WS Chronicle

By Tori P. Haynesworth

For The Chronicle

A meeting was held at the Old Hickory Council on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 6600 Silas Creek Parkway. The mission: urge more Cub Scout and Boy Scout recruits from churches in the black community.

Bill Hayes, former football coach of Winston-Salem State and N.C. Agricultural and Technical State universities, made the message very clear about more churches forming Boy Scout groups.

“Every black man seems to be waiting on the next black man to make the play. I wonder whose responsibility it is for us to save our kids? Whose responsibility it is for us to reach back and save our own kids in our own communities?” said Hayes.

Hayes’ passion is to better the youth in the black communities through Boy Scouts and mentoring young men.

Through research, only five churches have Cub and Boy Scout groups in the Winston-Salem area: Galilee Missionary Baptist, Mt. Zion Baptist, Union Baptist, St. Stephens Missionary Baptist and United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist. A few people who represented those churches attended the meeting, while there were a couple of people from Grace Presbyterian Church and Goler Memorial A.M.E. Church that came out.

“How many churches are here in Winston-Salem? Three hundred. How many in our community? Well over a hundred. Five scout troops? Come on, we are better than that,” said Hayes.

Steve Wilburn, scout executive of Old Hickory Council, gave tips, and said assistance and resources will be provided to help get a Scout group on its way.

“There was a time when African-American churches in this community had Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, but it’s been since the 1970s,” said Wilburn. “There’s a whole missing generation in there that has no point in reference with Scouting.”

There were several testimonies of how the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts have made an impact on young boys and young men’s lives.

There were others who expressed how important Scouting is, and how it helps the youth in the long run. It was also noted that women could very well be involved with the Scouts program and that this could be a way of having parents being heavily involved in their child’s life.

“You have to have parental support throughout Cub Scout and Boy Scout. And that’s what made the difference in our sons’ lives,” said Reginald Brown, alongside his wife, Joyce Brown, of United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church. Reginald Brown is Scout Master.

During the meeting, Camp Raven Knob, located in Mt. Airy, was brought up of how a lot of youth have never been there. There are plans of possibly having a trip to witness the rewards of the camp and all that it entails, to promote a good time and to produce Scout growth.

“Scouting is for everybody. It’s for all kids. They’ve got to have the opportunity, so let’s fight for it to make it grow,” said Hayes.

For more information, visit www.oldhickorycouncil.org. To learn more about how to get involved with forming a Cub Scout and Boy Scout group through church, contact Steven Simpson at 336-760-2900, extension 216 or email steven.simpson@scouting.org. You can also contact Steve Wilburn at swilburn@bsamail.org.