Merit Badges

You can start earning merit badges as soon as you register for Boy Scouts. Usually that is 11 years old.

The good ones to get as an 11-year old are Swimming and First Aid. (I
 recommend you get as many as you can as an 11-yr-old.)

You can borrow merit badge pamplets from the library. These tell all the requirements for the specific merit badge, and have a lot of valuable information that helps pass off the merit badge.There is one pamplet for each subject/merit badge.

The steps to get a merit badge are:
1. Get your leader to sign a merit badge card letting him know what merit badge you are working on.
2. Find a Counselor for that merit badge, and find out what you need to do to earn it.
3. Work on the merit badge and keep track of your work with the worksheets that you can print out from meritbadge.org.
4. Call the Counselor again and arrange to meet with him/her; you must take a buddy. (a friend, parent, sibling, another scout, etc.)
5. The Counselor will go over the requirements to make sure they are complete, and sign the merit badge.
6. The merit badge application portion of the card goes to the Troop Advancement Chairman. You will need to keep your copy in your baseball card sheet protector for future reference. (I would like to say that the Adv. Chair never misplaces the mb app. card, but it happens. The applicant's record is proof that you got it done if your records ever get lost, and records getting lost is actually quite a common thing for scouting expecially if you move to a different town.)

The Community Center holds an annual Pow Wow (a place to earn merit badges)  in August where the boys can come and earn 2 merit badges for like $23 and it includes lunch. They usually offer Swimming and First Aid  and Lifesaving amongst others. If you are 11 or 12, I highly recommend you get the Swimming and First Aid first.

The Community Education offers merit badges throughout the year for like $12. You can sign up over the phone with a credit card or sign up on line.

The Stake puts on a Pow Wow every 4th Tuesday at 7:15. They have a required merit badge or an elective to choose from. If you get the assignments done before the class, you should be able to walk away with a signed merit badge. You can get the assignments from your Scoutmaster.