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Parent Guidebook

Highlights:
Congratulations on your child joining our Scout Programs!
Increased self-esteem and self-confidence are among the thing your child gets out of participation
We are for Every Child, Every Family, Everywhere


Congratulations on your child becoming a member of Adventure Scouts USA Scout Programs!  As a member, your child will have the opportunity make great friends, participate in FUN, modern meetings, programs, and activities they choose, and make a difference in their community.  Welcome to the future today, welcome to Adventure Scouts USA!

The Adventure Scouts USA Scout Program is an inclusive Scout Program.  There is a rich diversity of those who are Scouts and members.  Our Programs and activities are achieved by our mutual respect for others.  We are each responsible and fully accountable for our behavior.  Therefore, we must be vigilant in our awareness of varying forms of prejudice.  Every Scout understands that we do not tolerate any form harassment, intimidation, bigotry or violence.  We have each chosen to join the brotherhood and sisterhood of the Adventure Scouts USA Scout Program.  We do so voluntarily and with the expectation of expanding our own horizons, and consequently influencing all of the lives of those with whom we interact.

It is easy to make close friends when we share wonderful experiences together.  Sometimes friendships such as these can last a lifetime.

What Your Child Gets Out of Participation

Some of thing your child gets out participation in our Scout Programs:

* Increased self-confidence
* Improved study skills
* Greater outdoor skills
* Public speaking skills
* Increased desire to help their greater community
* Better understanding of responsible citizenship
* Better understanding of the importance of nondiscrimination

What is Expected of Me as a Parent?

We want parents, multiple generations, and extended family members to participate as much as is feasible for them.  It is important for our Scouts to know their parents support them and for parents to meet with Team Counselors and Counselors, naturally, so parents know who is spending time with their child.  Parents, multiple generations, and extended family members always have a standing invitation to our meetings, programs, and activities, which are so FUN, the family wants to participate!  If a parent absolutely cannot participate, we make sure that Scout is made to feel welcome and is included for that activity or meeting in a family which comes regularly.  No Scout stands alone in our Scout Programs.  We cannot stress enough the importance of parental involvement, but we understand everyone does not have the freedom to participate as much as they would like to.

Adventure Scouts USA Mission
Our mission is:
We shall provide the leadership to support the growth and character development of our co-ed membership and the greater community.  We shall accomplish this by providing contemporary skill-oriented activities that enrich the individuals on a non-discriminatory basis.  We put principles of mutual respect into practice through FUN social activities, enhance character instilled by parents, personal achievement, learning by doing, and related educational programs promoting good character in our members.

Adventure Scouts USA is Committed To:

* Promoting strong families and strengthening family values
* Encouraging the skill of fostering friendship
* Instilling respect for the diversity of others in our Scouts and our membership.
* Instilling the skill of leadership in all of our Scouts and our membership
* Instilling true proficiency in outdoor skill
* Instilling a sense of purpose in life through service to others
* Encouraging our Scouts to achieve and excel, to the best of their ability
* Encouraging Scouts to live up to their Motto and always Give Their Best
* Improving the communities in which we live.
* Protecting, nurturing, and encouraging responsible use of our natural resources
* Enhancing loyalty and trust within our Communities
* Developing responsible citizenship
* Increasing within society the value that "Character Counts!"
* Enhancing everyday living with an appreciation for the wonder and awe of life
* Creating  personal achievement programs that encourage creative and critical thinking and problem solving while providing an introduction to the local community, vocational choices and a broad range of personal interests which are relevant to our Scouts
* Choice in our Scouts Programs and
* The highest level of service to our members
* Having FUN
*   
Adventure Scouts USA Provides:

* A safe environment in for all
* An environment in which diversity is welcome
* An opportunity for our Scouts to achieve true proficiency in first aid
* An opportunity for our Scouts to achieve true proficiency in outdoor living skills
* An environment in which we actively encourage, evaluate, acknowledge and appreciate all suggestions from our Scouts, members, parents, sponsors, volunteers, and others
* Equal opportunity access to our Scout Programs for all Scouts, members, and volunteers
* A program that  provides our Scouts with  follow physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually
* The opportunity for our Scouts to enhance character in themselves and others
*  develop creative and critical thinking
*  develop leadership skills.

