Support Scouting

An Investment in Adventure

Here in Laurel Highlands Council, we are working to promote core Scouting principles in innovative ways, while spearheading an exciting new campaign to engage Scouts, potential Scouts, their families, and community members more fully in the original principles established by the national Scouting America organization. That’s because these principles are anything but arbitrary: they are the Scouting way of life, and they work not only to promote Scouting, but to strengthen the lives and futures of Scouts—and everyone around them.

What is Friends of Scouting?

The Laurel Highlands Council’s Friends of Scouting (FOS) “Investing in Adventure” campaign is our council’s annual fundraising effort to secure the necessary financial support to deliver the Scouting program across our service area.

The core purpose of the campaign is to raise funds that:

Support Local Programs and Resources: The money raised is crucial for maintaining and enhancing high-quality Scouting activities, providing program materials, and offering direct support to local units and volunteers.

Maintain and Improve Camp Properties: It helps to keep camp fees affordable and ensures the maintenance and improvement of camp properties (like Heritage Reservation, Camp Seph Mack, and Camp Potomac) which are essential for outdoor adventures and leadership training.

Provide Financial Assistance: The campaign funds camperships and Scoutreach programs, ensuring that all youth, regardless of their family’s financial situation, have the opportunity to participate in Scouting’s life-changing adventures.

Cover Operational Costs: It helps bridge the gap between national and local membership fees (which cover only a fraction of the total cost) and the actual expense of running a comprehensive Scouting program, including insurance, staff support, and volunteer training.

By encouraging community members, alumni, and families to make a financial contribution, the campaign positions the donation as an investment in the character and future of young people—equipping them with leadership skills, self-confidence, and a lifelong commitment to service through the fun and adventure of Scouting.

Championing Scouting Values Today

From the inception of its predecessors and today, we have worked to lead by example in upholding the original Scouting America core values. These are reflected not only in how it practices the Scout Oath and Scout Law, but in how it works to make Scouting programs accessible and beneficial to every eligible child in the regions it serves.

Laurel Highlands Council does this in part by fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion that makes participating, volunteering, and working in the Scouting program enriching for everyone. It respects and honors perspectives related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, religion, physical ability, and political belief. The LHC seeks to create a positive and welcoming environment for all, which it believes is among the most important of Scout values.

This is also part of the Laurel Highland Council’s two-point vision:

1. To put Cubs in Dens, Dens in Packs, and Packs in churches and synagogues in EVERY community it serves.
2. To build sustainable financial mechanisms that re-invest in “number one”—its Scouts.

Your Support

Your support enables children to explore, learn the importance of community service, and participate in real-world outdoor experiences—but that’s just the beginning. An Investment in Adventure is supporting a fun, exciting program for our Scouts, and we invite you to do the same. That might mean planning a pack meeting, lending a hand with an Eagle Scout Project, volunteering your skills, sharing your story, or making a financial gift. However you choose to support our Scouts, be it by giving your time, talent, or treasure, you are helping Scouting make an impact.

When you make an Investment in Adventure, you are investing in our community’s youth, helping inspire and prepare the leaders of tomorrow. The true cost of Scouting is much greater than what local dues or event and camping fees cover. Yearly registration fees support the National Council of Scouting America, which provides program development, research, and resources.

Here in the Laurel Highlands Council, your friendship and generosity—whether through volunteering or a tax-deductible gift—directly fuel life-changing programs. Together, we can ensure that Scouting continues to grow strong, instilling confidence and leadership in young people at a time when the world needs it most.

Please join us in keeping Scouting strong and sustaining its legacy in our communities by Investing in Adventure in whatever way you can.

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