Thank you for helping develop youth into leaders through the Boy Scouts of America. As a valued member of our Scouting family, our goal is to help you understand recent media coverage about the National Affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America.
Please know that Scouting is strong in the Greater Alabama Council, with more than 27,000 youth and 4000 volunteer leaders.
All local Scouting programs are continuing as usual.
We remain as committed as ever to delivering a safe and impactful Scouting program in Greater Alabama Council.
Today, the national organization of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to achieve two key objectives: equitably compensate victims who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue to carry out Scouting’s mission for years to come. We know you will likely have questions about these issues and things you will see in the news. This website should help answer those questions
www.BSArestructuring.org
.
This decision by National BSA will have no effect on
Scouting in the Greater Alabama Council.
- The Greater Alabama Council is a separate 501(c)3 operating as a financially separate organization.
- Greater Alabama camps, Volunteer Service Center and finances are owned and controlled by the Greater Alabama Council.
- Friends of Scouting and other annual donations will continue to be used to pay for necessary day-to-day expenses to provide Scouting in our communities.
- With your support, the Council will continue to deliver a safe and high-quality Scouting experience for more than 27,000 Scouts in the 22 counties we serve in Alabama.
We want to assure you
Scouting will continue throughout our nation
and
Scouting in
Greater Alabama Council
will continue with great strength
.
While the word “bankruptcy” can be intimidating, it is important to know that Scouting programs will continue. Your regular unit meetings and activities, district and council events, other Scouting adventures and countless service projects will take place as usual.
We took this action today amid increasing financial pressure on the BSA from litigation involving past abuse in Scouting. We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to abuse innocent children and sincerely apologize to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We believe victims, we support them, we provide counseling at a provider of their choice, and we encourage them to come forward. Our plan is to use this Chapter 11 process to create a Trust that would provide equitable compensation to these individuals.
As we go through this process, we want to make certain that all Scouting parents and volunteers know the following:
- Scouting is safer now than ever before. Approximately 90% of the pending and asserted claims against the BSA relate to abuse that occurred more than 30 years ago. As someone close to Scouting, you know the safety of children in our programs is the BSA’s absolute top priority and that one instance of abuse is one too many. That’s precisely why over many years we’ve developed some of the strongest expert-informed youth protection policies found in any youth- serving organization.
From mandatory youth protection training and background checks for all volunteers and staff, to policies that prohibit one-on-one interaction between youth and adults and require that any suspected abuse is reported to law enforcement, our volunteers and employees take youth protection extremely seriously and do their part to help keep kids safe. You can read more about the BSA’s multi-layered safeguards and our efforts to be part of the broader solution to child abuse at
www.scouting.org/youth-safety
. In fact, this is a resource that you can share with friends and family who are interested in understanding what the BSA is doing to keep kids safe.
- Scouting continues. Scouting programs will continue to serve youth, families and local communities throughout this process and for many years to come. Just last year, communities across the country benefited from more than 13 million Scouting service hours, and young men and women earned more than 1.7 million merit badges that represent skills that will help them succeed throughout their lives. Studies prove and parents agree that Scouting helps young people become more kind, helpful and prepared for life, and as long as those values remain important to our society, Scouting will continue to be invaluable to our nation’s youth.
- Local councils have not filed for bankruptcy. Local councils – which provide programming, financial, facility and administrative support to Scouting units in their communities – are legally separate, distinct and financially independent from the national organization.
If these resources don’t answer your questions, please feel free to reach out to us through Member Care at 972-580-2489 or
MyScouting@Scouting.org
. We will do everything we can to provide helpful, transparent responses and ensure your Scouting experience continues to be a great one.
Yours in Scouting,
