Welcome to the Suwannee River Area Council!

Our council’s goal is to provide a quality, dynamic program of learning and adventure that builds well-rounded young people. The Suwannee River Area Council, Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on January 22 1924. Since then it has been our honor to instill in the youth we serve the character, values and traditions that make Boy Scouts of America stand apart in the crowd.

Introducing the 2021 Suwannee River Area Camp Card Sale

February 11 – April 30, 2021

The Suwannee River Area Council is pleased to announce the return of our Council-wide Camp Card Sale for 2021. Even though our 2020 Camp Card Sale was interrupted by the arrival of Coronavirus and all of the safer-at-home precautions, we were still able to raise $29,970 which represents a 391% increase over the previous year. The 2021 Camp Card Sale should be an even more robust sale with some outstanding offers that communities throughout the entire Council will find valuable!

Sale kickoff will be held at the Roundtable on January 14th at 7pm via Zoom!

For full details, please see our Camp Card Page

It’s Scouting for Food time!

January 30 & February 6, 2021

 
Scouting for food is the council’s annual food drive service project to help people that are hungry. It is a way for the cubscouts, scouts, and venturers to “do a good turn” for their community.
 
Key Dates for 2021:
 
January 30 – Door hanger drop off at homes
February 6 – Food pick up and delivery to your local Food locker or Food Bank.
 
This year, scouts will be passing out door hangers instead of bags. Please email Gail Schaper at gailschaper@gmail.com with the amount of door hangers that your troop, pack or crew will need and we will set up 2 dates in January for you to come pick them up from the council
office.
 
If we meet our goal for poundage this year, then the unit with the most poundage can throw a pie at Senior District Executive David Mwamba! (Thanks, David for volunteering!).
 
We also suggest that individual units set a poundage goal so that scouts can throw pies at their scout leaders! Let’s make it a great Scouting For Food year!
 
For Tallahassee/Leon County Units: Please come into the council office to circle a neighborhood that you would like to “Scout for Food” in. Food drop off will be at the Second Harvest of the Big Bend in Tallahassee.
 
COVID-19 safety precautions: In order to stay safe we will have the following guidelines in place: waivers signed and checklists completed, scouts will wear gloves, masks and social distance while gathering, while distributing door hangers and picking up food. Families will drive their own scouts in neighborhoods this year. Leaders that transport food to Second Harvest will follow instructions for unloading upon arrival and will not enter the building.

Current COVID-19 Updates

Updated December 14, 2020
 
UPDATE ON COUNCIL PROGRAM EVENTS

Time to put the “outing” back in Scouting!

We are now scheduling our programs to return in full.  So far, we have had several successful programs during the fall of 2020, with careful consideration of the possible impacts of the continuing pandemic.  We’ll have more programs coming soon!

Please see the Events webpage and the current newsletter for the latest on some of these programs. As more information becomes available, we will share that with you in separate e-mail updates.

Important: Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, although preventive measures are being taken, we cannot guarantee that you or your child(ren) will not come in contact with or become infectied with COVID-19. Therefore, attendance at all of these events will require an adult to read and sign an “Informed Consent Waiver“, acknowledging that you understand the contagious nature of the virus and assume all risk for you and/or your children attending these activities. A copy of the waiver is attached to the online registration for each event and you will be able to sign for acknowledgement electronically during the registration process. You may review a copy of the waver at this link, as well,

The Scout Shop remains open from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.  No more than five customers will be allowed in the Scout Shop and front counter area at a time, including children.  Face coverings and all other social distancing protocols will remain in place.

What can all Scouting members do to protect themselves and others

  • Scouting members should take the same precautions they would for any common cold or flu.
  • Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. *(Alcohol-based hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol content can work in a pinch, but they’re generally not as effective as soap and water). 
  • Hands should be washed before eating, after using the bathroom, and when you come inside from outdoor activities that caused hands to get dirty.
  • Avoid touching your mouth, eyes or noses.
  • Cough and/or sneeze into your elbows and not your hands.
  • Distance yourself from anyone coughing or sneezing.
  • Encourage Healthy Habits, like eating a healthy diet, exercising, and getting enough sleep.
  • If you are sick, stay away from school, work, Scouts and others.
  • If you have any symptoms of the virus, seek medical attention immediately and follow the advice of your medical professional.

Let’s all set the example to be safe during this time.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.  Thank you.

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So... what's going on around #SRACBSA?

