Archive for December 16th, 2010


A Teddy Bear Service Project

on December 16, 2010 in Service No Comments »

Okay. I usually do not cover sporting events in this blog but I just watched a couple of videos that really show how a community can come together and do a super sized service project. As we all know, Boy Scouts love their service projects, but it was simply amazing to see this.

According to an article on Yahoo Sports: While tossing hats onto the ice when a player scores three goals might be hockey’s most famous tossing tradition, it simply doesn’t compare to the Technicolor grandeur of 23,096 teddy bears and other stuffed animals blanketing the rink as they did at the Calgary Hitmen game on Sunday. For 16 years the Hitmen, who were co-owned by and named after former WWF champion Bret Hart, have held a Teddy Bear Toss to benefit over 50 charities in Alberta that work with children. On Monday, after the 23,000-strong toss, the players hand-delivered teddy bears to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Read the article at http://tinyurl.com/2eh7l4q

“Totally awesome”, as a furry friend of mine would say.

There’s a Merit Badge App For That!

on December 16, 2010 in Advancement 1 Comment »

It looks like Boy Scouts with iPhones and iPod Touch’s will soon be able to keep track of their merit badges on their devices. According to scoutingnews.org:

Beginning in early 2011, Boy Scouts will be able to manage their merit badges with an interactive application for the Apple iPhone. The application which will be available for $1.99 through the iTunes Store, will let Scouts review merit badge requirements, keep track of their progress by requirement, and even share their success on Facebook.

I can see good points and bad points about this. It may be good for the boys to have a “tech” way to keep track of advancement other than carrying around a handbook which never seems to be very handy. It might not be so good because many troops have a “no phones or electronic devices on outings” policy. This could create some conflicts.

It will be interesting to see if this will become a popular download for the boys. I also wonder if they will be creating an app for Android based devices.

Read the whole news story at
http://www.scoutingnews.org/2010/12/15/merit-badges-iphone-app/ .