8 May 2009
More Hispanic Push in Florida
Posted by admin under: recruitment .
Here’s another story talking about Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and the lack of Hispanics in the program and what both organizations are doing to change that.
Hernandez is helping create the first all-Latino Boy Scout troop in Palm Beach County. He’s the kind of guy the Boy Scouts are looking for to keep the 99-year-old Scouting tradition alive. The country’s population is changing, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts feel they need to change too if they want to keep bringing in new members. They’re reaching out to the Hispanic community to grow along with the booming minority population.
“We’re changing with the times,” said Marcos Nava, national director of Hispanic initiatives for the Boy Scouts of America. “We mostly serve white, middle-class families and we’re not staying in par with the growth in the country.”
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Broward troops have started to reflect the area’s ethnic diversity, said Sonia Malter, who leads a Junior Girl Scout troop in Weston. Years ago, only one or two girls in her troop were Hispanic, now she has four. However, more still needs to be done, she said.
“It’s no longer that one Anglo look; it’s all looks. It’s very exciting,” said Malter, whose family is from Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.
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The Boy Scouts of America launched a $1 million pilot program this year to boost Hispanic membership in six U.S. cities, including Orlando. It’s the national council’s latest effort to attract minority groups and the plan is to double Hispanic membership over the next year through bilingual outreach to parents and community leaders. Recent numbers show that Hispanic Boy Scouts make up about 3 percent of the nation’s 3 million Scouts. By comparison, 14.7 percent of the national population is Hispanic, according to 2007 U.S. Census estimates.
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In 2008, the Girls Scouts of Southeast Florida had nearly 16 percent Hispanic membership, not including adults. They just received a $102,500 grant from the national council to recruit more bilingual volunteers in Broward County. The council plans to partner with local professional and church groups to find them. Getting bilingual adults involved in Scouting is essential to reach out to Spanish-speaking parents who might not understand what Scouting offers, said Lisa Johnson, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida.
I’m glad that Boy Scout and Girl Scouts are reaching out to the Hispanic community but the tone of this article made me edgy. I’m worried that both organizations might go too far in treating Hispanics differently than other ethnicities due to their population size. I don’t think whites or blacks should be treated differently. On the other hand I understand the difficulty in selling the Scouting idea to new immigrants who have English as a second language. In that respect I’m open to bilingual communication but I don’t think it should be normal to have a lot of continuing literature in another language. That’s me. My parents feel differently. My wool is a darker shade of gray.
- OK GSUSA, Hispanics Eager
- Racist Criticism of Boy Scouts of America
- Another Clue on Hispanic Scout Recruitment
- Latino Boy Scout Recruiting a Hard Sell
- Intimations of Boy Scouts Changes
