Popular Post cinepro Posted July 28, 2015 Popular Post Posted July 28, 2015 Something that hasn't really been discussed, but I think is important, is one group who stands to gain the most if the Church drops its official support for the BSA: The Young Women and Primary Auxiliaries As it currently stands, ward-level funding for the Primary program activities and youth activities is heavily skewed toward Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. I don't have the exact numbers, but from my time as a Cubmaster and Scout leader, and my wife's time in the Primary Presidency and Young Women's programs, it was made very clear that the funding for the Scout programs was considerable, with no commensurate funding for a young women's activities. (Church policy is that the ward and stake cover the cost of Scouting, including the cost for badges and activities; boys don't pay "dues" as in non-LDS troops, and only one fundraiser per year is allowed). If the Church drops its charters for BSA Troops and Packs, and implements a more cost effective program for the young men and primary-age boys, the cost savings across all the wards in the USA could be tremendous. My wife hoped they would "split the difference" between the programs, but I suspect that won't be the case. This could be a huge immediate money saver. My wife also chuckled at the thought of the young men's leaders having to learn how to put together a summer camp (like the young women's leaders have to do each year), but I suspect there will just be a "high adventure" type outing in place of what used to be Scout camp. 5
ksfisher Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 In my ward the YM and YW have always had the same budget. Primary has always lagged behind, but they never seem to spend all the money they're allocated. As for putting together a camp, some years the boys have gone to a BSA camp, other years they've done their own. I expect every ward in the church handles things a little differently. As an aside, the YW in my ward always seem to have much better camping equipment than the YM. 1
Buckeye Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 And I thought the answer was going to be: "entrepreneuring Utahns who buy up discarded scout supplies - especially clothing - for resale" 2
MorningStar Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 Our new ward actually did do it's own Scout Camp last summer. I'm not sure why, but I was delighted when we moved in and they said, "Hey, your son can go to Scout Camp next week." And it was only $100 instead of $250! It was on church owned property. This year it's at a Boy Scout Camp. I think another bonus for the church if this were to happen is that we would be more than happy to have non-LDS kids join us, which would make some friends of mine happy. I actually met a Baptist woman who was mad the church didn't pull out when the first compromise was made.
Buckeye Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 Seriously though, I suspect the biggest winner will be Primary because so much of there budget goes to cub scout awards (and books if your ward covers the cost) that often little is left for other activities. Yes, YW could also see sizeable gains, but we can to include the calculus the fact that the church already covers the cost of their girls camps - dues for which are way underpriced. The big variable is what wards decide to do instead of scout camp. If they just rent out a local BSA camp in order to use their lake, climbing tower, gun ranges, etc., that could still lead to significantly bigger budget outlays for YM than YW. I'll be very interested to see what ideas everyone comes up with, especially in trying to balance other interests such as (i) doing a really great event and (ii) doing something within reasonable driving distance. You can bet that outdoors adventure activities around Utah will start to get a lot more crowed each summer. From the national parks to bear lake, better make your reservations now.
MorningStar Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 I predict the BSA will eventually have to sell some of their camps and the church will buy them. 1
KevinG Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 The only way you will get a church unit with Young Women as prepared in the outdoorsier arts as the Young Men is if the women and some men step up and provide the leadership in those areas. I have lived in wards where this was the case. I have also lived in wards where basketball was the primary youth activity. At least the relationship with the BSA gave boys who didn't want a full time basketball league for youth activities a chance to do what they wanted at the district level. In our Stake it also gave the Young Women who wanted to Scout a Venture Crew. The budget is the same. The dedication of time and contributions from the parents is what makes the difference with a little encouragement from Ward leaders. Meanwhile I still insist my young men learn to sew on a patch and chastise them if they made their mothers do it. 3
bluebell Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 I've only ever been in wards (as an adult) where the YW and YM had the exact same budget so i'm not sure how much of an impact losing BSA would be for YW. I agree with others though on the Primary probably winning. 2
KevinG Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 I've only ever been in wards (as an adult) where the YW and YM had the exact same budget so i'm not sure how much of an impact losing BSA would be for YW. I agree with others though on the Primary probably winning. Remember the Primary program leans pretty heavily on the Cub Scouts for the boys. What will they use to keep hyper boys from destroying the peace and quiet of the girls on Wednesday nights?
bluebell Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 Remember the Primary program leans pretty heavily on the Cub Scouts for the boys. What will they use to keep hyper boys from destroying the peace and quiet of the girls on Wednesday nights? As far as primary, i'm guessing they'll keep the same structure as cub scouts (probably condensed a bit and maybe not starting until older) but just stop calling it that and stop using the program. Kind of an 'activities days' thing for boys. 1
thatjimguy Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 Actual boy scouts who truly want to be boy scouts and who want to be around the same. 1
ksfisher Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 As far as primary, i'm guessing they'll keep the same structure as cub scouts (probably condensed a bit and maybe not starting until older) but just stop calling it that and stop using the program. Kind of an 'activities days' thing for boys. 11.5.2 Activity DaysWhere practical, the Primary may hold activity days for boys and girls ages 8 through 11. Leaders and teachers use the Faith in God guidebooks as resources for activity days, supporting the work children and parents do at home to fulfill Faith in God requirements.
