SCOUT INITIATIVE FOCUSES ON URBAN, RURAL YOUTHS

Boy Scout administrators hope to continue goals of their founders with a new initiative targeting under-served urban and rural youth in Southeast Missouri.

Administrators in the Greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, are visiting area towns to build scouting programs in the communities of socially-, culturally- and economically-deprived children. They are emphasizing strong leadership and safe meeting places in the campaign, called Urban/Rural Chartered Partnership.

Several Cape Girardeau community representatives met with council administrators Wednesday to outline a strategic plan for developing scouting partnerships in Cape Girardeau.

"Our main objective is to get the scouting program to as many boys as fast as possible," said Tom Turpin, executive director. "That was written in our original handbook back in 1910, and the same goals stay true today."

Chartered partnerships emphasize development of scouting principles, including respect, self-reliance, integrity and hope. Leaders are also encouraged to develop cultural-specific programs that help youths apply scouting principles to their communities.

Carey Miller, urban-rural director, said he is working to institute partnerships in Cape Girardeau and hopes adults are trained and leading active troops by fall.

"Cape Girardeau is a lot smaller than some of the metropolitan areas we've taken this, but this is still a city, and you have all the pluses and ills of any other city," Miller said. "Our primary focus is to identify potential chartership partners and areas of under-served youth, then we need to link these two groups together."

Miller said a successful partnership has been organized with the Bowden Civic Center in Charleston. A troop will become active there next month, and hopefully other churches and civic organizations in Southeast Missouri will follow that lead and form partnerships, he said.

"It's true the Boy Scouts is nothing but a positive gang, so it's not farfetched that we're trying to reach people that are on the edge or incorrigible, because that's where this whole thing started," said Miller. "Peer influence is the major factor now; we might as well make it something positive."