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Welcome!
We are glad you are considering joining Troop 615.
We meet every Wednesday evening from 7PM – 8:30PM at the Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City. We also have monthly outings throughout the year. Meetings consist of an opening ceremony/Troop formation, skill instruction, Patrol Corners, a game, and closing. During meetings, scouts usually receive instruction for merit badges or training necessary for upcoming outings.
If you would like to join us at an upcoming meeting to listen in, or if you have any additional questions please feel free to reach out to our Recruitment Coordinator Vince Tang at vince99t@yahoo.com
Here is our Troop Handbook with useful information
You can also view our main FaceBook page or our 50th Anniversary FaceBook page
Here is our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page
Contacts:
Please check out the rest of the website for additional information. If you would like to join an upcoming meeting to listen in, need more information on the Troop or have any additional questions please feel free to reach out to any of the Committee members below:
Barry Matto, Scoutmaster at: sm@bsatroop615.com
Michelle Matto, Committee Chair: committeechair@bsatroop615.com
Aaron Haack, Membership Coordinator: membership@bsatroop615.com
Vince Tang, Recruitment Coordinator: vince99t@yahoo.com
Kevin Sanchez-Cherry, Webelos Transition Coordinator: wtc615@gmail.com
Joining Troop 615
Any boy who desires to follow the ideals of Scouting is welcome to join the Troop.
To become a Boy Scout a youth must be at least 11 years old, or
Have completed the 5th grade, or
Have earned the Arrow of Light Award (Webelo – Cub Scout Honor), and
Be under 18 years of age.
Once the decision has been made to join Troop 615, a parent or guardian should accompany his/her son to a Troop meeting. A membership packet will be given to the parent to review and complete the necessary forms. The parent, with your son, will meet with the Scoutmaster to discuss Troop 615’s Scouting Program. A boy cannot participate in any Scouting activity until properly registered.
The first item each Scout should obtain is the Boy Scout Handbook, which contains information on rank requirements and general information on the Scouting program. The Boy Scout Handbook is needed at every Troop meeting and outing.
The Second thing each Scout should obtain is a Scout Uniform. There are two types of Scout uniforms, the Field uniform (formerly known as a Class A Uniform) and an Activity Uniform (formerly known as a Class B Uniform).
Scouts can join Troop 615 by filling out an on-line application or using the my.scouting.org website to transfer their scout into Troop 615.
Many resources and talents are required for the Troop to have a quality program. We expect that each Scout has at least one parent or guardian who will register with BSA and support Troop Activities. Adults are also required to take BSA Youth Protection Training (YPT) and Virtus Training (required by our charting organization – the Church of the Resurrection).
Troop Organization
Troop 615 is organized as follows:
Adults
Chartered Organization Representative (COR) - The direct contact between the Troop and the Chartered Organization, the Church of the Resurrection. The COR is also the Troop’s contact with the District Committee and the Local Council.
Committee Chairperson - The troop Committee Chair supervises and leads the Parent Committee, oversees Program Staff, and organizes the Committee to see that all committee responsibilities are delegated, coordinated and completed. See the Parent Committee page for details on Committee positions.
Scoutmaster - The Scoutmaster is the adult responsible for working directly with the Scouts providing direction, coaching, and support. The Scoutmaster oversees and leads the Troop Assistant Scoutmasters and Junior Assistant Scoutmasters.
Scouts
The Scouts are organized into groups called patrols. Webelos who have bridged to Boys Scouts and joined the Troop will be placed into a new patrol. Within the first 4-6 Troop meetings, the new patrol will elect the leaders: Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader, Scribe, and Quartermaster, choose a name, flag and yell. Only the first Patrol Leader is elected for a new patrol, then the Assistant Patrol Leader becomes the new Patrol Leader when his term is completed. A new Grubmaster is elected for each outing. The new patrol also will begin working on completing the requirements to achieve the rank of Scout.
Scouting Costs
While joining Scouting can be a great opportunity for your kids, it’s only natural to think about how much it’s going to cost. Knowing what to expect ahead of time it easier to plan for future expenses associated with Scouting. Here is the link to the BSA website with more information on the costs for scouting: https://scoutsmarts.com/scouting-costs-registration-gear-uniforms-fees/
Membership:
BSA Membership fees consist of the National BSA fees, Council fees and Troop fees:
National BSA fee - $85 (Scouts), $65 (Adults)
Baltimore Area Council fee - $75 (Scouts), $6 (Adults)
Troop fee - $125 (Scouts)
Financial aid is possible if you are under a financial hardship
Scout Uniform Costs:
Hat: $24.99
Shirt: $28.99 to $49.99
Neckerchief: $9.99 to $14.99
Neckerchief Slide: $5.99
Pants: $19.99 to $54.99
Belt: $14.99 to $19.99
Initial Patches: $13.99
Activities/Events:
The cost of scouts attending the various outings and events varies on each occurrence. Fees will be announced and sent in emails to the Troop prior to the event.
Scout Accounts:
Troop 615 utilizes scout accounts for both registered scouts and adults alike to apply towards “out of pocket” expenses associated with scouting and Troop activities.
