Inspirational Stories

As Cub Scouts, they promised each other they’d become Eagle Scouts together. After 12 years together, they’ve made good on their promise.

To tell this story, we have to start at the beginning, when a young boy not yet old enough to join Boy Scouts jumped from a swing at the height of its path, injuring his elbow, and changing his life forever.

“Instincts kicked in; I had to do what I could to save this person’s life,” one Eagle Scout says. “I knew if I needed to take a break, my friends could sub in.”

Slade Caltrider came home from a summer canoeing trip with his troop with his legs covered in mosquito bites. Over the next five months, the itching and discomfort never went away.

Every year since 2000, a group of kayakers paddle from Miami to Key West, Fla., to raise money in the fight against cancer. Two of those kayakers are Scout executives and Eagle Scouts.

Tim is 28 and has Down syndrome. Like all Scouts with disabilities, he was given extra time to complete Scouting’s requirements.