GMC News
GMC Creates Scouting Foundation to Assist Scouts with Financial Challenges
The Georgia Military College Prep School Scouting initiative is off to a successful start this year! The Scouts of Troop 87 have been working hard towards their goals for the year through teamwork, dedication and focus.
Georgia Military College has been successful in establishing the GMC Foundation project line to support the Scouting Initiative in the Prep School: Prep School High Adventure Leadership Initiative. This support and investment will enable Scouts to participate more fully in various adventures. From camping trips to summer camp, uniforms, patches, national dues, and more, the cost of Scouting can often limit a Scout’s ability to fully participate. Too often, the Scouts who need the Scouting program the most are the ones that are least able to afford it. This initiative makes it possible for donors and investors to assist Scouts with financial challenges so that they may fully participate in GMC’s program. As a Foundation account, donations and investments in the fund are fully tax deductible. GMC has already gotten some positive feedback to make it possible for every Scout to get the full experience.
This Saturday, February 3, GMC is hosting a Merit Badge College that will help 130 Scouts from all over Georgia work on a Merit Badge. The classes will be held from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in Boylan Hall at GMC. Scouts had 13 options to choose from for their Merit Badge: camping, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communication, emergency preparation, entrepreneurship, first aid, painting, personal management, plumbing, woodcarving, and CPR/AED/first aid.
All of the 15 Scouts of Troop 87 are fully engaged and doing well so far this year. The middle schoolers have been busy traveling around Georgia and eventually to surrounding states, on their Scout Adventures. The Scouts have worked on many life skills throughout the year:
• Learning how to follow a map and use a compass, as well as mastering orienteering skills at Bartram Forest in Baldwin County
• The boys ventured to Curahee Mountain to rock climb and rappel
• They traveled to the Okefenokee Swamp on a canoe trek, using team-building skills
• They hiked at Cumberland Island, learning about different outdoor environments
• The Scouts have also visited the Georgia Aquarium to learn more about aquatic life
Col. Pat Beer, Dean of Students and Commandant of Cadets at GMC, and Scoutmaster for Troop 87, says the troop has grown significantly this year, and he’s looking forward to seeing these Scouts reach their goals.
“The Prep School Scouting Initiative is proceeding exceptionally well this year,” Col. Beer said. “We had 2-3 times the number of Scouts join that what we expected and 100% of them are still with us. They are well on their way up the Eagle Trail!”
The Scouts of Troop 87 still have a number of adventures to go on this year. They’re travelling to Fort Benning later this month, then they’ll do a backpack hike on the Appalachian Trail, they’ll practice rifle shooting, they’ll visit Providence Canyon, go whitewater rafting in North Carolina, participate in a summer camp for a week in June, and they’ll get to go snorkeling in the Florida Keys later this summer.
