Positions Statements: United Way
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United Way |
As a founding agency of the United Way, the Boy Scouts of America greatly
appreciates the support that has been extended to Boy Scout councils across
the country. For many decades, United Way funding has helped the BSA bring
the Scouting programs to underprivileged youth, introduce new programs, and
broaden the existing program.
In our pluralistic society, the strength of local United Ways has been their
ability to bring together and support a mosaic of community needs. These needs
are best met through a comprehensive mix of agencies, many of which serve
exclusive constituencies.
The United Way does not implement a specific policy of nondiscrimination for
individual charities so as to avoid conflict with charities that serve only
specific segments of the population, including all-women's shelters, programs
for persons of a certain age group, or programs for persons of specific
cultural communities.
In its more than 90 year history, the Boy Scouts of America has served more
than 100 million members and their families as a consistent platform for the
values upon which America was built. We remain committed to providing these
values to future generations.
A core value of the BSA is respect. Scouting respects those with ideas and
customs that are different from our own and expects the same respect from those
who may disagree with Scouting's position. Tolerance for a diversity of values
and ideals does not require abdication of one's own values.
As a values-based educational movement, the Boy Scouts of America asks its
members to subscribe to the tenets of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Inculcating
moral and religious values in young people benefits all of society.
Scouts are at work in our communities everyday - collecting food, recycling,
visiting nursing homes and hospitals, and in thousands of other ways living out
the Scout Oath and Law.
The BSA aims for the United Way to realize Scouting's value to the potential,
dignity, and worth of all people, regardless of their background.