MIAMI HERALD

May 17, 2009

Boy Scouts offers migrant kids free membership

BY NICOLE SAVDIE
Special to The Miami Herald

For Louis Leal, a trip to the Ocala Forest with Boy Scouts surpassed the appeal of mouse ears and roller coasters in nearby Orlando.

The student's trip was part of Boy Scouts of America's Mexican-migrant outreach program that provides boys in the Everglades, South Dade and Redland migrant camps with free membership in the Boy Scouts.

Scout leader and teacher Tony Stout saw the program as a way to lead his students away from the gang violence that surrounded them.

''We wanted to do some sort of intervention that would take the students from walking the streets to walking under the stars,'' he said. ``Instead of putting a gun in their hands, we put a fishing pole.''

Since it started, the program has ''put a fishing pole'' into the hands of more than 500 boys, a task that would be impossible without fundraising events such as Wednesday's Boy Scouts of America luncheon at El Toro Taco in Homestead. Stout, who has been targeted by gangs since he began working with the program in 1994, says the benefits outweigh the risks. He has graduated 48 Eagle Scouts, the highest Boy Scout ranking. Many of the students have gone to college or entered the military. Besides, Stout says, ``I'm a former Marine.''

Stout and the other leaders have taught skills like cooking, building and community service, altering their lives in the process.

''They stay in high school because of Scouts,'' says Stout.

Adds Shannon Rodriguez, the South Dade scouting representative: ``There's been a few families that say the effect has been so great that they are going to stay in Florida instead of migrate.''

Rodriguez, who has been involved for five years and looks forward to celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America in February, says the outreach program has become dear to her.

``My heart is really in this one. It's the little things they're getting to experience. You look in their faces and something's happening.''