Journey to Excellence

"Scouting's Journey to Excellence" is the BSA's new council performance recognition program designed to encourage and reward success and measure the performance of our units, districts, and councils. It is replacing the Centennial Quality Awards Program as a means of encouraging excellence in providing a quality program at all levels of the BSA.

Journey to Excellence is a national call to service by the Boy Scouts of America to address the issues of hunger, homelessness and poor health in our nation.

Journey to Excellence goals include the following:

• Inspire youth and adult leaders in and out of Scouting to higher levels of service and volunteerism.
• Provide additional program experiences to help youth members learn qualities of good citizenship and gain a sense of belonging to and being needed in their communities.
• Build service collaborations with community organizations across every community in the country.
• Affirm the BSA as the nation's leading collaborating organization in community service.
• Heighten our nation's awareness of BSA's service commitment to all communities and citizens.

Since 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has taught the principles of the Scout Oath and Law through community service, "helping other people at all times" and "Do a Good Turn Daily". Journey to Excellence (JTE) is the name under which all that Scouting service happens across the nation and provides a structure in which unit service is recognized and recorded.

We have the opportunity to raise our levels of community service and increase awareness of the Scouting program within our neighborhoods. Nationally, the Boy Scouts of America has partnered with The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, America's Second Harvest, and the Department of Homeland Security to increase our efforts in meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

Journey to Excellence helps provide communities with more Scouting service, instills the value of service in our youth, and increases awareness of the Scouting program within our neighborhoods as we focus on three areas of common concern: food, shelter and health.

In the new Journey To Excellence program, it is critical that your unit begin to log service hours into the National database.  Please see Recording Service Hours for more information. See your district executive for your login number.

In the upcoming year, we’ll build a database of prospective service projects your unit can adopt.  By logging your hours, your unit will be able to calculate its Journey To Excellence award level.