The Greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America serves over 2,300 youths in north St. Louis county - from boys starting out in the 1st grade Tiger Cub program to young men and women 20 years of age in the Venturing program. Curricula include fun, family-focused activities for younger Scouts, character development and life-lessons for Boy Scouts, high adventure and career education for Venturers, and a new emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 
These programs are made possible through partnerships and support of hundreds of faith-based institutions, community organizations, businesses, service clubs, and individuals with a sincere concern for the welfare of our youths.
These Friends of Scouting provide the funds necessary for our council, a full 23% of the council's income.
In North Star District, our Friends of Scouting campaign has two divisions: (1) community/corporate and (2) family. The cost of services provided to each Scout in our council this year is $148. Even though we serve over 2,300 Scouts, our goal this year is well below the amount invested in our district. Our goal is to raise $77,500 in support of Scouting. We are confident we will be successful for another year!
R
ick Hoyt, Vice President at Covidien, is serving as our Friends of Scouting Chairman and will provide guidance to our campaign this year, with specific focus on the community/corporate teams.
Steve Rechtien is serving as our Family Friends of Scouting Chairman and will provide leaderhip to numerous volunteer Trailblazers and Crew Chiefs giving presentations to the families of Scouts who see the direct benefit the Scouting program provides to their sons and relatives. If you are a unit leader, your help is needed to schedule a presentation at your next pack, troop, or crew meeting. Please contact Steve Rechtien or Sr. District Executive Mark Hays to coordinate this opportunity for parents to support their child's programs. These presentations are held from December-early April.
You can contribute to Scouting online by clicking HERE. If you are registered with a unit, that unit can earn incentives like free advancement awards from the Scout Shop or free registration fees for leaders to training events when you support Scouting. Your gift will automatically count toward those incentives; you don't need to do anything more!
