Don Sachs, Director of Development for the Minsi Trails Boy Scout Council, and an Eagle Scout himself, reminded our Club of the common connection between the Boy Scouts and Rotary. Our history together goes back to 1918 when Rotary was the first service club in the U.S. to adopt Scouting and continues today with Rotarian support of young men and women who participating in Scouting programs.
Locally, over 10,000 youth, ages 6-20, are being served by the Minsi Trails Council throughout six counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. About 1,200 of those are from the Bethlehem area.
Don explained that scouting is much more than camping, outdoor skills and earning badges. Although these are important, they are only tools to teach leadership and life skills. Through these activities, Scouts learn six key attributes of character, including trustworthiness, hopefulness, kindness, obedience, cheerfulness and helpfulness. Independent research has shown that Scouts:
- Enjoy greater academic success
- Have greater graduation rates from high school and college
- Are seen as leaders among their peers
- Are more likely to play sports and be physically fit
The benefits of Scouting also carry over in to adulthood. The same research reveals that adults who participated in Scouting:
- Volunteer in their community
- Are more likely to attend church or religious services
- Are more likely to vote
Don briefly shared information about their Scoutreach Program that reaches out to at-risk youth in rural, suburban and inner-city areas and introduce them to Scouting. Meetings are typically held right in their schools to ensure a safe, familiar place and to alleviate any potential transportation issues. Because many of these at-risk youth live in high poverty areas, uniforms, program materials, activities and camping are all provided free of charge through generous donations by local individuals, companies and foundations.
The Minsi Trails Council relies on a corps of about 5,000 volunteers in the Lehigh Valley to keep the Scouting Program alive and well. Like Rotarians, they are motivated by service to others. Without volunteers there would be no Scouts.
The vision for Minsi Trails is to be recognized as the best youth character and leadership development program for young people in our area and in our country. Based on the names of well-known leaders in our community that Don shared with our Club, including Senator Pat Toomey, Don Snyder, Dick Wilson, judge James Knoll Gardner and the late Don Miller, Scouting does indeed build better youth.
Announcements and Updates
- Buck Jones reminded the Club that our Mini-Golf at Putt-U on Route 309 was scheduled for Thursday, September 29th, but warned that the weather service was calling for rain, in which case, it would be cancelled. POSTSCRIPT: Because Mother Nature did not cooperate, our mini-golf competition was cancelled; however, Buck promised it would be rescheduled in spring.
- Thea Phalon gave a last call for members to sign up to attend Taste & Tunes on Sunday, October 2nd. WE have been struggling to get our numbers up to 200 this year.
- Bill Fitzpatrick offered the perfect solution for working off the extra calories from Taste & Tunes by signing up for the 6th Annual Purple Pinkie 5K Run/Fun Walk – Saturday, October 22nd at Lehigh Carbon Community College. This Rotary-sponsored event a great way to get a great work out.
- Sylvia Doyle announced that this week was the final week for collecting new or gently used books to benefit Cops and Kids and Healthy Kids, Bright Futures, organizations that help get books into the hands of at-risk children in our community. Thanks to all who donated! POSTSCRIPT: Books will still be accepted on Wednesday, October 5.
- Our nominating committee, led by Ham Malek, will be meeting on October 5, immediately following our Club meeting. If you would like to serve on the committee or have suggestions for 2017-2018 board members, please contact Ham or Mike McGovern.
- Scholarships are still available to attend the Rotary Leadership Institute on November 12, 2016 (7:30 am to 3:30 pm at Bucks County Community College). Tyler Papaz, Ham Malek and Bob Smith will be attending so there are car-pooling opportunities available. Please contact President Gail for more information.
- Our October 5 meeting will serve as a Club Assembly. Ron Madison and PE Gerry Foran will be sharing plans for increasing membership. Christine Nelson will be providing an update on Rotary’s Polio Plus program.
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