SHAC Quick Facts

Updated January 28, 2019

Sam Houston Area Council (“SHAC”) is incorporated in the State of Texas as a 501c3 non-profit organization. The National organization is a separate corporation.
Founded in 1914 and serves a sixteen (16) county area in the Houston Region.
Recognized as a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity, holds GuideStar’s Gold Star for transparency and the 4-star rating (highest rating) from Charity Navigator with an average score of 93% for fiscal responsibility and transparency.
Expansive and Growing Market Reach serving approximately 46,000 youth through a volunteer network of approximately 16,000 volunteers.
Over 1,100 Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle Scout every year.
Scouts and leaders annually contribute 450,000 plus service hours, estimated at a value of over $7 million.

Developed and began implementing new youth protection policies and training in the 1980s.
- Examples include:
  - Leadership Selection
    - Completion of application including criminal background check and mandatory Youth Protection Training.
    - Volunteer Screening Database check
  - Required Training
    - Youth Protection training is required for all BSA registered volunteers
  - Youth Protection Reporting Procedures for Volunteers
    - Reporting Violations of BSA Youth Protection Policies
    - Mandatory Report of Child Abuse
  - Scouting’s Barriers to Abuse
    - Two registered adult leaders 21 years of age or over are required at all Scouting activities
    - One-on-one contact between adult leaders and youth members is prohibited both inside and outside of Scouting.
Policies and training are best practices for youth-serving organizations.
90% of all claims for alleged sexual abuse incidents occurred prior to 1987 ― before BSA’s development and implementation of current youth protection policies and programs.

Legacy programs for boys have not changed.
Innovative Family Scouting program of Cub Scouts with gender-specific dens welcomed over 1,500 girls in SHAC in 2018.
Iconic Boy Scouts program remains the same but has changed the name to Scouts BSA and now includes gender-specific troops for girls.

Since the early 1970s, SHAC has invested millions of dollars to impact the lives of youth in the inner-city areas of the Houston Region through initiatives such as ScoutReach.
In 2019, SHAC will invest $2.4 million in ScoutReach to serve approximately 9,400 youth – primarily at approximately 50 elementary campuses of the Houston Independent School District.

SHAC is one of the strongest councils in the BSA from the perspectives of fiscal health, program quality, board and volunteer dedication and staff commitment and talent.
Every dollar contributed to SHAC stays in SHAC – 87% of every dollar contributed to SHAC is invested in programs and services.
SHAC is building for the future. Camp Strake, a $65 million project, is under construction to unleash the potential of our programs and camp properties to best serve the needs of Scouting families in the 21st century.