Boy and Cub Scouts are back in business in Asbury Park
Unit No. 241 was chartered by the city's Second Baptist Church in June
After a 15 year hiatus, the Boy Scouts of America have a presence again in Asbury Park.
Mayor Myra Campbell and member of the city council formally welcomed the Boy Scouts of America back to the city by proclamation at the Feb. 5 meeting, recognizing the city’s Unit No. 241 as being a fully chartered organization in Asbury Park.
The Unit, sponsored in July of 2013 through the city’s Second Baptist Church, was started by congregation member and Scoutmaster Robert Scott.
As far as Scott can tell, there has not been a chartered unit of the Boy or Cub Scouts in Asbury Park in over 15 years, he said.
Although he originally hails from Eatontown, Scott has been a member of Asbury Park’s Second Baptist Church all his life and has several family members who reside in Asbury Park and Neptune. He came up scouting in Eatontown’s Troop 253, he said.
His participation in the program afforded him discipline, stability and life skills and gave him the opportunity to travel to national campsites, which is what he hopes to impart on the young men of Unit 241, Scott said.
Being a part of the Boy Scouts “gives you that sense of pride and that sense of dignity that you are providing something positive,” he said.
Scott, 36, said he has long been witness to the poverty and struggles among residents of the city’s West Side and started the unit to help make a positive impact on young boys in the area, he said. A majority of the kids he knew growing up in the area are now “either dead or in jail,” he said.
“It’s more of a personal thing where I am here trying to help these children out. This was the thing for me to do to give back,” said Scott.
Scott used to frequent the YMCA when it was still in operation on Main Street and, other than going to the Boys and Girls Club, there are not many places for young men to go to for recreation and socialization and now gangs have taken over on the West Side, he said.
“The east side has always been fine,” said Scott. “[The Second Baptist Church is] on the west side, that is where the majority of the crime is and where the African American community is.”
He is focusing his efforts on recruiting young men from the Asbury Park and Neptune communities, he said.
“I’m tired of poverty and seeing people struggle,” he said.
The young men of Unit 241 have completed service opportunities with Neptune nonprofit Midtown Urban Renaissance Corporation [MURC], have assisted with can drives and trash cleanup in Freehold and recently participated in a Black History Month kickoff celebration at the Second Baptist Church, according to Scott.
Next up, the Boy Scouts will test their outdoor pioneering skills at the Thunderbird Klondike Derby held in Freehold’s Turkey Swamp Park in March, he said.
“I’m really here for the boys,” he said.” I really want them to become excellent men in life.”
Unit 241 meets twice a month on alternating Mondays at the Second Baptist Church, located at 124 Atkins Avenue. A launch night is held every September but the unit accepts applications at any time.
[Photo at top: Front row, left side: Luxandre Fonrose, Canaan Kannatt, Timothy Harris III, Mateo Andrews, Jaylon Benjamin. Right side: Daren Fonrose, Ta’Jeam Anderson, Robert M. Scott, Jr., JayShaun Nicholson-Scott, Jalen Weedon. Back row: Vanessa Rodriguez, Advancement Coordinator; Mary S. Scott, Troop Committee Chairperson; Robert M. Scott, Sr., Scoutmaster; Myra Campbell, Mayor of Asbury Park; Charles Oates, Sr., Equipment Coordinator; Shawn Good, Assistant Scoutmaster.]
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