Chicago Gay Advocacy Organization Setting Up Scout Unit
LGBT Organization Sets Up Scout Unit
(CBS) -- The Center on Halsted is on the verge of forming a Cub Scout pack, and it is believed to be the first partnership of its kind between a gay advocacy organization and the Boy Scouts of America.
It was at the end of July when the Boy Scouts ended their ban on gay leaders.
Now the Center on Halsted, which serves the LGBTQ community, has called for volunteers to help lead a Scout troop.
"We have about 14 adults who are willing to make a year-long commitment, and many of them have been Eagle Scouts themselves," says Julie Walther, the center's chief program officer.
She says it will be a Cub Scout pack first. Then, as members get older, they'll graduate into Boy Scouts.
The Center on Halsted already sponsors a Girl Scout Troop.
"We're really excited about growing our family programming, and we feel like Boy Scouts programming will be able to help us expand the network of family and the definition of family to the larger community," Walther says.
