Boy Scouts of America will undergo a name change in 2025

Ashley Davidson
·2 min read
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GHENT, WV (WVNS) — For over 114 years, the Boy Scouts of America have been working to instill certain values and principles into the young men. However, that has started to change within the past few years, and the organization’s biggest change has just been announced.

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The Boy Scouts of America hasn’t had the easiest few years. Scandals and declining membership have taken a toll on the organization. However, many with the organization say they’re prepared to handle changes coming their way.

One of the most noticeable changes will be their name. Starting in February of 2025, the Boy Scouts of America will be known as “Scouting America.”

They will be dropping the gender marker in order to fully embrace an atmosphere of inclusivity.

Samuel Bosley, District Executive for 14 counties in Virginia and West Virginia, said that though the name is changing, the core values are not.

“Really, what we should still focus on is that scouting, you know the program, things like that, haven’t changed. The values, the principles are still the same,” said Bosley. “So, I think that should be the thing we focus on more than the name change.”

The changes started when the Scouts began allowing girls to join. The organization wanted to emphasize their new open door policy to bring in more diverse members.

It seems the public agrees with the change.

David Whittaker of Beckley said there are more important things to focus on than just the name change.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea. I don’t think we should have two different organizations that do the same thing, and we have more important things to worry about other than whether they rename the Boy Scouts of America,” said Whittaker.

Bosley said he hopes that throughout this rebranding the focus remains where it needs to be…on the kids.

Scouting America becomes the official name for the organization on February 8th, 2025.

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