them know that we’re ready for them! We want to share this exciting journey with as many Scouts as possible. Our new scout program is strong, and we’ll be with them every step of the way, from Crossover Ceremony to Scout rank and beyond.
We have two key upcoming events:
* Information and Application Meeting: January 22, 8:00 pm
* Formal Troop Launch Party: February 1, 7:00 pm
Additionally, you and your scout(s) are always welcome to visit a regular meeting — one of the boys’ troop meetings, or the girls’ troop once it launches. Please contact us ahead of time so that we can be sure to have the right people there to answer your questions, and what our current meeting schedule is.
** Our planned meeting time will be Tuesdays from 7-8:30 pm, alongside the boys’ troop, but until late spring or early summer we may need to be more flexible as we juggle existing commitments.
For more information, you can reach us at troop893girls@gmail.com. You can also check out the main troop page (we’ll be adding a girls’ troop section shortly), at www.troop893.com.
This is going to be an exciting year. We’d love to share it with you and your scouts!
Troop 893 — Simply the Best (for boys *and* girls!)