CATHOLIC SCOUTING

Scouting strives to help boys develop into honorable men. Scouting’s values can be incorporated into a boy’s home, school, and religious community, adding to all three and, in some cases, filling in where family, school or religious support is lacking. The Scouting Program includes character development, citizenship training, and mental and physical fitness.

The Girl Scout program emphasizes the following goals for girls: a deepening of self-awareness; developing an ability to relate to others with increased skill and maturity; developing values and directions for life; and creating a desire to contribute to the betterment of society.

The boys have opportunities to attend camp. High adventure training for older Scouts over a week or two along distant trails, mountain ranges, and rivers takes place about yearly. A formal program provides for advancement from Tenderfoot to Eagle rank. The younger boys can participate in parades and pool parties.
 
The Girls give service and have fun, learning and growing through activities in five areas including: the World of Well-Being, the World of People, the World of Today and Tomorrow, the World of the Arts, and the World of the Out-of-Doors.

The scouting program was introduced to the United States in 1910 by William D. Boyce and is chartered by the United States Congress. Troop 317 was formed in 1990 and is chartered through St. Matthew Catholic Church. The troop is part of the youth program of the Parish. The Parish is responsible for providing adult leadership and a meeting room.

For more than sixty five years, the Boys Scouts of America has helped younger boys through Cub Scouting. Scouting is a family program designed for boys who are in first through fifth grades. Cub Scout Pack 317 is chartered through St. Matthew Parish. This charter is renewed annually with the Boy Scouts of America.

The Girl Scouts of the United States of America are united by a belief in God, and an acceptance of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. Juliette Gordon Low began the scout movement in the U.S. in 1912, inspired by her friend, Lord Robert Baden-Powell of England, who had started the scouting movement. Juliette liked the idea of organized activities for girls; she wanted to give something special to them, and she did.

Annual dues are associated with this program. Adult volunteers may be subject to a criminal record check. Fingerprints will be required. This applies to all volunteers working with children.