We all know Scouts and Venturers are some of the best guys and girls around. Look in any town, any neighborhood, and the kind of folks you find in Scouting are achievers, leaders and setting an example for service to others.
But, once in a while, someone works so hard, does so much good for their community or just comes up with a new, clever way to make the impact of Scouting that much better. They are the ones that set a new standard for what all of us should aspire to be.
That’s the kind of story you’ll be seeing in this category on the Summit Blog — Above & Beyond.
Check Out Some Examples
Earlier this summer, Spencer Z., a Life Scout from the Grand Canyon Council completed a triathlon. What made this effort special was that Spencer pulled, pushed and carried his friend, Dayton, over the entire course of the 500-meter swim, 3.2-mile run and 12-mile bike ride. Dayton has cerebral palsy, so participating without Spencer’s help just wasn’t an option. And Spencer didn’t do this for a service project, he just wanted his friend to have the experience of competition. Read more about it in this interview with Dayton’s mom.
Michael and Robert L., brothers and Scouts from New York, averted an “Amber Alert” earlier this year when they helped find a missing child. They came to the aid of a distraught grandmother who’d become separated from her 5-year-old granddaughter in a shopping mall. Michael and Robert used their Scouting experience to organize the adults into search teams, and before long the teams found the girl and reunited her with grandma, according to news reports. Nice work, guys!
If it wasn’t enough to go serve their country as military officers in Afghanistan, 2 dedicated soldiers and Scouters revived a Scout troop while in Kabul. Lt. Col. Patrick Owens and Lt. Col. Tim Hodge spent their free time, while in the capital city, getting Afghani kids active in Scouting. The Scouting program had been disbanded when first, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and then again when the Taliban took over the country. Talk about dedication: Most of the time these Scouters had to go to their meetings in Kevlar armor with their sidearms on; a combat zone can be a dangerous place, but these officers report it was worth it. Read more about it in this interview with Owens.
Now, that’s what we call going Above & Beyond.
Do you have a story like this to share? Who are the Scouts in your area that are setting the standard? You can tell us all about it by submitting your stories to the Summit Blog on this form.