1st girl in Delaware to join Cub Scouts wanted to earn the same badges as her brother

As Alexandra Gardner planted seedlings during activity time at the Cub Scout Pack 351 meeting this week in Townsend, the 6-year-old wasn't focused on being the first girl in Delaware to join Cub Scouts.

It wasn't lost on her mother.

Christina Gardner, who is one of the leaders in the Townsend Cub Scout pack, said she never really thought of her daughter as starting a trend or leading a movement, just being a little girl who wanted to do the same things as her older brother. 

Then an opportunity for her daughter to join what was once an exclusively male organization presented itself.

"I guess in a sense she really is a pioneer," said Christina, whose family lives in Middletown. "I was beyond excited to learn from the Del-Mar-Va Council that AJ was the first girl in Delaware to join. It's really exciting. I feel like our family and our pack is a part of something special."

Alexandra signed up immediately after the Del-Mar-Va Council became a part of the "Early Adopter" program in January and Townsend Cub Scout Pack 351 opted into the program, which required at least four girls to participate.

Three other Middletown girls — kindergartner Makena Lawson, second-grader Isabel Barrera and fourth-grader Miranda Walters — joined the pack shortly after Gardner and all are active members of the pack. 

According to Boy Scouts of America, about 3,000 girls nationwide have joined through the early adopter program so far. It is unclear how many are from Delaware.

The road was paved for girls joining Cub Scouts in 2017 when the National Executive Board of the BSA made a unanimous decision to welcome girls to its programs based on feedback from scouting communities.

According to a BSA survey of parents not involved in scouting, 90 percent are interested in a program like Cub Scouts for their daughters, while 87 percent are interested in a program like Boy Scouts.

Starting in mid-January, BSA invited its chartered partner organizations to choose if they would like to establish a new girl pack, establish a family pack that consists of girl dens and boy dens, or remain an all-boy pack. 

The early adopter program had a soft launch in March because of the overwhelming demand from communities that allowed eligible packs to officially register girls (K-4) in Cub Scouts.

A head start

The Gardner family had already been heavy into scouting when Alexandra joined, with both Eric and Christina as leaders in Pack 351 and their son Jeremy, now 8 years old, being a member of the pack for a year. 

Alexandra tagged along with the family during Scouting events and participated in nearly everything the pack did, her mother said. She couldn't wait to officially be a part of the family program so she could earn the same patches as her brother.

"AJ used to get a little upset when her brother would get awards, badges and certificates and she didn't, even though she was doing the same things right alongside him," Christina said. "Now she gets to be recognized for doing them."

Alexandra recently placed third in the Pack 351 Pinewood Derby races and was able to compete in the district derby, where she placed 33rd. She was the only girl racing a car.

Christina said that since AJ has joined Pack 351, the family dynamic has changed.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing we are able to enjoy as a family," she said. "It has opened up opportunities to do things as a family that hadn't been available before, like camping, archery and all the other things we didn't know we could do as a family in scouting."

There's been no pushback from Jeremy.

"They are best friends," she said of the siblings who are 19 months apart in age. "He supports her. They are kids and they don't see anything wrong with being in Cub Scouts together."

Alexandra said being able to hang out with her brother and the other girls in the pack is her favorite thing about being a Cub Scout. 

"I like the activities we do, but the best thing is getting to be around my brother and my friend Isabel," the shy 6-year-old said.

Isabel joined because she wanted to be with her brother Maximo on Scout night. She originally talked about being a Girl Scout, but when the new BSA guidelines allowed her to join Cub Scouts, she wanted in.

Her mother, Whitney Barrera, said being in the same pack with her brother not only allows them to be together, but also helps avoid having to divide and conquer because the kids have different events. She's now looking forward to when her 3-year-old daughter Daniela can join.

"My husband and I work opposite shifts so it's good to bring them all to one place," she said. "I really enjoy seeing how they interact together and how much fun they are having."

Barrera believes that the some of the negative remarks she's read about the new guidelines changing an American institution will die down once more packs opt into the program.

Two-thirds of councils nationwide are participating in an early adopter program, according to the BSA. The organization has about 1.25 million Cub Scouts and more than 800,000 Boy Scouts in nearly 100,000 units across the U.S.

"With the way things are now, changes need to happen," Barrera said. "They (boys and girls) need to learn to work together."

The Gardner family couldn't agree more. While being together as a family is the biggest plus, the new guidelines also will allow their daughter to earn the same merit badges and reach the same levels as boys if she remains in the program.

Christina said a Scouting program for older girls will be delivered in 2019, allowing participants to earn the highest rank of Eagle Scout.

"It's good for scouting," Christina Gardner said.

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.