The YCC youth, volunteers and parents have had quite a summer!

What a pleasure it has been this summer visiting our camps!  The Cub Scout camps are great because of the enthusiasm and energy of our younger campers.  This year it was especially enjoyable to see our Cubs engaged in our two new camps, Discovery Camp (STEM focused: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and Shooting Sports Camp.  Thank you to the Lone Tree Spirit Foundation for underwriting the off-site transportation of the Cub Scouts in Discovery Camp. The Discovery Camp participants got to engage in activities and learning not normally found at our regular Cub camps.  Whether it was robotics, how to make a submarine, or creating sound alterations, the Cubs had a wonderful time.  Thanks to a $30,000 Potterfield Company grant, we were able to add air rifle use to the Webelos camp experience.   These camps were in addition to our regular day camps at Lone Tree, Moonraker camp in Topsfield and West Wind camp in Chelmsford, which had over 300 Cubs in camp.  If you have never visited one of the Grub Scout camps I encourage you to do so next summer.

Our Boy Scouts had a great summer at our Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation on North Lake.  The waterfront, always a magnet for lots of fun was more active than ever.  Our craft lodge has new workbenches, the waterfront has new standup paddleboards and Project Green has new fishing docks and equipment thanks to a grant from the Alexander A. Vervaert fund.  This continued support from the Key Foundation and Parker Scholarship fund, which helped provide staff training and camperships, helped to make the camping experience much more rewarding for the Scouts. 

In addition to our regular camping program the Council conducted two week-long special sessions:  Brownsea and National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT).   Both sessions help Scouts learn leadership skills to take back to their troops to help the Scouts become patrol leaders or hold other leadership positions.  The Council also conducted a "Trail to Eagle" resident camp at Lone Tree to help Scouts along their path to Eagle.  On top of all of these programs, 72 Scouts, 8 adult unit leaders and 22 YCC adults (as volunteer staff members) attended the BSA Jamboree at the brand new site, The Summit Bechtel Reserve Scout Reservation in West Virginia.  It was quite a sight to see 28,000+ Scouts and 10,000+ staff volunteers enjoying all of the new program areas and activities.  Since we have been back I had the opportunity during NYLT to ask three Scouts what they thought of The Summit and the Jamboree.  Two words were used to describe their experience; AWESOME AND FABULOUS.  I could not agree more; it was a unique and rewarding experience.

Of course, none of the above would have been possible without the dedicated help of our volunteer unit leaders at all levels of the Scouting program, those on the Executive Board and our professional and camp staff.  I have said it a number of times before and will say it again, THANK YOU for all that each of you do to make the Yankee Clipper Council Scouting program outstanding in every way.

Michael Jewell

President

Yankee Clipper Council, BSA

In the next few weeks, you will be asked if your unit will be able to be part of this area wide effort.  Also, towns with multiple units should work together to ensure they coordinate efforts to maximize their efforts in town coverage and centralize collections.  If your unit or town has certain agencies they would like to support, those agencies should be included when contacted about participation.