The head of Boy Scouts in Central Illinois says he expects the organization’s name change will help make more girls want to become scouts.
In a recent development that marks a new chapter for a long-standing institution, Boy Scouts of America [BSA] has announced its rebranding initiative, transitioning to the name, “Scouting America.”
“My goal is that kids have a great scouting program,” said Ben Blumenberg, Scout Executive and CEO of the W.D. Boyce Council that represents about 4,000 scouts in Bloomington-Normal, Peoria and 14 Central Illinois counties.
The rebranding to Scouting America is more than a mere name change, Blumenberg said. It signifies a commitment to a safer, more inclusive, and revitalized scouting experience.
The Boy Scouts started to include girls five years ago. Blumberg said girls currently make up 14% of Boy Scouts membership within the W.D. Boyce Council, noting that helped blunt some of the membership losses that came during the COVID pandemic.
Recruitment efforts took a significant hit, and numbers started to dwindle, he said. The pandemic’s repercussions were evident as the organization grappled with decreased engagement and a pause in traditional scouting activities.
He said membership has started to uptick again, but is still well behind pre-pandemic totals.
“Pre-COVID, we are probably down about 25%,” Blumenberg said. “In a lot of communities, we are starting packs from scratch so that we can rebuild.”
He conceded the change to a gender neutral name will lead to some push back, but he can’t concern himself with that.
“Any institution, especially an organization that’s been around for 115 years that makes any sort of change is going to be criticized by one portion of society or another,” he said. “I’m less concerned with that.”
Blumenberg said it’s possible BSA is still trying to bounce back from the hit to its reputation that came with reports of 80,000 men alleging they were sexually abused during their time with the organization.
“I can tell you that anyone that was ever abused in our program… we’re absolutely heartbroken,” Blumenberg said.
His response underscores the organization’s remorse and its resolve to prevent such tragedies in the future.
The Scouts' name change will officially take effect Feb. 8, 2025, the organization’s 115th birthday.
