Today, February 14th, 2024 the fees to join scouting for an entire 12 calendar months is $160 plus a one time $25 administrative fee. You can sign up online at www.beascout.scouting.org just type in your zip code and find your local units whether that be for Cub Scouts or Scouts BSA. Just fill out the form for your child and complete your payment online and you are set for your child to start participating with a unit near you!
Shown below is the Be A Scout website to find your unit near you. All you need to do is type in your zip code and highlight which units you want to find. Whether that be Cub Scouts (grades K-5), Scouts BSA (ages 11-17), Venturing (ages 14-20), Sea Scouting (ages 14-20) or Exploring (ages 10-20). You can choose one or all.
When you find the unit you want to apply to, the contact information should be available of whom you can call/email to find out their schedule and where they meet if it’s not already included on the site.
On Monday, April 1st – No Joke I promise, the fees to join scouting will be changing.
Check out this handy graphic-
Right now, yes it is $160 to join scouting but you also have a one-time $25 fee. So it’s $185 to join. Starting April 1st the fee to join scouting will be $170 with no more one time $25 fee. Either way, whether you are paying $160 or $185 for an ENTIRE year of scouting, that’s still a steal! Do your kids play sports? Sports are a season and each new season you have to pay a lot more, each time. For example, my 9-year-old daughter is learning to figure skate. One month, mind you, is $180 for 4 lessons. She generally skates for 2 months so we get a little discount but 8 lessons for $300 plus if you want to skate in the recital that is an additional $125!
Some of the benefits of scouting is that even though you are paying for an entire year, the program is all year long. Even if your child plays sports that’s ok! So, your child might not be able to make it to a Pack or Troop meeting for a month or so, there are still rank advancements your child can work on in their own time and show their knowledge when that sports schedule is no longer happening. Scout leaders are here for your children always! We want your children to succeed!
The adult leader fee is increasing $5. What is an adult leader? An adult leader is a volunteer who may or may not have a specific role, such as a den leader in a Pack, a committee member for a Pack or a Troop. A Cub Master (the person who leads the pack) or a Scout Master (the person who leads a troop.) You might be thinking, why does a volunteer need to pay to volunteer?
A volunteer is paying for a membership into the BSA that also covers a background check and training for the specific role your volunteer position. We take child safety very seriously! A background check ensures everyone who wants to be a volunteer is safe to be a volunteer with children. We then provide required training called Youth Protection Training which adds another added layer of security of adults spending time with our youth. This is a pass/fail required learning. We will also provide you training for your volunteer position, even if you don’t have a specific hands on role, such as being a committee member and assisting your unit with fundraising, making budgets, planning the pack calendar for the year, scheduling speakers, etc.
What’s the difference between a Adult Leader and a Merit Badge Counselor?
A merit bdge counselor is someone who is never alone with a youth unless they are also an adult leader. A merit badge counselor is someone who is an expert in one or more fields of study that the BSA offers merit badges in. To see if this is something you might be interested in, check out the application here.
