The Boy Scouts’ name will soon become a thing of the past. The organization is dropping “Boy” from the name after officials announced last year that it would allow girls into its two main programs, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.
The announcement was made Wednesday morning with the organization's new marketing campaign "Scout Me In," USAToday reported.
The official organization that runs scouting programs will remain Boy Scouts of America. The groups that feed into it will be called Cub Scouts, the group for kids from kindergarten through fifth grade and remains unchanged, and Scouts BSA, which serves ages 11 through 17. The change takes effect in February.
The Associated Press reported Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh as saying, "We wanted to land on something that evokes the past but also conveys the inclusive nature of the program going forward. We're trying to find the right way to say we're here for both young men and young women."
Girls will be accepted into Cub Scout Packs starting in the summer, but there are already early adopter packs, with 3,000 girls participating in scouting, USAToday reported.
Girls will be accepted into Scout BSA troops next year, the AP reported.
Former Boy Scouts will be referred to as Scouts, dropping the gender designation.
Boy Scouts of America already offered co-ed groups through Venturing, Sea Scouts and Exploring prior to the change.
For more on joining Scouting, or to volunteer, click here.
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