Well, we all know what comes next…God Bless America, My home sweet home!

Troop 11 High Adventure is shifting gears from the 2007 Philmont Trek to the 2008 Florida Sea Base Live Aboard Diving Experience and it made me think of the lyrics to God Bless America. From the mountains of Philmont to the oceans at Sea Base…That was going to be the subject of my blog but a funny thing happened along the way.

I’m ashamed to admit it but I actually “googled” God Bless America to ensure that I had the lyrics correct, I know…I know…I’m a Scoutmaster, well I’m also hitting 50 this year so give me a break.  Anyway, I was amazed to find that the second entry on my google search sent me to www.scoutsongs.com.  I got to wondering…why??  So I was curious to find out if there was any connection with Irving Berlin and Scouting.  You guessed it, I googled “Irving Berlin and The Boy Scouts of America” and was amazed at what came up.  If you don’t know, get ready for one of those “Well, I’ll be!” moments, cause here’s the scoop.

In 1940, the song’s writer, Irving Berlin, gave all the royalties from the song God Bless America to a fund, the God Bless America Fund, he set up ”for the benefit of the youth of America.” He named the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts his favored youth organizations. In the decades since, the fund’s trustees have given scouting organizations in New York, Berlin’s adopted city, more than $6 million. The fund’s trustees say that in recent years virtually all the money has gone to scouting groups in New York City.

The burst of new popularity for the old standard that has followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks means that every public performance of ”God Bless America” will add up to more money for the Scouts of New York City. A trustee of the God Bless America Fund, Victoria G. Traube, said the royalties had been more than $200,000 a year and might triple this year because the song was being sung so often in so many places.

Irving Berlin died in 1989 at the age of 101. Last week one of his daughters, Linda Emmet, said it would seem right to her father that the song would be a way for people to help the children of New York City.

”He would have said that the children are the future of the country,” Mrs. Emmet said.

The New York scouting groups said they had used the money in the past to expand scouting to the city’s poorest neighborhoods and to provide programs for troubled and disabled children. On field trips, ”it’s learning about nature, taking hikes, doing cookouts,” said Charles E. Rogers, an assistant director of the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America.

Both of the New York scouting groups say they are working on plans to use money flowing from ”God Bless America” to help scouts and other children cope after the attacks. The Boy Scouts group says it knows of at least nine troop leaders from the city who were lost on Sept. 11.

In an era when scouting was synonymous with American values, Berlin was enthusiastic about it. He was on the board of the Boy Scouts; his wife was on the board of the Girl Scouts.

But people connected both with the Scouts and the fund said in recent days that the true measure of Berlin’s commitment to the Scouts was that he turned over the royalties of the song that he knew would endure.

Well now I’m thinking about Paul Harvey because you now know the “Rest of the Story”. 

God Bless America!

Mr. H