I had a very lucky experience in that my troop was about as secular as it gets, meeting at a local public school without any external financial support at all. There was no church involved; the parents funded everything and provided transportation and were our chaperones. The only mention of “reverence” was in the Scout Oath, and there were never any group prayers or other such things.
We also didn’t wear uniforms on outings, steering clear of any pro-military optics.
My point being: if you find yourself looking for a program that is more on the side of skill-building, outdoorsy stuff, and education, there are troops out there that may fit the bill.
The troop I was in was like that as well, minus the uniforms. Almost always had to have on either a uniform or troop shirt at outings so we could be identified in case something went wrong. Closest we had to church related stuff was how our troop was grateful enough to be able to hold meetings in a nearby church, a quick mention of it in Eagle Scout court of honor ceremony, and the occasional camp out “there’s service happening for anybody who wants to attend” type of thing.
As for funding, we definitely had the usual fall popcorn sales and then we usually did a bake sale early Spring for funding. Hated the bake sale because it was always at a small rest stop shop that was almost always cold. No external support outside of whoever popcorn sales were done through.
Re: vet the troop.
I had a very lucky experience in that my troop was about as secular as it gets, meeting at a local public school without any external financial support at all. There was no church involved; the parents funded everything and provided transportation and were our chaperones. The only mention of “reverence” was in the Scout Oath, and there were never any group prayers or other such things.
We also didn’t wear uniforms on outings, steering clear of any pro-military optics.
My point being: if you find yourself looking for a program that is more on the side of skill-building, outdoorsy stuff, and education, there are troops out there that may fit the bill.
The troop I was in was like that as well, minus the uniforms. Almost always had to have on either a uniform or troop shirt at outings so we could be identified in case something went wrong. Closest we had to church related stuff was how our troop was grateful enough to be able to hold meetings in a nearby church, a quick mention of it in Eagle Scout court of honor ceremony, and the occasional camp out “there’s service happening for anybody who wants to attend” type of thing.
As for funding, we definitely had the usual fall popcorn sales and then we usually did a bake sale early Spring for funding. Hated the bake sale because it was always at a small rest stop shop that was almost always cold. No external support outside of whoever popcorn sales were done through.