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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Boy Scouts of America Commit to
200 Million Hours of Community Service
(IRVING, Texas) April 23, 1997 -- The Boy Scouts of America, the premier
youth-serving organization in the country, has committed to 200 million hours
of community service by its youth members in response to the Presidents'
Summit for America's Future call to action.
This will help fulfill one of the fundamental goals of the summit: "To
provide youth with the opportunity to give back through community service."
"Two hundred million hours is no small undertaking," said John W.
Creighton Jr., volunteer president of the BSA. "However, community service is,
and always has been, an integral part of the Scouting program."
The commitment calls for the BSA's 4.4 million young people to provide
an hour of public service per month for the next four years. Since Boy Scout
activities require adult supervision (an average of one adult to three young
people), this will also entail more than 60 million hours of adult volunteer
work, which are not included in the 200-million-hour commitment.
"Our volunteer leaders are excellent role models, providing mentoring
to the youth they serve," Creighton added.
If calculated at minimum wage, the value of this volunteer service would
be more than $1 billion. A recent Harris Poll of the values of men and boys in
America shows that men who have been Scouts are more likely to assume
leadership roles in community organizations and place the needs of others
before their own.
In fact, the organization itself was formed on the basis of community
service. In 1909 American William Boyce was lost in a dense London fog. A boy
approached and asked if he could be of help. The young man took Boyce to his
destination, and refused a tip, explaining the Scout philosophy of doing a
Good Turn.
Boyce had the Scout take him to meet with Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder
of the Scouting movement in Great Britain. Boyce was so impressed, he decided
to bring Scouting to the United States.
Today the Scout slogan remains, "Do a Good Turn daily," and part of the
Scout Oath is "to help other people at all times."
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