Orange District
Occoneechee Council
Boy Scouts of America

Who we are, and what we do.

Who we are: Orange County Scouting

The towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Efland lie within the county of Orange District. Orange District Scouting is apart of the thirteen counties, in central North Carolina, that is served by the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The Orange District serves the western part of the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Research Triangle area.

Within our district, there are over thirty-three Scouting packs, troops, and posts serving youth from age seven through twenty-one. These units are sponsored by religious, civic, fraternal, business, and citizens’ groups as a part of their youth development.

Scouts in Orange District regularly perform service projects involving thousands of volunteer hours that benefit their sponsoring organizations, area parks, schools, churches, and surrounding communities. Furthermore, prospective Eagle Scouts are required to plan and lead service projects that benefit the community. A bevy of unique and ground-breaking Eagle Scout projects range from: installing smoke detectors in area churches & homes, creating community displays, landscaping projects for the State and community parks, organizing blood platelet donor drives, constructing sidewalks & ramps for the handicapped at public facilities, and repairs to schools, churches and United Way facilities.

Scouting Programs

Tiger Cubs is a one-year program for first grade (or seven year-old) boys and their parents or adult guardians that stresses equal participation. The tiger cubs and adults meet weekly for family activities and monthly for an activity with other Tiger Cubs and adults in camping and outdoor fun. The motto of the Tiger program is "search, discover, share."

Cub & Webelos Scouting is a family and home-centered program for boys who are in the second through the fifth grades (ages eight, nine, and ten years old). Cub Scouting is designed to support family life and support a boy’s growth needs through his elementary school years. An integral part of the Cub program has each boy belonging to a group of other boys in a den with whom he achieves personal encouragement and recognition with the guidance of family, peers, and fellow adults within the pack. As each boy enters the fourth grade, he becomes eligible for the rank of Webelos which in turn prepares them for Boy Scouts. Just as a Tiger Cubs experience outdoor camping, so do Cub and Webelos Scouts on a monthly basis.

Boy Scouting, a program for boys entering sixth grade up through high school (ages eleven through eighteen), is designed to achieve the aims of Scouting through a vigorous outdoor program and peer group leadership with the counsel of adult Scoutmasters. Scouting experiences and endeavors develop a boy’s character, citizenship, and personal fitness. Boy Scout troops are organized into patrols of several boys ranging in age and Scouting experience to promote a cooperative learning environment. Many troop activities take place outdoors with each Boy Scout sharing the responsibilities and learning to live, work, and play with one another.

Exploring is a contemporary Scouting program for young men and women, ages fourteen through twenty-one, that provides opportunities to participate in career and/or high adventure programming. Each Exploring program is married to a business or community organization that sponsors the Exploring Post. Exploring Career Posts range from aviation, engineering, education, medicine, law enforcement, theater, broadcasting, and journalism. High Adventure Exploring focuses on the outdoor elements of camping, canoeing, backpacking, repelling, mountain climbing, and whitewater rafting.

What we do: Scouting Services and Activities Held Annually

Scouting for Food: as part of a National "Good Turn Effort," packs, post, and troops in all of Occoneechee Council collect food for local food banks and meal assistance organizations. Scouts distribute empty bags in their neighborhoods in early February and collect the filled bags on the second Saturday in February. In the past eight years, Scouts in Orange District have collected over forty tons of food for local families in need.

Scout Sunday & Scout Sabbath: February is the month that all youth and adults in the Boy Scouts celebrate the anniversary of the Scouting movement. Each Scout attends a religious service of their choice in uniform. Frequently, units chartered to a specific church will assist, attend, or prepare the service.

Pinewood Derby: traditionally held the first Sunday in March, the district’s Pinewood Derby is held at University Mall in Chapel Hill. Competitions between fellow cub pack champion’s and their pinewood derby cars, miniature wooden cars constructed by the Cub Scouts, are held in order to award trophies to those cubs with the fastest cars or most unique designs. The Pinewood Derby is coupled with a Mall Expo to provide an opportunity for other Scouting troops or posts to display the skills and projects they have been working on to the public. Each unit display or project demonstrates a specific skill based on a common theme.

Spring & Fall Camporees: held twice a year, once in October and once in April, our district camporees invite more than thirty-three Scouting units and over three hundred Scouters with their families to a camping event centered around the development and sharing of Scouting skills. Each camporee offers a special program and educational based theme for learning, competition, and fellowship in a weekend of fun. Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Explorers, and Scouting families are all invited.

Merit Badge College: another Scouting event held twice a year, once in October and once in March, offers an opportunity to all Boy Scouts to earn those all to important merit badges for rank advancement on a designated Saturday of the month. Each merit badge college is taught by the Scouting volunteers of the community who posses a special skill or trait that makes them knowledgeable to train, guide, and advise each Scout through specific merit badge requirements. Merit Badge College is a highly effective and cost efficient process to award Boy Scouts and our adult volunteers with rank advancements, self-esteem, and self-confidence.

Cub Day Camp: this week long event has been traditionally held at Camp New Hope Presbyterian Church in July. Cubs, Webelos, and their families attend programs, work on advancements, and participate in exciting Scouting activities during the day. One day during the week is devoted to Tiger Cubs to come and prepare themselves for Cub Scouts in the Fall. A huge, fun-filled Cub Scout event closes the week on Friday.

Cub Scout and Webelos Resident Camp: held in July at Camp Durant, this weekend event encourages all Cubs, Webelos, and their families to attend a three-day, two-night stay at one of the Council’s permanent campgrounds in Carthage, North Carolina. Thematic programming, advancement, and family fellowship are an integral part of this camping adventure.

Boy Scout Summer Camp: during the summer months of June and July, Scout troops are invited to participate in a long-term camping experience of one week or more. The Occoneechee Council operates a summer camp near Carthage, North Carolina and has implemented a high adventure program that allows every Scout to fulfill a wide variety merit badges which includes aquatics, canoeing, first aid, archery, lifeguarding, camping, and climbing. Troops may also attend other camps and send groups of Scouters to national high adventure camps such as Philmont, Seabase, and Canoe Base.

Popcorn Sale: in the fall, Scouting units participate in the council fund raiser of selling popcorn. Buckets, microwave packs, tins of caramel or chocolate-covered popcorn, and light varieties include the full popcorn menu of choices that are sold. The proceeds from popcorn sales allow units to purchase camping equipment and program materials to better support their unit. Several businesses in Orange and Durham counties place corporate orders for popcorn as a way to support Scouting and provide gifts to employees and associates.

For More Information Please Contact the District Executive for the Orange District Stewart Wright Boy Scouts of America Occoneechee Council 3231 Atlantic Avenue P.O. Box 41229 Raleigh, NC 27629-1229 919-872-4884 or 800-662-7102

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