Scouts BSA requires much less parental involvement than Cub scouts. Parents are welcome to observe meetings, however, any adult who is staying overnight on a camping trip is required to be registered as a leader. This ensures that they will have had a background check and completed Youth Protection training. The troop does its best to follow Scouting America’s policies intending to protect youth. We practice 2 deep leadership (ensuring that youth are never alone with a leader) and ensure that both female and male leaders are present for co-ed events.

Troop 494’s yearly dues are $225

• Dues should be paid to Troop 494

• Dues should be paid at the beginning of the School/Scouting year

• Do not pay membership fees directly to Scouting America.

• They will send you reminders to pay for your membership. DO NOT PAY Scouting America directly. We will pay them out of the money you paid us in your Dues when we renew our charter annually

We try to provide as many enriching activities that fit within the program as possible. 

There is generally one weekend event per month while school is in session. These events involve either camping in tents, lean-tos, or cabins. The type of camping we do depends on the season.  

The troop goes to summer camp at Sequassen in New Hartford, CT for a week in August.  

The troop will also participate in Scouts BSA High Adventure Bases. These events will take place once every 2 years and will be available to Scouts who are 14 or older. 

Examples of regular campouts ($20 fee):

• Cockaponset State Forest

• Guilford Sportsman’s Club

• Devil’s Hopyard

• Deer Lake

• Rockland Preserve

Examples of Special Campouts (fee may vary based on costs):

• Rockspot Climbing Gym

• Lonesome Lake, NH

• Wellfleet Hollow, Cape Cod

• Block Island

Examples of High Adventure Bases:

• Sea Base

• Philmont Scout Ranch

Every event will have an event page on this website, found at troop494.com/events

It is important to RSVP for an event as early as possible to help the Troop to plan appropriately.

On the event pages there will be:

• A description of the event

• A breakdown of the meals we will have

• information about what to bring

• An embedded google form to RSVP

• A link to the results from the google form, to show who has RSVP’d

• A place to pay for the event online (cash and check can also be used)

Reach out via email to scoutsofmadison@gmail.com, or let us know via text or phone that you will no longer be attending.

Knowing that you will no longer be attending prior to purchasing food or materials for the event allows us to plan better. If you let us know 2 days in advance and with the leaders’ discretion we can usually offer a credit or refund. We may not be able to do so with last minute cancellations.

Tenting:

Most Scouts have their own tents. Youth of the same gender and within 2 years of age of each other are allowed to share tents if they want to. 

Cabins:

Male and female Scouts will have separate areas and appropriate accommodations per the guidance outlined by Scouts BSA.

Since only leaders participate in camping trips, we will generally meet at the firehouse prior to our campouts to arrange the car pools to transport all scouts and equipment to the event. For closer events it is also acceptable for parents to drop their scout off at the camp site.

There is no formal policy on the usage of electronic devices such as phones, tablets, watches, computers, etc.

The expectation is that during meetings and events that phones are away unless there is a reason to use them (reference material, GPS, Compass, maps etc)

If they become a distraction we may ask for them to be put away, or to be put on a table.

If there is ever a reason that you need to contact your child, reaching out to leaders (who's phone numbers we always provide prior to events) is the best route.

There are times when we do allow Scouts to use phones for entertainment, mostly limited to travel time in the car. 

We encourage all scouts to participate in all activities they are interested in (sports, robotics, dance, etc) We understand that this means there will be conflicts. It is normal for Scouts to be coming and going to keep their commitments to other groups as well. Leaders who attend events will be reachable, and can be contacted to coordinate any pick ups or drop offs during events.