BSA Guides & Program Help

Managing  an excellent scout unit requires a solid cadre of leaders, a variety of skills, and plenty of volunteers.  As important is an understanding of the Scouting program, its goals, rules, and yes, paperwork.  Planning a meeting or outdoor adventure?  Building your unit through recruiting?  Want to know what it takes to keep everyone safe on a camping trip?  How do you make the most of Scouting’s Advancement program?  The resources on this page are designed to help you an others on the adult leadership team make the most of Scouting!

Get the Latest on Scouts BSA!

The Program Updates page provides the latest changes for new members and old hands straight from the National Scouts BSA Committee. It has the latest information concerning resources and developments affecting the Scouts BSA program.

Keeping Everyone Safe

An important element in every Scouting activity is safety, and BSA has dedicated lots of time toward that goal.  To learn about BSA’s best practices, and rules for being safe while having fun, be sure to check out the Guide to Safe Scouting.

To help make sure that youth remain safe during Scouting activities, adult volunteers are required to follow BSA’s Youth Protection Rules, and to complete its Youth Protection online training.

Scouts BSA Program Resource Page

Bryan on Scouting calls this “your quick-start guide to Scouts BSA.” It has links to help leaders and volunteers get started, improve their program, help transition new members and their parents into Scouts BSA. Check it out at scouting.org: Home>Programs>Scouts BSA> Program Resources.

Journey to Excellence

BSA’s Journey to Excellence (JTE)  is an annual assessment to help units recognize their strengths and identify ways to strengthen the Scouting experience for youth. The rubric highlights proven programmatic and unit management practices that contribute to programmatic success.

Visit BSA’s JTE page to learn more about Journey to Excellence, view this year’s rubric, and download resources to support each unit’s progress toward excellence in Scouting.  https://www.scouting.org/awards/journey-to-excellence

Recruiting

For many successful units, recruiting is a year-round activity including outreach, following, and no small amount of fun activities.  Check out Powhatan District’s own collection of resources to help you make the most of your recruiting effort.

Annual Planning

To have a vibrant, fun and worthwhile program, planning is an important activity for unit leaders.  For Cub Scout Packs, the work is done primarily by the adult leadership team.  For Troops and Crews, Scouts play a key role.  The planning guides below explain how you can structure your planning process to engage and energize your unit, while preparing a great calendar of events for your Scouting year.

Cub Scout Camping Resources

The lore of native Americans, notion of adventure, and  the values of conservation all come together in Scouting’s outdoor program.  In planning camping adventures for your Pack or Den, you are participating in a tradition that goes back to Scouting’s roots.

Whether you are a new leader, or an experienced Akela,  Powhatan’s Cub Scout Camping Resources Guide will provide you with information and guidance for planning fun and exciting camping events for your Cub Scouts.