Welcome to Troop 66 Garden City!
Troop 66 Garden City is a Scouts BSA troop located in Cranston, Rhode Island. Boys from grade 6 through 12 (aged 10 - 18 years old) work to advance through scouting while learning skills like teamwork, communication, charity, citizenship, leadership, and an appreciation for the outdoors.
Scouting is a great way to make new friends and build character, while developing life skills!
We are active year-round with meetings, camping, events, trips, and fun activities. New scouts can join scouting at any age and Troop 66 is happy to welcome a new members at any time. Prospective scouts are encouraged to stop by and check out a weekly meeting to see what scouting and Troop 66 are all about!
We've created this page to help provide information to prospective scouts and their families about Troop 66 and the Scouts BSA program. If you have any additional questions that are not answered here, please email us at Troop66GardenCity@gmail.com. We are happy to help!
about our Troop
Troop 66 Garden City - Cranston is a member of Scout BSA's Narragansett Council. Our charter organization is the Cranston Rotary Club. Our meetings take place at Woodridge Congregational Church (30 Jackson Rd, Cranston, RI 02920).
Boys from grade 6 through 12 (aged 10 - 18 years old) work to advance through scouting while learning skills like teamwork, communication, charity, citizenship, leadership, and an appreciation for the outdoors.
Regularly scheduled meetings are held at 7:00 pm on Thursday nights at Woodridge Church and last approximately an hour to an hour and a half depending on the activity. Our Troop schedule follows the school schedule for Cranston Public Schools. Our meetings will typically take place on each Thursday during the school year when classes are in session. If there is no school due to a holiday, snow day, or school cancellation then Troop 66 does not meet. You can find the CPS calendar here. You can see our upcoming schedule on our Troop Calendar.
Our Troop typically has a campout one weekend each month throughout the school year at various locations throughout Rhode Island and neighboring states. Over the summer months, we typically have one bigger trip / outing, often in conjunction with another local scout troop. The past few years, we have done trips to Gettysburg and Pawtuckaway State Park / Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. For summer of 2024 we have a trip to Washington DC in the works. We also attend summer camp for one week each summer (usually around the end of July / the beginning of August) at BSA's jewel of the Northeast, Camp Yawgoog. The Troop also does other activities throughout the year that typically happen on a weekend, like a day trip to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail.
Troop 66 also participates in community service projects such as Scouting for Food as well as a variety of service projects throughout the year to assist prospective Eagle Scouts from our Troop in achieving their goal.
aBout SCOUTS BSA
Scouts BSA is a year-round, youth-led program designed for middle school through high school boys (aged 10 - 18). Adult leaders provide knowledge and oversight, but scouting activities are planned and executed by the youth leaders of the troop.
The scouting program is designed with the following goals in mind:
-
Character Development
-
Personal Achievement
-
Good Citizenship
-
Teamwork
-
Leadership
-
Sportsmanship and Fitness
-
Community Service
While a scout is having fun, exploring the many and varied merit badges, and making lifelong friends, they are also learning valuable skills like teamwork, communication, charity, citizenship, leadership, and an appreciation for the outdoors.
The purpose of Scouts BSA is to provide skills that build character and propel youth to success in adulthood. All of the meetings, activities, and advancement requirements for Scouts BSA relate to one or more of these purposes.
narragansett COUNCIL
Troop 66 Garden City is a member of Scout BSA's Narragansett Council which serves RI and parts of MA & CT.
Narragansett Council operates a variety of Scout Camps:
-
Camp Aquapaug (South Kingston, RI)
-
Buck Hill Reservation (Pascoag, RI)
-
Cachalot Scout Reservation (Plymouth, MA)
-
Camp Buxton (Rehoboth, MA)
-
Sandsland Reservation - Block Island (New Shoreham, RI)
-
Yawgoog Scout Reservation (Rockville, RI)
Including a camp, right here in Cranston on Scituate Avenue:
Adventure Basecamp / Champlin Scout Reservation (Cranston, RI)
TROOP 66 Scout UNIFORMs
Class A Uniform
Class B Uniform
Tee Shirt
Class B Uniform
Sweatshirt & Beanie
In Scouts BSA there are two different types of uniforms; Class A and Class B:
Class A:
-
Class A Uniforms are the formal uniforms that are worn to the majority of Troop meetings, ceremonies, and certain other occasions (like in the dining hall at camp or the Scouting for Food campaign). The Class A Uniform consists of the tan dress shirt, green belt, green scout pants or shorts, green socks, green shoulder loops, beret, neckerchief & neckerchief slide.
