The Boy Scouts of America organization has been around for 114 years. On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, it made a big announcement. It is taking a new name to reflect recent changes in the organization. Girls have been allowed to participate as members for five years now.
Beginning on February 8, 2025, the group will rebrand and be named Scouting America. This new moniker shows the "years of work to create a more inclusive organization for all." The name change will coincide with the group’s 115th anniversary.
Currently, there are 176,000 girls participating in the Boy Scouts. “The move to Scouting America showcases a commitment to represent the next chapter of Scouting,” the organization said in a statement. It will still follow the same mission statement “to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices throughout their lives by instilling the timeless values of the Scout Oath and Law.”
Roger Krone, president and chief executive officer, is excited about this change. He took over the leadership role in 2023. “In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs,” he explained to the Associated Press.
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This is just one of many recent changes in the organization with the aim to be more inclusive. In 2013 gay youth were admitted. Two years later, gay leaders were also allowed. In 2017, the organization announced that it would accept girls and transgender youth members. In 2019, the organization changed its name to Scouts BSA but clearly didn’t think it went far enough.