Adventure Scouts USA Expects:

* Our Scouts to have FUN!
* Our Scouts to live their lives by the Scout Motto and always Give Their Best
* Our Scouts to live and lead their life by the Scout Code and Scout Promise
* Our Scouts, members, volunteers, and employees to act in accordance with our policy of nondiscrimination and the Adventure Scouts USA Scout Spirit of inclusion
* All participants, at all times, to conduct themselves in accordance with the principles of the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA
 
Adventure Scouts USA Values

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are non-political and non-discriminatory.  Membership in the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA is open to all who accept our principles as reflected in the Adventure Scouts USA Scout Promise, Scout Code, Scout Spirit and Scout Motto.

Our Scout Programs believe there should be absolute certainty regarding our membership policies and our policy of inclusion and non-discrimination.  Every Scout is educated about our position so that they may be comfortable, understanding and appreciative of the Scout Code of Adventure Scouts USA.
We are a nationwide American Scout Programs.  We charter local teams to provide the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA  to all who wish to participate on a non-discriminatory basis.  The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are not affiliated with any of the other American Scout Programs and, in fact, each team in our Scout Programs is independent from any of the others.  That said, we are brothers and sisters to other Scout Programs and encourage participation in a Scout Program.

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA believe a motivating force in one's life is a belief in something greater than oneself.  Our Scout Programs make no attempt to interpret or define a spiritual approach to life.  Rather, we ask members to establish for themselves the nature of their own beliefs.  Specific religious or denominational affiliation is not a requirement of membership in the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA.


Ours is an educational program designed to help our Scouts live their lives as Scouts, according to the principles of the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA and the global Scout Movement.  Our modern programs have been designed to evolve.  Our Scouts choose, organize, and lead their own programs.   Participation encourages the Scouts to develop their values and leadership skills and to develop personally.  Our Scout Programs are co-ed, which encourages each person to develop to their maximum potential.
The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA believe that opportunities should be equal and earned, and the measure of an individual ought to be their talent, ability and the content of their character.
The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA respect the values and beliefs of each of its members and encourages all to be themselves, yet still maintains high standards with regard to the appropriate conduct of all its members.  We do not permit the advocacy or promotion of any aspirations and principles other than those of The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA Scout Program.

Participation in The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA is a privilege.  We expect all participants, at all times, to conduct themselves in accordance with the principles of the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA.  Harassment, hazing or abuse of any kind is not tolerated under any circumstances.
For over 90 years, the global Scout Movement has contributed valuable ways of living one's life and leading one's life.  The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are proud to play our part in continuing the time-honored tradition of the Scout Movement. 


A pillar of the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA is our acceptance of differences.  The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA believe that the equal and ethical treatment of all people is a primary component of good character.  We seek to instill these values through the use of learning by doing.  We promote strong families and strengthen family values; we promote the development of strong bonds of friendship.   The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA believes that living one's life with good character counts.

The Adventure Scouts USA Scout Promises

Discovery Scout (2 to 4 year olds)

We care and we share.

Rising Star Scout Promise (5 to 10 year olds)
 
As a Rising Star Scout
I love my family
And my friends,
Our community and country too.

I wonder about it all, stand tall and true,
And I Give my Best in all I do.


North Star Scout Promise (11 to 18 year olds)

 We are united in our common interests and by bond in our hopes and 
dreams.  I am unique, responsible for my life physically, mentally, socially, 
and spiritually.  I will live a life of purpose and by the Scout Code.  I 
value family, friends, community, and will honor my country.

The Adventure Scouts USA Scout Code

A Adventure Scouts USA Scout is: 
Trustworthy;
A Good Person;
A Responsible Citizen;
A Good Friend and Brother or Sister to all Other Scouts;
Honest and Respectful;
Responsible and Caring;
Loyal and Ready to Help.
These are not just nice-sounding words.  They have meaning.  Let them guide you wherever you go, in everything you do.  As you say them, resolve to live by their meaning.

