Boy Scouts of America Celebrates Legacy of Service During Scout Week 2006; Largest Youth Service Organization Continues Nearly a Century of Good Turns for Communities Across the Country.

IRVING, Texas -- This Feb. 5-11 during Scout Week, the Boy Scouts of America, the largest youth service organization in America, will celebrate nearly a century of offering the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training.

Scout Week celebrates the birth of Scouting in the United States and is an opportunity for Scouts and Scouters throughout the country to highlight the legacy of service and youth development that has been the hallmark of the BSA since its inception in 1910. Local Boy Scout councils across the country will participate in a variety of activities to observe Scout Week, including relief projects, banquets, courts of honor, celebrations, letter-writing campaigns, religious services, and efforts to benefit their communities.

In many local Boy Scout councils, Scout Week kicks off with Scout Sunday or Scout Sabbath, where Scouts attend religious services wearing their Scout uniforms. Scout councils also use Scout Week as a time for education and understanding of different faiths and cultures. For example, councils host a Ten Commandment Walk, where Scouts walk to 10 houses of worship, each of a different faith, to understand the different views of the Ten Commandments and learn about other faiths.

"The BSA has always provided youth with a solid foundation of values to start them on the path to becoming productive citizens and leaders of tomorrow," said Roy Williams, Chief Scout Executive of the BSA. "Scout Week is a time for the BSA to celebrate that mission and to continue the legacy of Scouting by giving back and serving the community."

In addition to local council events, the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas, home of the BSA, also celebrated Scout Week with a special birthday celebration for Scouting. The observance took place on Saturday, February 4, with discounted admission, gift packs of collectible items, a birthday cake, and refreshments for the first 96 visitors to the museum. The National Scouting Museum regularly provides visitors with an opportunity to view and interact with exhibits that detail the rich history of Scouting.

For more information on your local council activities during Scout Week 2006, please visit www.scouting.org and click on the "local councils" link in the main introduction to take you to the council locator. For more information on the National Scouting Museum, please visit www.bsamuseum.org.

Serving nearly 4.5 million young people between 7 and 20 years of age with more than 300 councils throughout the United States and its territories, the Boy Scouts of America is the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.