The start of a new school year is a great time to consider joining the Boy Scouts of America. It offers two programs here in Weston, with Cub Scout Pack 341 serving boys in kindergarten through fifth grade and Boy Scout Troop 383 serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. Each program stresses community service, leadership, personal development and, most important, fun for the whole family.
“The Cub Scouts is a youth organization designed to develop the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of boys in order to help them become productive members of society,” explains Cubmaster Christina Montalvan. “While some of our most obvious activities are camping and hiking, we also focus on helping the boys develop a code of behaviors and understand and participate in citizenship activities that are designed to improve the community at large.”
While Cub Scouts allows boys to make lifelong friends and learn life skills, Montalvan says it also provides once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for families to share, such as camping under a space shuttle and meeting an astronaut at the Kennedy Space Center.
As boys move from elementary school to middle school, they advance to Boy Scouts, building upon the foundation they established in Cub Scouts. According to Troop 383 Outdoor Committee Chair Jonathan Wolfe, “Boy Scouts is an amazing opportunity to help develop young men into outstanding citizens, leaders and with a set of skills which will benefit them for life. It provides opportunities across a multitude of experiences from backpacking and camping in some of the most beautiful parts of the country to learning professional skills such as communication, salesmanship and first aid.”
The Troop 383 program is Scout-led, with adult guidance, with a focus on high adventure. “This past year, our scouts hiked over 250 miles, canoed over 30 miles on two different rivers, camped over 20 nights, fished in the Keys, shot rifles and clays with trained professionals, learned CPR from Broward Sheriffs, camped on a frozen lake and dog sledded, hiked the Appalachian, Old Cutler, Barefoot Mailman and Colorado trails,” shares Wolfe.
The boys are also committed to community service, with many earning the prestigious Eagle Scout Award. According to Advancement Chair Joyce Jeha, “These impressive young men are often volunteering their time unprompted and truly want to make a difference.”
Both Pack 341 and Troop 383 are accepting new members. Cub Scout Pack 341 meets Monday nights at 6:30pm in the Eagle Point Elementary School cafeteria; call Eddy Wayman at 954-778-9898 for more information. Boy Scout Troop 383 meets Tuesdays at 6:45, also at Eagle Point; contact New Member Coordinator Matt Bukala at 954-729-6835 for more information. For information in Spanish on either program call Adolfo Colmenares at 954-729-6835.