The Adventure Scouts USA Scout Spirit

Adventure Scouts USA Scouts seek to find the best in themselves and others.  Adventure Scouts USA Scouts recognize that every individual person is unique and value each person's individual character.  By aspiring to find the good in everyone, and by acting in complete equality, Scouts in the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA live by the American spirit.
The Adventure Scouts USA Scout Motto
"Give Your Best!" 
The Adventure Scouts USA Vision

We are committed to providing the highest level of member service of any organization or program in the United States.  We will be the benchmark for all member service oriented organizations and programs. We have created democratic, fully nondiscriminatory Scout Programs which allow our Scouts an unprecedented level of choice to develop responsibility, good character, creative and critical thinking skills, and to live a life of purpose.  We instill in our Scouts a desire to improve life-long, to help others, and a belief in something greater than oneself.

Choice

Self-Determination

Our Scouts choose, organize, and lead their own activities and meetings.  The Scouts create their own programs, based on the adventures they wish to have.  Our Team Counselors, adults, are only there to counsel the Scouts and to set reasonable limits on whatever the Scouts themselves decide to do.  The Scouts decide for themselves how they spend their time and the counselors only provide assistance, where needed, to ensure the safety of those endeavors.  Team Counselors may also provide additional resources, when appropriate, to help the Scouts achieve the goals the Scouts have chosen to attempt.

Whether or not a particular endeavor is a success is determined by the Scouts themselves, as were the goals that the endeavor was intended to achieve.

Achievement

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA give our Scouts the opportunity to assess and develop their own criteria of achievement by consensus and peer review.

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA use a system of Challenges, decided upon and developed by the Scouts themselves, which each Scout must meet through their own initiative.  Scouts evaluate the performances of other Scouts, based on their own personal experience in meeting that Challenge.  Success is determined by consensus and peer review, based on their shared experiences.  Team members encourage every other member of the team to meet the Challenge head-on and surpass it with one another's support.  Scouts learn by doing, and ask that each Scout give their best.  The Scouts ask of other Scouts nothing that they themselves have not already accomplished, and are personally knowledgeable of exactly what it takes to succeed.

When go they out into their communities to learn and participate in Challenges or to achieve some other self-determined goal, such as working with firefighters or Web site designers, our Scouts do so with people who are actually earning their living in the mainstream of that undertaking, gaining practical hands-on experience.

Citizenship

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA give our Scouts the opportunity to develop true citizenship and personal responsibility.  Our Scouts develop their own code of conduct, based on the concepts of honesty and fairness that everyone understands.  The guiding principle is that everyone must always give their best and strive to meet, if not surpass, the mutually agreed upon Challenges.  To that end, everyone supports everyone else, encouraging one another to excel wherever possible.

Because the activities are self-directed, everyone understands their goals and their part in achieving them.  Success is achieved not so much by checking off boxes on a list but by rising to the occasion and giving it one's all.  Mutual respect and admiration are natural by-products of giving your best, as is the success that generally follows.

The result is that, by their own mutual consensus, our Scouts give their best to make themselves better and better, so that all may profit by it.  In so doing, they not only make themselves better and more competent individuals, but also better and more involved citizens.

Teamwork

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA encourage our Scouts not only to decide for themselves but also to decide as a group.  They are presented with Challenges and Choices, but it is up to them to decide, as both individuals and members of a team.  They decide which Challenges and Choices to take part in.

Our Scouts, as a team, choose the elements of their uniforms from a list of uniform elements, each of which was chosen by a national committee of their fellow Scouts.

Similarly, a national committee of Scouts determines the Challenges which our Scouts can choose to achieve.

The Scout Programs of The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA offer our Scouts the freedom to choose in each aspect of our Scout Programs, enabling them the freedom to choose a productive, service-oriented life for the betterment of themselves and their communities.


Nondiscrimination

Discrimination is the act of making distinctions between people on the basis of category without regard to individual merit.  The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are distinguished because we are the only fully nondiscriminatory Scout Programs in the United States.

