If you could give your boy the greatest gift of 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