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This page offers all of Delaware Public Media's ongoing coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak and how it is affecting the First State. Check here regularly for the latest new and information.

Scouts trying to keep boys and girls engaged during COVID-19 pandemic

Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay
Local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts organizations continue to engage youth in scouting - even as troop meetings and outings are shelved because of COVID-19.

Local branches of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are working diligently to keep boys and girls engaged during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Del-Mar-Va Council of the Boy Scouts of America is going digital while the COVID-19 outbreak keeps its members at home.

“We have a “Scouting at Home Hub” that we’ve created on our website and families within scouting and outside of scouting have access to it. Most of the activities - well pretty much all of the activities on there are free,” said Robert Nakagawa, the CEO of the Del-Mar-Va Council.

 

He says hub content is being created by local volunteers - and includes fun and educational lesson plans any family can use.

 

“A lot of it is a collaboration between our Council and other Councils as we put together curriculum and program for scouting families to be able do things together as a family at home and continue their scouting adventure together,” said Nakagawa.

 
Liz Farrell is the chief marketing and communications officer for the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay. She says they’ve been using digital platforms for quite some time and that's helped.

 

“We’re going out on various channels on social media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest - and some others they we’re kind of building out, but we have virtual meetings being held, we have turnkey kits that we’ve rolled out and continue to roll out that translates our...what would have been our in-person meetings and/or activities,” said Farrell.

 
There are 3,780 youth involved in the Boy Scouts of America Del-Mar-Va Council in Delaware alone. And the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay says it has between 6,000 and 6,800 members in Delaware.

 

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.