Boy Scouts Work Toward 'Citizenship in the Community' Badges

The average age of local borough council meetings went down a decade or two when more than 15 local boy scouts visited the Collegeville and Trappe municipal meetings in March.

The scouts attended the meeting as a requirement to obtain their Citizenship in the Community Merit Badges, which is meant for the scouts to explore citizenship and what it means to their communities.

“A nation is a patchwork of communities that differ from each other and may be governed differently,” according to the Boy Scouts. “But regardless of how local communities differ, they all have one point in common: In the United States, local government means self-government.

“Good citizens help to make decisions about their community through their elected local officials.”

In addition to attending the meeting, scouts are required to do the following to earn the Citizenship Merit Badge:

• Discuss with a counselor what citizenship in the community means, and what it takes to be a good citizen.
• Locate governmental buildings on a map, chart the organization of local or state government.
• Attend a meeting of town, county council or school board, or attend a court session.
• Chose an issues discussed at the meeting, explain your thoughts on the issue.
• Chose an issue that important to citizens in your community and speak with a governmental official on that topic.
• Watch a movie in which the actions of an individual or group have a positive effect on a community.
• List services provided to the community that are funded by taxpayers.
• Chose a charitable organization, find out more about it, and contact the organization to see how young people can help; volunteer eight hours of your time at the organization.
• Develop a public presentation about an issue in the community.

For more information on joining a local Boy Scout troop, click here for Trappe Boy Scout Troop 87, pictured in this article. For more information on joining a local Cub Scout Troop 87, click here.

To find another pack, click here.