Capital Cares Charity Content: The Potawatomi Boy Scouts of America

Our current Capital Cares Charity contest includes three worthy nonprofit organizations. We’d like to introduce you to one of them, the Potawatomi Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. They’ve graciously volunteered to describe their organization and mission…

The Mission of the Potawatomi Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, in cooperation with chartered partner organizations is to help an ever-increasing number of youth mature into adults exhibiting traits of participating citizenship, character, and person fitness founded upon the moral and ethical values expressed in the Scout Oath and Law.

The Potawatomi Area Council was originally formed in 1931 and serves all of Waukesha County and part of Washington, Dodge, Jefferson, and Walworth Counties. There are currently more than 4,000 youth members and almost 1,000 registered adult volunteers.

Our Scouts are extremely active in our community and have a strong sense of giving back. “Cheerful Service” is something that is taught to every Scout. Last year alone our Scouts logged over 31,000 hours of service in their communities! Each spring we hold the annual “Scouting for Food,” an event that brings in over 100,000 food items that are then donated to local food pantries.

The Potawatomi Area Council is extremely proud of our Resident Camp, Camp Long Lake, that is located in St. Cloud, Wisconsin. At over 200 acres, this camp is home to several cabins, a dining hall and a fantastic waterfront on Long Lake. Each year over 2,000 Scouts will call Long Lake home for a weekend or a week of camping, cooking, hiking, and learning skills that will stay with them for life.

In the Potawatomi Area Council, we are building the leaders of tomorrow. Through Scouting’s programs and adventures, we inspire leadership, character, and service. Your investment helps support our movement. As we pass the torch to the future, it is only right that we proved the skills to succeed and excel.

Many of you may have heard of the recent train derailment near Green Bay, WI, and how local Scouts heroically acted fast and saved the lives of passengers on the train. Through their training, the Scouts applied first aid to those who needed it and followed all the proper procedures to secure help. Well, there are many examples of how Scouts help across the country to make sure people are safe and well. We have one very heroic act that happened recently in the Potawatomi Area Council that is worth noting.

Concerned, he immediately jumped off the lawnmower to discover the man had fallen, was seriously hurt, and was unable to get up or summon help. Eddy noticed a bleeding gash on his arm. He then quickly put his first aid training that he learned in Scouting to work, taking off his own shirt and wrapping the injured arm to stop the bleeding before he called 911.

The paramedics arrived within minutes to assist and transport the man to the hospital. The elderly man suffered a broken hip in addition to the wound on his arm and required a two-week recovery time in the hospital. The paramedics that arrived on scene indicated that if Christian had not helped when he did “the man more than likely would have died.”

As proud parents of Christian, Michael and Lisa credit his training and skills their son learned through Scouting to enable him to remain calm in an emergency situation and to know exactly what to do. Without Christian’s skills and training, the outcome that day could have been very different. Christian was awarded a Certificate of Merit that notes “a specific and notable act of service and exceptional character using Scouting skills and ideals.” This is just one example of how Scouting is working to create better citizens in the youth that are part of the program.