Baden-Powell Service Association (United States)

The Baden-Powell Service Association (BPSA) is an inclusive, co-ed scouting organization in the United States that takes its name from the Scouting movement founder, Robert Baden-Powell.[4] It accepts scouts without regard to gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, economic circumstances, religion (or no religion), or other differentiating factors.[5] The BPSA is a member of the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS).[3]

This article is about the present-day Scouting organization. For similarly-named defunct group that operated in the United States from 2002 to around 2010, see Baden-Powell Scouts' Association.
Baden-Powell Service Association
HeadquartersPortland, Oregon
CountryUnited States
Founded2006 (2006)[1]
Membership2,500[2]
Chief CommissionerAmber Wiley
AffiliationWorld Federation of Independent Scouts[3]
Website
bpsa-us.org
Pathfinder (11-17)
Neckerchief color and pattern is unique to
each individual group in the BPSA

The organization has begun a process to change its name, after a mid-2020 meeting of stakeholders, but the new name has not yet been chosen.[6]

History

The BPSA formed with an adult-only component, Rovers, in 2006. Youth sections were introduced in 2008 by David Atchley, an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, who had been asked to leave his local Greater St. Louis Area Council after attempting to create a non-discrimination policy for his Cub Scout pack. Atchley became commissioner of the BPSA the following year.[1][7]

By 2011, the association had a handful of units. BPSA reincorporated in 2012 and added 35 more groups between then and July 2013.[8] In January 2013, a chapter was founded in Brooklyn, New York with 45 members, while a group in Portland, Oregon with 80 members and 30 registered leaders was founded that same month.[9][10] In 2014, after a Seattle, Washington United Methodist Church’s Boy Scout troop charter was revoked for having a gay leader, the troop moved to the BPSA.[11]

As of February 2020, the BPSA had 70 operating groups and a membership of approximately 2,500 scouts.[2] This was an increase from 1,600 in April 2016.

On June 28, 2020, the BPSA held a large meeting of invested members and leaders, and concluded that the organization needed a change of name to distance itself from some of the negatives in Baden-Powell's legacy; the process of choosing a new name has begun but no timetable for completion has been announced.[6]

Program

The BPSA is part of the world-wide Traditional Scouting movement designed to return Scouting to the basic principles laid out by Baden-Powell in 1907.[5] BPSA Otters and Timberwolves use a two finger salute same as Cub Scouts.[9]

A BPSA scout group is composed of up to four sections as follows:[1]

  • Otters (ages 5 to 8)
  • Timberwolves (8 to 11)
  • Pathfinders (11 to 17)
  • Rovers (18+)

Each section is led by a section leader and assistant section leaders (who are also Rover scouts themselves), and the group is led by a Group Scoutmaster (also a Rover) and supported by an Auxiliary Committee, which assists the group in matters of finance, registrations, acquiring equipment, finding community-service opportunities, publicity, and so on.

BPSA's highest award for Pathfinders is the George Washington's Scout Award.[12] The highest award for Rovers is the Baden-Powell Award.[13]

References
  1. Schremp Hahn, Valerie (6 December 2012). "Baden-Powell Service Association brings inclusiveness to scouting". Monterey Herald. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  2. Santoro, Helen (2020-02-21). "Meet the group redefining what it means to be a scout". www.hcn.org. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  3. "Members". WFIS Americas. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  4. "Amid Boy Scout turmoil, other groups hope to grow". USA Today. Associated Press. February 18, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  5. "About". bpsa-us.org. The Baden-Powell Service Association. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  6. Wiley, Amber (2020-07-02). "New Name and Big Journey for BPSA". www.facebook.com. Baden-Powell Service Association. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  7. Thakkar, Neal (14 August 2012). "Take Five: David Atchley creates 'non-discriminatory' alternative to Boy Scouts". STL Beacon. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  8. Connor, Tracy (28 July 2013). "Wiccans, earth-lovers, do-gooders: There's a 'scouting' group for your kid". NBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  9. Wollan, Malia (3 June 2013). "Earning Merit Badges and Learning Knots Under New Flags". The New York Times. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  10. McDonough, Katie (11 January 2013). "Brooklyn dad welcomes girls, gay members to new scouts troop". Salon.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  11. "Boy Scouts' change of course is good news for local chapter". The Seattle Times. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  12. "Pathfinder". BPSA-US. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  13. "Rover". BPSA-US. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
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