The Boy Scouts of America is proud to provide the Scouting experience to all youth who meet membership requirements. Youth can join Cub Scouting or Scouts BSA and have the opportunity to grow and learn from Scouting. There are many opportunities for youth to benefit from the Scouting experience.
Why Lone Scouts?
A youth applies for membership as an individual Lone Scout only if he or she cannot conveniently join a Cub Scout pack or Scouts BSA troop. They may reside in remote areas of the country, live overseas, or be in a place where it just isn’t safe for them to attend traditional unit meetings. Lone Scouting may be the answer for these youth.
When Is Lone Scouting the Right Choice?
Because regular interaction between youth and leaders in the BSA’s traditional programs has many advantages, we must keep in mind that Lone Scouting is not intended for youth who are able to safely attend meetings of traditional Cub Scout packs or Scout troops. Traditional units, if available, have the best potential to provide a quality Scouting program. Youth in circumstances such as those listed to the right, however, may find that Lone Scouting is the best option. With the right adult friend and counselor, Scouting’s aims and mission can be well met. Youth in the following or similar circumstances may find Lone Scouting is the best option.
• Home-schooled where parents do not want them in a youth group
• U.S. citizens living abroad
• Exchange students away from the United States
• Disability or communicable illness that prevents meeting attendance
• Rural communities far from a unit
• Conflicts with a job, night school, or boarding school
• Families who frequently travel or live on a boat, etc.
• Living arrangements with parents in different communities
• Environments where getting to meetings may put the Scout in danger
Although the Lone Scout might miss the opportunity to participate in activities in the pack or troop, there are certain advantages to this experience. For example, Scouting activities can be done entirely at home. Boys or girls who live in rural areas have the outdoors close at hand where much of Scouting takes place. Each youth can progress at his or her own pace, building upon his or her own interests and abilities. Also, the youth has the personal help of an adult counselor.
With the entire Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA programs open to them, they may, under the watchful eye of a Lone Scout friend and counselor, strive for the Eagle Scout rank, just as any other Scout. Advancement in Lone Scouting provides flexibility when requirements call for participation with a den, pack, patrol, or troop, and opportunities abound for a strong bond between a Scout and counselor.
How to join
If Lone Scouts is right for you, fill out the necessary paperwork
– Youth Application
– Adult Application
– YPT
and send it to the Midnightsun Council to get registered to participate in Scouting.
For detailed information contact us at 907-452-1976.
Click here to download/view the Guide to Lone Scouting
