It’s a significant shift as the 114-year-old organization emerges from bankruptcy after a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It’s a significant shift as the Irving-based organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
“In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs,”The organization began allowing gay youth in 2013 and ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015. In 2017, it made the historic announcement that girls would be accepted as Cub Scouts as of 2018 and into the flagship Boy Scout program — renamed Scouts BSA — in 2019.
Within days of the announcement that girls would be allowed, Bob Brady went to work. A father of two girls and a proud Eagle Scout himself, the New Jersey attorney eagerly formed an all-girls troop. At their first weekend gathering with other troops, the boys were happy to have the girls involved but some adult leaders seemed concerned, he recalled. Their worries seemed to melt away as soon as the girls led a traditional cheer around the campfire.
Like other organizations, the scouts lost members during the pandemic, when participation was difficult. After a highpoint over the last decade of over 2 million members in 2018, the organization currently services just over 1 million youths, including more than 176,000 girls and young women. Membership peaked in 1972 at almost 5 million.
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