Bob Crockett Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 Something that hasn't really been discussed, but I think is important, is one group who stands to gain the most if the Church drops its official support for the BSA: The Young Women and Primary Auxiliaries As it currently stands, ward-level funding for the Primary program activities and youth activities is heavily skewed toward Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. I don't have the exact numbers, but from my time as a Cubmaster and Scout leader, and my wife's time in the Primary Presidency and Young Women's programs, it was made very clear that the funding for the Scout programs was considerable, with no commensurate funding for a young women's activities. (Church policy is that the ward and stake cover the cost of Scouting, including the cost for badges and activities; boys don't pay "dues" as in non-LDS troops, and only one fundraiser per year is allowed). If the Church drops its charters for BSA Troops and Packs, and implements a more cost effective program for the young men and primary-age boys, the cost savings across all the wards in the USA could be tremendous. My wife hoped they would "split the difference" between the programs, but I suspect that won't be the case. This could be a huge immediate money saver. My wife also chuckled at the thought of the young men's leaders having to learn how to put together a summer camp (like the young women's leaders have to do each year), but I suspect there will just be a "high adventure" type outing in place of what used to be Scout camp.In my ward the budgets have always been the same, if not adjusted for headcount. When I was in a bishopric in a different ward in the same stake twenty years ago, the budgets were the same. The fundraisers were different and one organization would always do better than another. The cub scouts were funded by the primary budget. In fact, I have never heard of a ward having different levels of fundings for YW and YM except where one does better at fundraising. (Our ward does better at fundraising for the YM, usually.) 4
Jeanne Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 In my ward the YM and YW have always had the same budget. Primary has always lagged behind, but they never seem to spend all the money they're allocated. As for putting together a camp, some years the boys have gone to a BSA camp, other years they've done their own. I expect every ward in the church handles things a little differently. As an aside, the YW in my ward always seem to have much better camping equipment than the YM.This sounds great. In the 60's, young girls didn't get to do anything except camp a few miles away. Kudos to a ward that supports young women even if they are not part of a huge organization. We worked hard to get a few dollars to go just to camp...once a year. Oh..and we got to make brownies for the explorers trip.
rockpond Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 Something that hasn't really been discussed, but I think is important, is one group who stands to gain the most if the Church drops its official support for the BSA: The Young Women and Primary Auxiliaries As it currently stands, ward-level funding for the Primary program activities and youth activities is heavily skewed toward Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. I don't have the exact numbers, but from my time as a Cubmaster and Scout leader, and my wife's time in the Primary Presidency and Young Women's programs, it was made very clear that the funding for the Scout programs was considerable, with no commensurate funding for a young women's activities. (Church policy is that the ward and stake cover the cost of Scouting, including the cost for badges and activities; boys don't pay "dues" as in non-LDS troops, and only one fundraiser per year is allowed). If the Church drops its charters for BSA Troops and Packs, and implements a more cost effective program for the young men and primary-age boys, the cost savings across all the wards in the USA could be tremendous. My wife hoped they would "split the difference" between the programs, but I suspect that won't be the case. This could be a huge immediate money saver. My wife also chuckled at the thought of the young men's leaders having to learn how to put together a summer camp (like the young women's leaders have to do each year), but I suspect there will just be a "high adventure" type outing in place of what used to be Scout camp. Excellent point. In my ward, cub scouts is the largest single line item in our ward budget. And, the cub scout budget is nearly 5x that of the Activity Days budget (the female "equivalent" to cub scouts). If we were to merge those two budgets for next year and then split them evenly, the Activity Days leaders wouldn't even know what to do with that much money. Then again, neither would the cub scout leaders (since they wouldn't have a cub program anymore).
Sevenbak Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 The biggest winners are those that now WON'T have to do the Friends of Scouting drive. 1
Broker Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 The biggest winners are those that now WON'T have to do the Friends of Scouting drive. Amen !
Avatar4321 Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Shame the scouts aren't the winner.Shouldn't we wait until the Lord reveals His will concerning the matter before we decide winners and losers?
carbon dioxide Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) I am a winner if the Church dumps the BSA. I never have to worry about called to work in scouting and have to decline the calling. There is probably only two callings I would say no to in the Church. The first being scouting and the second is bishop. Not really worried about the second being a real possibility but the first is always a threat. Edited July 29, 2015 by carbon dioxide 1
The Nehor Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 I'm the big winner. I no longer feel guilty about passing on contributing to the BSA last year. Well, I didn't really feel guilty then but if I was the kind of person to feel guilt over something like that I would be the winner. 1
The Nehor Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Shouldn't we wait until the Lord reveals His will concerning the matter before we decide winners and losers? True, it is always possible the Lord will invoke the Law of War and order us to crush the BSA as his enemies and that will shift who wins and loses.
Avatar4321 Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 True, it is always possible the Lord will invoke the Law of War and order us to crush the BSA as his enemies and that will shift who wins and loses.Considering the Lord said He will fight our battles...
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