BSA Troop 211

What it takes to join Troop 211

At Troop 211, we strive to keep scouting affordable to everyone. We want to reach as many youth as possible in an effort to train them as individuals, a team and future leaders. All you have to do to join is simply come out to any of our meetings and talk to us. We will have applications available to fill out at any time.

The cost of membership for a year is $11.00 ($10 for registration to BSA and $1.00 to Great Lakes Field Service Council for Insurance).

There is an optional (Recommended) subscription to Boy's Life magazine your son can order. The cost for Boy's Life is an additional $12.00 for the year.

The Cost for Weekly dues is $45.00 for the year.

We renew our membership every February. We do pro-rate the membership based on when you sign up.

Final cost is $68.00 a year or about $5.66 a month.

You may check our uniform closet before purchasing uniforms. Uniforms may be purchased at either Scout shop in Port Huron, Troy, or Detroit. You can click the link on out Links page for directions to both locations.

You can download a shopping list for a uniform under the Forms page of our website. There are many other sources for looking for uniforms, just ask us for suggestions.

Scouting reinforces the skills and values we want our sons to learn while they're having fun. Our goal at Troop 211 is to continually develop a program that will challenge the youth of our community to make a difference in the environment they live. Scouting goes far beyond camping, canoeing, hiking, earning merit badges, rank advancement. Scouting is a way of life, a set of values and standards we try to teach these young men.

If we are able to influence our youth with the right values, morals and standards now, this will become their way of thinking which will govern how they make decisions in the future. At some point in our future, these same young men will be making decisions, judgments, laws, and other life changing actions that will affect our lives. Those decisions will be in our best interest if we have given them the proper foundation to build their way of thinking and reasoning.

Below you will find some basic information on our unit. If at anytime you have questions, please feel free to ask any of us.

Meetings

Location - New Baltimore Civic Club

Time - Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Gathering starts at 6:45 p.m.

We do meet all year. Most units follow a school schedule. We believe scouting is a full time way of life. In order to help support that belief, we feel that the scout needs to have regular contact with other scouts to help each other. This builds bonds and strengthens friendships.

We are a fully youth run unit. This means your son will vote on an election night as to who he would like to lead him from his peers in his troop. The elected youth will plan, organize, and conduct the meetings with the mentorship of an adult leader. Adults do not take control of meetings.

Camping

As a general rule, we camp once a month. Yes, even in winter. We do teach the youth how to properly camp in cold weather. There may be a month where we are committed to a service project, and due to personal schedules of the leaders, we may not be able to get in a camping trip.

On the Friday night of camping, we meet at the Civic Club and carpool to the campsite. On Sunday, we return to the club at 12 noon. I know all of us have churches we attend on Sunday morning. However, we need everyone�s help in unloading equipment. These campouts are for the scouts. The scouts should assist in storing what they take to the field.

Camping fees are always minimal. We average $20 - $30 per scout for meals and site charge for an entire weekend. We DO NOT provide meals on Friday night. They need to eat at home, or bring it with them as they head to the campsite. The scouts do their own meal planning and cooking. All cooking is done over campfire or camp stove.

Meals are planned two meetings before a campout. This is a group effort. If your son has particular likes and dislikes, make sure he is there to voice his vote. If your son is allergic to a food, make sure it is on his health form and tell the leaders about his allergy. This will definitely affect meal planning. We accommodate health issues. We do not accommodate picky eaters who do not come to meeting

Summer Camp

Summer camp is a big part of your son’s scouting experience. Not only will be advance in rank and merit badges, but he will also grow as an individual and grow with other scouts as a unit.

A big part of the payment for summer camp has come from fundraisers. I believe if a scout wants to participate in an activity, they need to have invested in that activity. We sell popcorn and hold other fundraisers to allow the scouts a chance to earn their way to summer camp. Get your scout involved in these activities. Any money we raise goes directly back into the program to enhance it more for your youth.

Service projects

We are here to make a difference in our community one project at a time. We have participated in a wide range of service projects. If we do not get the scouts active in our community, they will never see that they can have a positive impact on a negative situation for someone. We want them to see they can make a difference if they will just do something.

We have one on going service project that we do twice a year. In conjunction with VFW Post 6767, we place flags on the graves of veterans for Memorial Day and Veterans Day. While this does meet the requirement for service hours, this is not the only project we expect our scouts to participate.

Parents

Without commitment from the parents, we would not have a troop. By commitment I mean being committed to bringing your son to each meeting. If you miss a meeting, you will miss something important about upcoming events. By commitment I mean being committed to being aware of what is going on in terms of activities and events. By commitment I mean being committed to getting your scout to work on advancements at home.

While you do not have to commit to being a leader, you can commit to being an active scout parent. We can teach your son how to make decisions and be independent, but unless you are aware of what we promote, you can not help enforce that at home. It all goes back to scouting being a way of life, not just a meeting and a campout. We need you to help us make this a full circle in your son’s life. We as leaders have nothing to gain. You, as a parent, have a lot to gain.