It is popcorn season again and time to start fundraising for all the awesome activities lined up for this school year and coming summer!

At the recent Scouting America National Annual Meeting in Orlando, a new mandatory training course titled Safeguarding Youth was announced and is now live. This training is required for all registered adult volunteers and is also a joining requirement for all new adult members. The course takes approximately 90 minutes and is available in English and Spanish. Volunteers can access it by logging into my.scouting.org.

Once the course has been completed, volunteers must take a 15-minute annual refresher course and pass a retest each year to remain compliant. For those who have already completed Youth Protection Training (YPT), their certification remains valid until expiration or one year from the launch of the new training, whichever is shorter.

This update is part of Scouting America's continued commitment to youth protection, emphasizing active supervision, situational awareness, and a safety culture. Watch the recent interview with Chief Safeguarding Officer Glen Pounder here for further insights. 

All merit badge pamphlets are now available as free PDFs here on the official Scouting.org merit badge site. Printed pamphlets will continue to be updated and sold through Scouting America and local Scout Shops. These pamphlets are designed to help Scouts complete the latest merit badge requirements. Always check the official pages on Scouting.org and Scoutbook for current information.   

We have taken the Troop Gear Order Form online.  It can now be found in the left navigation menu "Troop Gear Order".  We will be submitting our next order at the end of the month.  Orders and payments must be received by MARCH 31!  Please consider whether you need new troop gear for Summer Camp.

Many of you will be updating Medical Forms (in particular, Part C) in preparation for attending Summer Camp.  Here are some reminders:

• The Medical Form can be found online here.
• When bringing in your updated Medical Form, please bring TWO (2) HARD COPIES.  They do not both need to be originals; one can be a photocopy.
• Always retain a copy for your own records in case it is needed later.
• Please complete the Medical Form electronically (for example, in Adobe Acrobat Reader or Microsoft Edge).  Note that you can save the completed form to make future updates easier. 
• On Page A, both the Scout and the Parent must sign. 
• On Page B2, be sure to choose "yes" or "no" for OTC medication, and sign where indicated. 
• On Page B2, you must enter ALL the vaccination details on the form - you cannot attach additional pages. 
• A copy of your insurance card must also be submitted with the Medical Form. 

Scouting America annually reviews program materials and makes regular updates to the program guidance and advancement requirements.  This year, there are updates to the Guide to Advancement and to various merit badge requirements.