If you could give your boy the greatest giftof all, what would it be?  It wouldn’t be money or anything money could buy.  Whether you are rich or poor, the greatest gift is within your power because that gift is helping a boy become a self-reliant person with a good feeling about himself and a genuine concern for others.

For more than 90 years, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have helped families share this priceless gift with boys.

The Impact of Scouting

Many of us remember Scouting from our own experiences or those of our brothers.  But how many of us know what impact that Scouting experience has?

A study of the records of Scouts in High schools and colleges reveals that they bear a large amount of responsibility:

            88 percent of school newsletter editors

            85 percent of student council presidents

            81 percent of senior class presidents

            77 percent of editors of school annuals

            75 percent of business managers of school publications

            71 percent of football captains

            65 percent of basketball captains

Counted among the alumni of Boy Scouts of America:

            85 percent of FBI agents

            72 percent of Rhodes scholars

            68 percent of the West Point graduates

            64 percent of the graduates of the Air Force Academy

            26 of the first 29 United States astronauts

Another study shows that of every 100 boys in Scouting:

            18 will develop hobbies that will give them lifelong interests

            17 will later become leaders in Scouting and will pass on their skills, inspiration and leadership to countless

               other youth

            12 will receive their first church contact through Scouting

            8 will find their future life vocation

            5 will receive church religious emblems

            2 will reach Eagle Scout rank

            1 will enter the clergy due to his Scouting relationships

            1 will use Scout skills to save another person’s life

            1 will credit Scout skills with saving his own life

            Only rarely will one appear in juvenile court