-
The Troop provides each scout with a beret, neckerchief, neckerchief slide, and the following patches; "Garden City", "RI", "Troop 66" and any rank or leadership position patches.
Families are responsible for purchasing the tan shirt (AOL/ Webelos crossovers from Cub Scouts can continue using the same tan shirt), scout belt, green scout pants and / or shorts, green scout socks, the green shoulder loops, and a few of the general patches for the uniform. These items can all be purchased from the the Narragansett Scout Shop at 575 Greenwich Avenue in Warwick.
Class B:
-
Class B Uniforms are the informal uniform of the Troop. They consist of either the Troop 66 tie-dye tee shirt or the Troop 66 sweatshirt and the winter beanie, depending on the weather. The Class B uniforms are worn for any Troop activities when the Class A Uniform isn't required.
Scouts are provided with the Class B items once they are active members of Troop 66 and have achieved certain camping goals laid out for new scouts.
ADVANCEMENT
When a boy joins Troop 66 they start on a personal journey of achievement along with their peers under the guidance of older boys and with the supervision of adult leaders. Regardless of their previous scouting experience, all new members of the Troop must earn their "Scout" rank. The Scout rank covers Scouting fundamentals, including learning the Scout Oath, Law, Motto, Salute, Sign, and Handshake.
After earning the the Scout rank, a Scout will work at their own pace to complete the requirements for each subsequent rank; Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, and Eagle Scout. The requirements for each rank are different and are comprised of a variety of specific scouting tasks (camping, cooking, hiking, etc), leadership positions, and Merit Badges. Each component of the Scouting program is designed to build confidence, impart skills, and grow leadership abilities in the Scout.
There are both required merit badges, which must be earned to advance on the path to Eagle Scout, as well Elective Badges that can be earned based on each scout's particular interests and skills. Scouting offers over 130 different merit badges on topics from Aviation to Whitewater Rafting and everything in between. In BSA, Scouts get to choose to spend time on the topics or activities that interest them, whether that is Programming, Pioneering, or Photography.
130 Merit Badges allow each Scout to explore, discover, and learn about things that interest them!
The highest award a Scout can earn is Eagle Scout. It is an achievement which demonstrates that a scout has learned scouting skills, life skills, teamwork, and leadership ability. Since 1956, over 170 Scouts have attained the rank of Eagle with Troop 66!
A Court of Honor in 2022 for seven Troop 66 Scouts that achieved the rank of Eagle
A recent Troop 66 Scout passing his Board of Review and earning Eagle
A boy can join the Troop at any point starting at age 10 and work their way through the ranks. Regardless of when they join, a Scout has until their 18th birthday to complete any requirements they are working towards. Once reaching the age of 18, a Scout can continue participating with the Troop as an adult leader.
Leadership
A Scouts BSA Troop is organized and run via the "Patrol Method" A group of older boys referred to as the Senior Patrol (consisting of the Senior Patrol Leader and his Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders) plans and runs every troop meeting. The Troop is divided into Patrols which each elect a Patrol Leader to represent them, along with choosing a patrol name and designing a patrol flag. The Senior Patrol and Patrol Leaders meet throughout the year as a Senior Patrol Leadership Council (also known as "Greenbar" due to the green bars located on the various leadership patches) to plan meetings and work together to run the Troop. This leadership of boys leading boys is done under the supervision of the adult leaders, consisting of the Scoutmaster and his Assistant Scoutmaster(s).
Youth Leadership Roles within the Troop
Adult Leadership Roles within the Troop
Why scouts?
Why should your son consider joining Troop 66 Garden City and Scouts BSA? Because he will learn valuable life skills while having too much fun to even realize that is what's happening! As a scout progresses through the ranks in scouting, they not only participate in fun activities, but they learn about teamwork and leadership along the way. For each rank, a Scout has to sit down with adult leaders for a "board of review" and a "Scoutmaster conference". These are opportunities for them to talk about the work they did and the skills they acquired to achieve the rank. In doing so, by the time your son graduates high school they will have had 12 of these sessions on their path to Eagle Scout. Imagine your child sitting down for their first real job interview with the confidence they gained through that experience!
Here are two of our current Life Scouts, giving presentations to the committee about their plans for Eagle Scout projects.
Joining Troop 66
If your son would like to join Troop 66 Gardeny City / Cranston, the next step is to register with BSA through their "Be A Scout" portal.
If you have any questions about Troop 66, Scouts BSA, or the registration process, please feel free to email our Troop. We are happy to have you consider joining our program!