So, you came here looking for information on what’s going on around our council? Wow! That’s great, there are a number of ways to keep up with what’s up around SRAC. Obviously, this website is one of them. There also several other channels available to help you keep up with Scouting stuff.  We’ll list them below with links for accessing each one.

  • For detailed information on what’s coming up on the schedule of events, see our “Events” page
  • Subscribe to our electronic mailing list, so that you can receive our monthly e-newsletter.  You can subscribe by clicking here or you can simply text “SRACBSA” to 22828 and follow the text prompts.
  • Like our Facebook page
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Join our SRAC Volunteers Facebook group , where members can also post announcementsof interest.
  • Attend a monthly roundtable meeting. 
  • Ask your Den Leader, Cubmaster, Crew Advisor or Scoutmaster.

Scouting at Home!

The Suwannee River Area Council is committed to keeping scouting alive and available in our communities.  Through this website along with our facebook page and our council e-mail list, we will offer our Scouting units and families opportunities to participate in Scouting activities from the comfort of their own home! 

Check out the activities on our Scouting at Home page and come back often for updates! 

DON’T JUST SIT THERE … KEEP ON “SCOUTING AT HOME“

National BSA Registration Fee Increase

and new Council Program fee

effective August 1, 2020

 
The Suwannee River Area Council is focused on customer service and transparency to its scouting family. Our volunteers and staff are mission-driven to grow the organization and deliver character education in a quality way. The organization is focused on that daily.  We owe it to our members to provide the highest quality customer service and resources possible.  We have big plans for this Council, all focused on you, our scouting family, and we need your partnership to deliver it!  Although Scouting is a less expensive program than competing activities, we recognize that it still costs money.  And we can all agree that the value is there!
 
  • Beginning August 1, 2020:
    • Registration fees for traditional youth (Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing) will be $10 per month, or $120 annually.             
    • Adult leader and Exploring participant registration fees will be $5 per month, or $60 annually. 
    • Each unit (new or returning) will annually pay a $75.00 unit charter fee.
    • BSA has also established a one-time new member joining fee of $25.
    • Boy’s Life Magazine (optional) will remain at $1 per month, or $12 annually.
    • Registration and fees can be completed online. Units will not have to collect national or council fees, as long as, the new youth or adult registers online. 
  • The new fees will be collected for new registrations beginning on August 1, 2020.  Currently registered members will be subject to the new fees at recharter time, as usual. 
Details on the new National BSA fee can be found at this link.
 
Included in the above fees is also a newly established Council Program fee, details of which are found below and a FAQ to help understand the rationale can be found at this link. 
 
The Council Program fee, which is incorporated into the amounts shown above (not in addition to) are as follows:
  • For traditional youth (Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing) – $54 annually.             
  • For Adult leader and Exploring participants – $18 annually. 

This fee is being implemented out of necessity to ensure the needed support for Wallwood Scout Reservation, boost unit level support, and focus on quality programs, while being able to provide the required insurance coverage in order to be able to continue to provide a robust Scouting program.

Along with this new fee, in addition to the many services the Council provides, we are happy to extend those services to also include:
  • Beginning in 2021, all registered families of the Suwannee River Area Council will receive:
    • Access to all Council camp properties for tent camping at no charge.
    • Access to University of Scouting, youth and adults, at no charge.
    • A special “thank you” decal to showcase the family as a Scouting family.
    • Excellent unit/customer service and program support through our new specialized model of position specific executives (staff) 
The online system will be updated to reflect the Council Program fee, so that all fees are collected at the same time.
 
Below is a complete breakdown of the new fee structures:
 
Annual Registration – Youth
Annual Registration – Adult
      $66.00 – National BSA registration
      $42.00 – National BSA registration
      $54.00 – SRAC Program fee      $18.00 – SRAC Program fee
   Total – $120.00/$10.00 per month   Total – $60.00/$5.00 per month
      $12.00 – optional Boys’ Life      $12.00 – optional Boys’ Life
     w/ Boys’ Life – $132.00/$11.00 per mo      w/ Boys’ Life – $72.00/$61.00 per mo

 

We encourage you to review the FAQ and to discuss this with your unit’s leadership to understand how this change effects your family.

Thank you for continuing to be a part of our scouting family.

The Suwannee River Area Council, Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on January 22 1924. Since then it has been our honor to instill in the youth we serve the character, values and traditions that make Boy Scouts of America stand apart in the crowd. Thirteen counties throughout south Georgia and north Florida are served by Suwanee River Area Council. If you are not involved in Scouting today please let us know how we can serve you!