Troop fundraising events are great opportunity for you to earn money to help pay for your scouting experiences. The more you work at these fundraisers, the more you will earn. Please support these fundraising opportunities in the year ahead. Feel free to contact the Troop Treasurer if you have any questions or concerns.
Scout account fund may also be used to reimburse a scout for the purchase of camping gear or BSA uniform and accessories, required for participation in Troop 615 or BSA activities. The scout account funds can also be used to fund for the Eagle project related expenses or needs.
Outings
Part of being a boy led Troop means that the boys decide which outings they attend and where they go for all of those outings…. with one exception. Troop 615 helps to staff Webelos-O-Ree is as a service to Boy Scouts and to Cub Scouts. For all the other outings, the boys choose where we go and what we’ll be doing.
There are some regular outings that they boys have established as a tradition in the Troop… outings that we have attended every year for the past 10+ years.
Ski and Snowboarding: Every January the troop goes to Seven Springs Mountain Resort for a weekend of skiing and snowboarding, not just for scouts but their families can also attend.
White Water Rafting: Each May scouts go to Ohioyple, Pennsylvania to white water raft down the Youghiogheny River. Families are allowed to attend this outing.
Webelos-O-Ree: In October, the troop goes to Broadcreek Scout Reservation to encourage and promote Webelos to continue scouting. Troop 615 has been responsible for the Cooking demonstration station for the past several years.
Outings are a great time to knock off accomplishments for advancement. Scouts may even be able to have a Scoutmaster conference and a board of review on an outing (if there are enough appropriately trained parents attending) so that they can advance in rank. You’ll need your Scout book to complete those accomplishments and get them checked off.
Following is a summary of BSA and Troop policies that are in effect on most outings.
Scout Tenting and Meals: Scouts tent with their patrol in a patrol site, which is separate from other patrol sites when possible. Patrols plan their own menus, cook their own meals, eat together as a team, and clean up together. Duties are rotated so that at some point all boys will get a turn at each job.
Adult Tenting and Meals: Adults tent with the adult group in a site separate fro the boys’ patrols. If this is not possible due to space constraints, the adult area will be placed in a corner of the campsite and roped off. The adult group plans its own menu, and cooks and eats together as a patrol. We also encourage each patrol to invite two adults to eat with them at some meals. We believe this will encourage the boys to plan better menus to impress their adult guests.
BSA youth protection policies forbid and adult and a boy to share the same tent. While youth protection policies may not apply to a father or mother and son tenting together, it is a Troop 615 policy that boys share their tents with other boys and adults tent singly or with other adults.
Eagle Projects
Troop 615 Eagle Scout candidates have completed many Eagle Projects that have benefitted the community. Some were construction-related, and others were non-construction related:
Redesign, reassembly, and landscaping of the Church of the Resurrection's Stations of the Cross
Constructing a garden and path for the St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Catholic Church
Building flower boxes at Patapsco Valley State Park
Stenciling storm drains in Columbia
Installing drainpipes around the playground at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ellicott City
Blood drive for the American Red Cross
Construction of six raised flower beds for the Community Ecology Institute at Freetown Farm in Columbia
Here is a listing of Troop 615's Eagle Scouts since the beginning of the Troop.
Service Projects
Troop 615 participates in a number of Service Projects throughout the year. Some projects are one time events (e.g., helping the Church with spread mulch on the grounds, offering to help clean up after a community function at the church, etc.). Some of the past service projects include:
Easter Vigil Bonfire- Light a fire celebrating Easter for the local church.
Church of the Resurrection Annual Book Sale- Help fundraise books.
Project Clean Stream: The troop visits Patapsco Valley State Park to pick up trash from streams.
We Remember: Scouts go to Baltimore National Cemetery the Friday of Memorial Day weekend to put flags in front of military headstones.
Scouting For Food: Scouts distribute plastic bags to collect cans and dry food to help replenish food banks and church kitchens.
Scout Sunday: The troop gathers to go to a Sunday service to encourage religious activities and support the Church as our charter organization.
Catholic Daughter's Craft Show: The troop will be helping with set up and tear down as well as manning a booth. Please sign up to help.
Summer Camp
Troop 615 has attended Ockanickon Scout Reservation (OSR) annually for a week of summer camp for the past ~20 years. The boys have the opportunity to work on a wide range of merit badges, rank advancement, and have fun bonding with the rest of the troop.
For new Scouts, attending that first summer camp is a critical component for continued success in Scouting. OSR has a program specifically designed for first year Scouts called the Dan Beard program. The Dan Beard program gets boys through 2 merit badges that are important for success in Scouting. By participating in this program, the first year boys do NOT have to plan their activities/merit badges.
Boys that are in their second year of Scouts or older choose their own schedule of activities at summer camp. To do so, they need to identify those merit badges that they would like to do, check the schedules for when the merit badges are offered (if there are two merit badges are scheduled at the same time, you can’t do both badges!), AND the boys need to make sure they complete their pre-requisites prior to attending summer camp. Because of the broad number of merit badge opportunities at OSR, it’s a good idea to match the Scout’s age and abilities to the appropriate merit badge. There are some merit badges that require background , training, or experience that younger Scouts may not have.
Scouts will also need money for lunch since OSR is 3.5 hours from Ellicott City and we stop along the way to and from camp.
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