PHOTO PROVIDED Scouts participate in activities at Camp Karoondinha.

To say Scouting America, Susquehanna Council, has grown would be the understatement of the year.

“We have about 1,500 Scouts – boys and girls,” said Dennis Dugan, a Scouting executive of the council, which has its Service Center and Scout Shop at 815 Northway Road in Loyalsock Township.

The 1,500 Scouts are made up of 1,000 Cub Scouts – ages 5 to 10, and the 500 Scouts ages 11 to 18, Dugan said.

Dugan was at Camp K, or Camp Karoondinha, for the interview. The camp has been a Scouting tradition since 1933. It is on 400 acres owned and operated by the council in western Union County.

At Camp K, wifi is installed in the dining hall and spread throughout the camp, making internet available in most main buildings with wifi compatibility.

Scouts from Lycoming County and the entire region are familiar with Camp K, which is in the woods and near Penns Creek, but is only a 15-minute drive from Mifflinburg.

As of last year, the national office changed the name of the organization from the Boy Scouts of America to Scouting America, partly, because about 19 % of the members are female, since girls could start to join in 2019. That number is anticipated to go up to 25 %, according to most estimates.

Girls are having fun, learning and achieving as much as the boys. The council has had five young women who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the last two years, Dugan said.

“We offer a multitude of programs, such as merit badges in science, technology, engineering and mechanics,” Dugan said.

In fact, the youth organization has 118 different merit badges in the program of which Scouts can choose to enhance their hobbies or lead them on a pathway toward a potential career.

“We try to focus on environment science outdoor merit badges and safely train youth to use rifles, shotguns, bows and arrows and proper use at the target range activities,” Dugan said.

There’s also swimming, boating, kayaking, paddle boarding, and, of course, hiking.

Scouts used their mental skills with game design, robotics and chess.

“We have over 650 adult volunteers who serve as pack or troop leaders and may serve as merit badge counselors or summer camp staff,” Dugan said. “We can tailor their volunteer position to the amount of hours a person has available to make sure it fits within their schedule.”

All adults are required to go through an exhaustive criminal background check and do youth protection training. They go through three different clearances from state police and child and family services.

“We are making sure our kids are with trusting adults.” Dugan said.

The Cub and Boy Scout uniforms are available at the council headquarters and through scoutshop.org. Youth and parents pay for uniforms and the organization understands financial constraints for some families and allows three to four months for a new member to obtain a uniform and to see if they want to continue with scouting. A majority of the Scouts are recruited or join in September when school begins. The pause in requiring uniforms from some of the scouts also allows families – such as grandmothers, grandfathers, parents and relatives to purchase a boy or girl a uniform for a Christmas present.

“We have a program in the council funded by donors to provide membership assistance for camp scholarships for families in need,” Dugan said. Such support can help a boy or girl from a family in need to become a scout and embark on a journey he or she otherwise might never have known could be a reality.

Maybe parents live in a rural setting and can’t get their children to the

Scout meetings, or are parents who are working from home. There are after-school programs at places such as the Milton YMCA and Firetree Place in Williamsport that can assist kids and their families by overcoming those physical and financial barriers.

“We serve up to 50 kids a year in those two programs,” Dugan said.

How can people support

Scouting America?

“We do have fundraisers,” Dugan said. The council holds a distinguished citizens dinner in Lewisburg and Williamsport. Friends of Scouting (FOS) reaches out to local businesses and parents and there are business entrepreneurs and legislators who also contribute to the awareness and take part in scout activities and dinners.

The council has a major fundraiser in September, an annual Wine and Beer Festival at Camp K.

There are ex-Scouts who return, some for the first time in many years to listen to the bands perform in the rural setting of the camp.

Each June 14, Scouting America, Susquehanna Council, participates in the Anthony DiSalvo Flags Across America Flag Day Celebration at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, near the giant American flag, if weather permits. The march and celebration to honor God, Country and the American flag, was started by the late Anthony “Tony” DiSalvo, a lifelong Scout from Williamsport.

Scouting America, Susquehanna Council, will once again be waving to the crowds as they cheer back and be participating in the Little League World Series Grand Slam Parade again this year. It will be held on Aug. 12 from 5 to 7 p.m.