In Irving, Texas, a new chapter has begun for the Boy Scouts of America, which is rebranding itself as Scouting America. This historic change comes as the organization celebrates its 115th anniversary and seeks to recover from recent scandals and a bankruptcy filing.
According to CEO Roger Krone, the response to the rebrand has been largely positive, despite some pushback. He noted that many people seem curious about this more inclusive approach, especially as it adopts a name that is more gender-neutral.
Although the increase in membership is modest, with about 16,000 new scouts bringing the total to just over 1 million, it’s still seen as a hopeful sign after the decline in numbers during the pandemic. Notably, the Cub Scouts, which is aimed at younger children, saw an increase of nearly 3%. While the majority of participants remain boys, more than 196,000 girls joined Scouting America last year, with over 8,000 reaching the rank of Eagle Scout.
The official name change will coincide with celebrations this weekend, where iconic sites like Niagara Falls and the Empire State Building will be lit up in red, white, and blue. A new flag representing Scouting America will also be unveiled at its headquarters in Irving next week.
This rebranding is part of a larger evolution for the organization, which faced significant challenges over the past decade, including its bankruptcy filing in 2020. This came amid numerous claims of abuse from former scouts. Since then, the organization has made several changes, including allowing girls to join scouting programs and lifting bans on gay leaders.
As part of its recovery, Scouting America has initiated a restructuring plan that began in 2023, aimed at compensating victims while maintaining operations. To assist with funding survivor settlements, the organization has sold various assets, including campgrounds and even some valuable artistic works.
Krone emphasized that the organization is also looking to modernize by digitizing its materials and creating multilingual programming to better serve families from diverse backgrounds. Wally Tirado, a local leader in Dallas, pointed out the exciting diversity he sees among the youth members, saying, “It’s still the same program… changing the name doesn’t change what we do.”
Scouting America is clearly entering a new phase, larger than just a name change, aiming to adapt while holding onto its core values.
