Volunteer helps form Jewish Cub packs, Scout troops

When longtime Boys Scouts of America member John R. Halpern moved into his home as a fulltime Palm Beach County resident in 2004, he noticed there were no Jewish organizations sponsoring Cub Scout packs or Boy Scout troops.

In the last year, due largely to his efforts, the seven-county Boy Scouts of America Gulf Stream Council has chartered two packs and one troop in the Palm Beach County district, that extends from Boca Raton to Sebastian, and west to the Belle Glade area.

Boca Raton Synagogue has chartered a Cub Scout pack of 20 boys. Eight boys have joined a Boy Scout troop chartered by B'nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, and 10 boys have joined a Cub Scout pack chartered by Chabad-House Lubavitch of Palm Beach in North Palm Beach, he said.

"I'm doing my best to put together as many Jewish troops as I possibly can," said Halpern, 76, now chairman of the council's Jewish Committee on Scouting, and assistant council commissioner for Jewish Outreach.

Halpern, a former Boca Raton snowbird who now lives full time in Valencia Shores, west of Lake Worth, visits synagogues and temples, selecting the ones that have Hebrew schools.

For more information on joining or chartering a Jewish Cub Scout pack or Boy Scout troop in Palm Beach County, contact Halpern at 561-965-3731.