The Boy Scouts of America is formally changing its name, after 114 years, to become Scouting America, as the organization seeks to become more inclusive.
The change will take effect on Feb. 8, 2025, the organization’s 115th anniversary.
The announcement comes as the organization celebrates the fifth anniversary of allowing girls into Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America programs.
“Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged: we are committed to teaching young people to be Prepared. For Life,” Roger A. Krone, president and chief executive officer of Scouting America, said in a press release about the rebrand. “This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting.”
Girls could first join Cub Scouts, the group’s program for children between seven and ten years old, in 2018. Older girls, 11 to 17 years old, were able to join Boy Scouts the following year.
Scouting America, which serves more than one million youth, says its ongoing goal is to provide young people with a safe environment to learn meaningful life skills, and to foster growth and future outcomes as leaders.
Currently, more than 176,000 girls and young women take part in Scouting America programs, including more than 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
The organization is supported by 477,000 adult volunteers throughout the country.
“Scouting America provides a welcoming, safe environment where youth can become the best version of themselves by learning from and respecting each other,” said Krone. “I encourage everyone to join us and experience the benefits of Scouting.”
Though some leaders expressed concerns, Bob Brady, an Eagle Scout and father of two girls who became members of an all-girl troop, said worries over adding girls to the programs dissolved after the kids interacted with each other during activities.
“You could see a change in the attitude of some of the doubters who weren’t sure and they realized, wait, these kids are exactly the same, they just happen to have ponytails,” said Brady.
“In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs,” Krone told CBS News in an interview.
