
Green Up Day is fast approaching (May 6), arguably one of the most fun and most rewarding service projects that a Pack, Troop, or Crew can participate in. Scouts may end the day tired and dirty, but also with a clear sense of accomplishment and the satisfaction knowing they made a difference in something bigger within their community.
In 2016, Scouts in Green Mountain Council reported 12,495 community service hours or 3.9 hours per member. In 2015 the report was 18,597 hours or 5.6 hours per member. No one thinks we actually did fewer service projects last year, but rather that we (leaders) are reporting fewer projects! Let’s fix that! Here is how. After your Green Up (or any other) service project, go to www.scouting.org/jte and click on the service hours website link. Someone in your unit probably has a user name and password for that site that allows the number of Scouts and non-Scouts that participated in your project and the total hours worked. Can’t find it? The unit leader or Committee Chair can phone the BSA help desk at 972-580-2489 to reset the login.
IMPORTANT: EAGLE PROJECT service hours must now be entered here as well, in order for the unit, the district, and the local Council to receive Journey to Excellence credit. To do so you will need to have the Eagle Scout project workbook and the Scouts’ BSA member ID number handy to input the data requested. That information includes project completion date, numbers of youth and adults (Scouts and non-Scouts) working on the project, total person-hours, cost of materials, and information about the beneficiary of the project.
Plus, if for some reason the data was not entered at the time of the project, “old” projects can still be entered in the website today, and JTE credit will be awarded for the month the data is entered. So those 2016 hours aren’t all lost. Enter them now and together let’s move the Community Service hours needle on our JTE dashboard with Gold status in mind.
In 2016, Scouts in Green Mountain Council reported 12,495 community service hours or 3.9 hours per member. In 2015 the report was 18,597 hours or 5.6 hours per member. No one thinks we actually did fewer service projects last year, but rather that we (leaders) are reporting fewer projects! Let’s fix that! Here is how. After your Green Up (or any other) service project, go to www.scouting.org/jte and click on the service hours website link. Someone in your unit probably has a user name and password for that site that allows the number of Scouts and non-Scouts that participated in your project and the total hours worked. Can’t find it? The unit leader or Committee Chair can phone the BSA help desk at 972-580-2489 to reset the login.
IMPORTANT: EAGLE PROJECT service hours must now be entered here as well, in order for the unit, the district, and the local Council to receive Journey to Excellence credit. To do so you will need to have the Eagle Scout project workbook and the Scouts’ BSA member ID number handy to input the data requested. That information includes project completion date, numbers of youth and adults (Scouts and non-Scouts) working on the project, total person-hours, cost of materials, and information about the beneficiary of the project.
Plus, if for some reason the data was not entered at the time of the project, “old” projects can still be entered in the website today, and JTE credit will be awarded for the month the data is entered. So those 2016 hours aren’t all lost. Enter them now and together let’s move the Community Service hours needle on our JTE dashboard with Gold status in mind.