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NOAC 2024
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2023 Service Corps Welcome Email

  Collin Welke             Operation Arrow 2023

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Arrowmen,

This summer the Boy Scouts of America will be hosting our first National Jamboree in six years, and I am thrilled to help serve our fellow Scouts with you as part of the OA Service Corps! Our team will be an integral part of the Jamboree staff this summer and we wouldn’t be able to do it without you. I know that I cannot wait to see the impact we can create on each and every Scout that attends the Jamboree.  

Every day you are at the Jamboree, you will have the ability to make a positive change in the lives of the Scouts around you. The work will certainly be difficult at times, yet that will only make it more meaningful. Our team will be assisting in every aspect of the Jamboree; from setting up and taking down materials for Jamboree program committees, to helping to staff program areas during the Jamboree, to leading the mobilization for shows, to being among the first to welcome everyone to the Jamboree! All-in-all, we will be the boots-on-the-ground that will make this Jamboree happen; and I know that we will create an amazing experience for the participants. 

Each of you will be assigned to one of our six chapters, which will be led by a youth chapter chief - one of our section chiefs from across the country - and advised by a chapter adviser and associate chapter adviser, very similar to how things operate in your own lodges and chapters. We expect to start assigning everyone to chapters around April 1st - from then on your chapter chief and adviser will be your primary points of contact. Once you are assigned a chapter in a couple weeks, your chapter chief will be reaching out to you to provide contact information and to start to get to know you.

All of the youth leaders and adult advisers are expected to have you as part of the Service Corps, and again, I thank you for joining me on this journey!

 

Yours in Brotherhood,

Collin Welke

Service Corps Jamboree Vice Chief

 

2023 Service Corps Information

Important notes and reminders

Here are a couple important notes and reminders as you start planning for your time at the Jamboree:

  • So everyone can start planning their travel - all youth chapter members will be expected to arrive on Sunday, July 16th (by early afternoon if possible), and everyone will depart on Friday, July 28th.
  • Information about airport shuttles and transportation to the summit will hopefully be out in the next two weeks, and everyone can start finalizing and booking transportation then.
  • All service corps members need a tent, make sure to make plans to use, borrow or purchase a tent as early as possible. You will be provided a cot to use in your tent if you would like.
  • You will be provided an Operation Arrow polo shirt and baseball cap. This will be our uniform for almost the entire Jamboree. You should bring a full class-A uniform, which will be worn for some events, but the Operation Arrow shirt and hat will be worn the majority of the time with scout shorts and socks. More information will be out soon on purchasing additional Operation Arrow shirts.

What is the Service Corps?

Since 1950, Arrowmen from across the country have rallied together at each National Scout Jamboree to ensure its success. These Arrowmen, known as the Service Corps, have proven themselves an integral part of the Jamboree by tackling any challenge, at any time, and doing it with a cheerful spirit. Nineteen Jamborees later, the Service Corps is once again answering the call to provide manpower to projects all across the event and making things possible for the tens of thousands of Scouts, Scouters, Venturers, Explorers, and Sea Scouts.

 

The Service Corps takes the Order’s principles back to their core, striving to provide “service with a smile” no matter the task. Those on the team live by its mission and purpose:

  • Purpose - The purpose of the OA Service Corps is to demonstrate servant leadership through cheerful service to the 2023 Jamboree program areas in need.  The Service Corps will provide a visual representation of who and what the Order of the Arrow is to the Scouts and Scouters attending the 2023 Jamboree.
  • Mission - Our Mission is to create an environment conducive to servant leadership, cheerful service, and a memorable experience, while facilitating the needs of the 2023 National Scout Jamboree.  We want the Scouts and staff at the Jamboree to see the Order of the Arrow as an organization concerned with providing leadership through service, not only to the Jamboree and the Scouts in our troops, but also to our homes, schools, and communities.  We also want to create a memorable life-changing experience for the Arrowmen on the Service Corps.   The Jamboree should be a time for the Corps to have fun and to create lasting friendships with other Scouts from across the nation.

Scholarship Available

The "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt Foundation and the Order of the Arrow will grant a limited number of scholarships to assist youth Arrowmen age 16-20 committed to serving the OA and Scouting as members of the Operation Arrow staff. Applications must be submitted no later than April 1, 2023. Download application at https://oa-bsa.org/uploads/events/jamboree-2023/bill-scholarship.pdf. Scholarships will cover nearly one-third of your cost to attend the Jamboree, so don’t miss out on this opportunity and apply now!

What’s Next?

As we move closer and closer to Jamboree, we will certainly have more information for everyone. Always keep an eye open for more emails detailing your role in the corps! Also make sure to pay attention to the monthly Operation Arrow newsletter, the Appalachian Dispatch, for additional up to date information about Operation Arrow and the jamboree.

Questions?

We are happy to try to help answer any questions you have, or get answers from other areas of the Jamboree as needed. If you have questions, please email servicecorps@oa-bsa.org and myself or our lead adviser, Mike Card, will get back to you shortly.

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