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are committed to inclusion in all forms and equality in practices and policies. We integrate equality into every part of our Scout Programs, at every level, in every resource, practice and policy. We operate our Scout Programs within the American Spirit, and it is our wonderful diversity that is one of the attributes that make our nation so great.

Participation is valued and suggestions always appreciated.  We are consciously efficient and prudent with all resources and financial support.  At the core of our efforts is the development of modern FUN activities for our Scouts and Members.  These activities are offered to all our Scouts, and their leadership on a meaningful non discriminatory basis is always valued.  We value the content of an individual's good character.
 
Since the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are inclusive and bridge every community, our Scouts have the privilege of working together with those from differing backgrounds and life experiences.  Our Scout Programs encourage teamwork and yet favorably encourage each of our Scouts to confidently be themselves although they are part of a team.

Our Welcome Sign is for Everyone

It is a sad truth that many children and their families have been turned away from youth organizations and told they cannot participate.  The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are truly inclusive.  We encourage all those of good will to see how they can participate in our Scout Programs.  The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA create a safe welcoming environment for all.
We are aware that people are often categorized based upon their appearance, their economic background, physical features or abilities.  These categories contribute to unfairly failing to see the potential in someone and restricting their future.  The Adventure Scouts USA Scout Program sees everyone's potential and encourages pursuit of each Scout's interests.  We believe each deserves success based on that Scout's hopes, dreams, and passions.

Ways in Which We Are Nondiscriminatory

When prosperity includes even those with less, the satisfaction is all the greater.  Our Scout Programs celebrate inclusion, and no one is left out because they cannot afford traditional participation or require accommodation.  Consequently, our Scout Programs are inclusive and do not isolate those who have different qualities.  Therefore, our Scout Programs treat everyone with profound respect and dignity.  We believe each and every one has a right to achieve an earned destiny, of their own choosing, which is dependent upon their unique abilities, talents and the content of their character.

Our Scout Programs are co-ed.  Girls and boys are both invited to join.  From school, to home, to work, to family, life is co-ed.  We believe our Scouts should participate in their activities as they will lead their lives - with boys and girl and men women contributing side by side.  All of the programs of Adventure Scouts USA are co-ed, and consequently everyone enjoys equal opportunities.  In the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA, Jasmine and Justin both can be pirates.  Our Scouts have the opportunity to discover their strengths and talents by playing any character they choose in the action hero portion of our Scout Programs,.

Although we are a co-ed Scout Program, in which everyone enjoys equal opportunities, we do recognize there are differences in abilities.  An example of which is, some people run faster than others do.  Consequently, we have chosen to have our athletic activities focus on encouraging everyone reaching the finish line, rather than who came in first, while still fostering our Scouts' competitive spirit. We appreciate there are differences between gender and abilities, and recognize there are different needs.  We encourage each of our Scouts to value their differences and the things they have in common with others, while inspiring them to reach their own potential.

Our Scout Programs welcome Scouts who are physically, mentally, and emotionally challenged.  Our Scouts all participate.  Our Scout Programs go the extra mile to make sure those with challenges can still participate.  If additional equipment is necessary, we make sure it is sought.  We make sure all our Scouts get the opportunity to participate and build confidence.  Our Scouts get the opportunity for shared experiences with other Scouts who may be different from themselves.

Scouts of all faiths and worldviews are welcome in our Scout Programs.  We offer our Scouts the opportunity to acquire additional knowledge about their individual faith through our Religious Recognition Program,    We offer our Scouts, when appropriate, the opportunity to practice their faith and fulfill religious responsibilities.  The legacy we are creating in our Scout Programs is to create a space where opportunities are equal and earned, and in which individuals are measured by their talents, abilities, and the content of their character.

The Spirit of Inclusion

We concentrate on the spirit of our guidelines.  Our Scout Programs make it easy for our Scouts to meet and interact with others.  Our Scouts broaden their horizons by meeting Scouts from differing families and ethnicities.  We encourage them to see the benefits of diversity in a natural way simply by meeting and participating with other Scouts.

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA create an atmosphere of ease and comfort by allowing our Scouts to appreciate the differences of others in a FUN, stress-free atmosphere.

 

 
Adventure Scouts USA