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Thanks

Saying Thanks to a Scouts Canada Volunteer for their
outstanding contributions to Scouting is easy!

Thank a Scouter Today

Saying Thanks to a Scouts Canada Volunteer for their outstanding contributions to Scouting is this easy:

  • Any stakeholder to Scouting (volunteers, youth, parents, the community at large) can fill out a simple form to commend a Scouter for their outstanding act or service to Scouting.
  • Scouters will receive a certificate every time they are commended by a stakeholder and it will be presented within the Scouter’s section or group.
  • As Scouters accumulate commendations, they will become eligible for Outstanding Service Awards and will be recognized with a medal and uniform insignia for each award.

Would you like to thank a Scouter for their impact on you, your child or your community? Just hit the Thank You it’s that easy!

Say Thanks Today

Outstanding Service Awards Information

OSA Information Sheet

Scouts Canada Recognition Guide

Why Say Thanks?

Why good Commendations are important

Good Commendations are key to recognizing our Volunteers and Youth!

As much as we love to get Commendations thanking Rusty for taking a Youth camping, it’s hard to tell how big a deal this is with just that one line. Commendations through the Thanks system are also used to flag Volunteers and Youth for other higher-level awards. It’s important we have enough details to tell us how the person being thanked are helping our Youth thrive in their programs.

What makes a good Commendation?

Think of the five W’s.

  • Who? Who attended the event or activity? Numbers help give a sense of how big this is – was it 7 Beavers, 3 sections, 150 Cubs and Scouters at the Kub Kar Rally or 500 Youth at a Council Camp?
  • What? What are they being thanked for, and what impact did that have on the Youth? Did they take their Section to an activity as participants, did they help run an event, or did they take on a leadership or mentoring role?
  • When? When did the activity take place and how long did it run? A couple of hours, a weekend, a week-long trip or something that lasted every week for 5 months?
  • Where? Where did this take place? At a park down the road, or did they need to travel a considerable distance to get there?
  • Why and How? Why did what they do help Scouts Canada Youth have great adventures, help them grow and have fun?

It may seem like a lot, but you can touch upon these points in 3 or 4 sentences. Remember that the person reviewing these commendations may not be local to you, and they may not know about the event or know the person being commended. The highest Scouts Canada awards (Silver Acorn, Bar to the Silver Acorn, Silver Wolf) are adjudicated at the National level.

Say Thanks Today

Thank a Volunteer in Myscouts

Thanking A Volunteer Directly Through Myscouts.ca

The preferred method for submitting a ‘Thank’ you is directly to the volunteer's profile through myscouts.ca. This works for any Scouter whose profile you have access to.

  • Log into your myscouts.ca account
  • Find the person you want to recognize in myscouts.ca
    • For example, use the ‘Find an Individual’ link, or Navigate through your Section to the person’s profile
  • On the left-hand menu under Admin Options, click the ‘Add Commendation’ link.  The ‘Add Commendation’ modal dialogue box will pop up.
    • The Individual Name field should already be filled in with the person you are recognizing.
    • In the Application Date, fill in the approximate date of service you are recognizing them for (for example, the date of the meeting, activity or event), or fill in today’s date if you don’t know.
    • In the Comments field, describe in 3-4 sentences the outstanding act or service the Scouter has performed and the impact on you, the Youth or the Scouting community.  You have one-thousand characters to work with.
    • Leave the Recognition Name as ‘Certificate of Commendation’
    • In the Nominator Field, Add your name of the person making the commendation.  You may add the relationship to the person being recognized in brackets. For example,
      • Linus van Pelt (Fellow Scouter)
      • Woodstock (Cub Scout)
      • Big Bird (Parent)
  • Click Save to send the commendation on for approval.

Note — the Application Date, Comments and Nominator fields are used in the same way as if you had entered the commendation through scouts.ca/thanks website and will appear on the Commendation Letter. By adding the commendation through myscouts.ca, there’s no confusion which person the commendation is being made for, and the approval process will be faster.

Say Thanks Today

Get in Touch

1-888-855-3336

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Media inquiries, please contact Naina Trivedi: naina.trivedi@scouts.ca

Scouts Canada Charity Number: 107761694RR0028

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