By Naeisha Rose
As a part of its Family Scouting Program, Cub Scout Pack 13 in Elmhurst has admitted girls to its group earlier this year so that families wanting to be more active in the explorers group for kids would not have to choose between spending time with their sons or daughters.
“Young girls are now invited to join the Cub Scouts and in February, they will be able to join Scouts BSA and join the rank of Eagle,” said Director of Field Service for Boy Scouts of America Joe Schiltz. “It was designed to help today’s families have more parental involvement in the boy scout program.”
After the initial Sept. 14 registration, a remarkable 198 girls between the ages of 6 and 11 signed up for the program, increasing Pack 13’s size by more than 50 percent, according to the Greater New York Council, BSA. The Cub Scout initially had 174 boys in its group.
“It goes to show how fun and active our program is,” said Schiltz. “More people want to be active in the cub scout program, because it’s a fun event for them to participate in and they are looking forward to going to camp this upcoming summer.”
The girls and boys had separate meetings this week — one held on Oct. 8 and one on Oct. 9 — where they took part in fire safety, first-aid, citizen, and outdoor skills workshop, among others, according to GNYC-BSA.
Managing the program at PS 13 —located at at 55-01 94th St. — was Neisha Joseph.
“The first thing that we do [because its their first time in scouts] is to teach them what it means to be a Cub Scout,” said Joseph. “They are learning our scout oath, our scout law and how to do their best and prepare for situations.”
For the month of October, the girls and boys will be learning about citizenship, according to Joseph.
“What does it mean to be a citizen of the United States of America?” Joseph said about the scouts’ first lessons. “Things like voting and what the does the community have… flag etiquette, and we also have a STEM program attached to that.”
In November the scouts will learn about camping, according to Joseph.
“They learn how to survive in the woods and how to build a campfire,” said Joseph. “Later we will move on to fire safety and what to do in an emergency situations.”
For a future fire safety project, kids will have to map out their own homes, choose the best exit for a fire emergency and develop a fire plan for their house, said Joseph.
“They all learn fire drills in school, but we want them to learn what to do in their own home,” said Joseph.
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
