LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. -- Scout Me In, that's the name of Boy Scouts of America's latest recruitment campaign.
"It's basically a call to action of 'Scout Me In' as our programs are now available to young ladies and young men," says Mark Barbernitz, the Scout Executive/CEO of Boy Scouts of America's Northeastern Pennsylvania Council.
Accompanying the campaign is a name change. The overall organization will still be named the Boy Scouts of America.
The name change applies to its program for 11 to 17 year-olds. Instead of 'Boy Scouts' the older youth program will be called Scouts BSA.
"It's basically changing with the times, if you look at the YMCA they have a lot of programs at The Y, it's just The Y now, you don't have to be young, you don't have to be male, you don't have to be a Christian to be a part of that program. So the BSA is basically is all-encompassing now," explains Barbernitz.
After handling the news last fall that the Boy Scouts of America would allow girls to sign up, some Girl Scout officials think the name change announcement isn't so hard to accept.
"The name change for the Boy Scouts isn't going to change how the girl scouts operation or how we're empowering the girls," says Regional Director for Girl Scouts of America in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Amber Trunzo.
Some parents with boys entering the Boy Scout, or Scout BSA age, are not pleased with the change.
"I'm not thrilled about the name change because I just don't think it was necessary," says scout mother Holly Arnold.
Instead of changing the name of the entire program, Arnold thinks it would be better to just add a new division, with a different name.
"You could have this new parallel equally rigorous program for girls where they earn all the same merit badges and all the same, you know accomplishments, without having to change the name of the boy's program," explains Arnold.
The name change comes in February.
Boy Scout officials say more than 3,000 girls across the country have already enrolled and are currently participating in the Cub Scout program that is co-ed.
The Scout BSA program for older kids will separate boys and girls.