Citizenship in the Community

Merit Badge Workbook

This workbook can help you but you still need to read the merit badge pamphlet.
This Workbook can help you organize your thoughts as you prepare to meet with your merit badge counselor
Merit Badge Counselors may not require the use of this or any similar workbooks.
You still must satisfy your counselor that you can demonstrate each skill and have learned the information.
You should use the work space provided for each requirement to keep track of which requirements have been completed,
and to make notes for discussing the item with your counselor, not for providing full and complete answers.
If a requirement says that you must take an action using words such as "discuss", "show",
"tell", "explain", "demonstrate", "identify", etc, that is what you must do.
No one may add or subtract from the official requirements found on Scouting.org.
The requirements were last issued or revised in 2024 • This workbook was updated in November 2023.

Anvay Bedarkar
Scout’s Name: ___________________________ 379
Unit ____________________________________ 2/7/25
Date Started _______________________

Abhijit Saha
Counselor’s Name: _______________________ 5103260668
Phone No.: ______________________________ [email protected]
Email: ____________________________
Please submit errors, omissions, comments or suggestions about this workbook to: [email protected]
Comments or suggestions for changes to the requirements for the merit badge should be sent to: [email protected]

1. Discuss with your counselor what citizenship in the community means and what it takes to be a good citizen in your
community.

Discuss the rights, duties, and obligations of citizenship, and explain how you can demonstrate good citizenship in your
community, Scouting unit, place of worship, or school.
Rights:

Duties:

Workbook © Copyright 2023 - U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Requirements © Copyright, Boy Scouts of America (Used with permission.)
This workbook may be reproduced and used locally by Scouts and Scouters for purposes consistent with the programs of the Boy
Scouts of America (BSA), the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) or other Scouting and Guiding Organizations.
However it may NOT be used or reproduced for electronic redistribution or for commercial or other non-Scouting purposes without
the express permission of the U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. (USSSP).
Citizenship in the Community Scout's Name: ____
Anvay____ ________ _____
Bedarkar

Obligations:

Explain how you can demonstrate good citizenship in your community, Scouting unit, place of worship, or school.:

2. Do the following:
a. On a map of your community or using an electronic device, locate and point out the following:
c 1. Chief government buildings such as your city hall, county courthouse, and public works/services facilities
c 2. Fire station, police station, and hospital nearest your home
c 3. Parks, playgrounds, recreation areas, and trails
c 4. Historical or other interesting points of interest
b. Chart the organization of your local or state government. Show the top offices and tell whether they are elected or
appointed.

Citizenship in the Community - Merit Badge Workbook Page. 2 of 5

Citizenship in the Community Scout's Name: ____
Anvay____ ________ _____
Bedarkar

3. Do the following:
✔ a. Attend a meeting of your city, town, or county council or school board; OR a municipal; county, or state court
c
session.
(Identify the meeting or
SF Board Of Education, 1-23-24
session attended):
b. Choose one of the issues discussed at the meeting where a difference of opinions was expressed, and explain to
your counselor why you agree with one opinion more than you do another one.
Issue: There were to many students so they could of got rid of students or got more teachers.

Explanation:
I agree with the people that are saying that you have to add more teachers instead of
removing students. I believe this because if we remove students from schools and add
them to different schools the next school might not have places for them. That will result
in an endless cycle unless we get some more teachers. On the other hand if we just add
teachers, we could just put the new students in that class starting off with the other
classes which is much better.

4. Choose an issue that is important to the citizens of your community, then do the following:
Issue: Teacher Shortage

a. Find out which branch of local SF Board Of Education

government is responsible for this issue.
b. c With your counselor’s and a parent’s approval, interview one person from the branch of government you identified in
requirement 4a. Ask what is being done about this issue and how young people can help.
Who was interviewed?
What is being done?

How can young people

help?

Citizenship in the Community - Merit Badge Workbook Page. 3 of 5

Citizenship in the Community Scout's Name: ____
Anvay____ ________ _____
Bedarkar

c. c Share what you have learned with your counselor.

5. c With the approval of your counselor and a parent, watch a movie that shows how the actions of one individual or group
of individuals can have a positive effect on a community.
Movie:
Discuss with your counselor what you learned from the movie about what it means to be a valuable and concerned
member of the community.

6. List some of the services (such as the library, recreation center, public transportation, and public safety) your community
provides that are funded by taxpayers.
Service Tell your counselor why these services are important to your community.

Citizenship in the Community - Merit Badge Workbook Page. 4 of 5

Citizenship in the Community Scout's Name: ___________ ____________
Anvay Bedarkar

7. Do the following:
a. c
✔ Identify three charitable organizations outside of Scouting that interest you and bring people in your community together
to work for the good of your community.
Harvest Park PTSA
1.:
2. HINDU SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH
Vedic Dharma Samaj Fremont
3.
b . Pick ONE of the organizations you chose for requirement 7a. __________________________________________
HINDU SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH

Using a variety of resources (including newspapers, fliers and literature, the Internet, volunteers, and employees of the
organization), find out more about this organization.
Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA (HSS or HSS USA) is a 501(c)(3), voluntary,
non-profit, social, educational, and cultural organization. Sangh, as the organization is
popularly known, aims to coordinate the Hindu American community to practice,
preserve, and advance ideals and values of Hindu Dharma.

c . With your counselor’s and your parent’s approval, contact the organization you chose for requirement 7b and find out
what young people can do to help.
After volunteering for 10+ hours we learned about different types of hindu music, and culture. They
teach us about different festivals, yogas, stories, and much more. Some things we do while
volunteering are food drives. The food drive I volunteered for was called Seva Devali where we
collected different types of food to give to people. We stood in front of many Indian stores to collect the
different foods, and ended up with 800 pounds of food.

✔ While working on this merit badge, volunteer at least eight hours of your time for the organization.
c
Date From To Hours served

11/10/24 10 3 5
11/17/24 10 3 5
After your volunteer experience is over, discuss what you have learned with your counselor.
I learned how to do food drives, and learned about all different types of indian cultures.

8. c Develop a public presentation (such as a video, slide show, speech, digital presentation, or photo exhibit) about important and
unique aspects of your community. Include information about the history, cultures, and ethnic groups of your community; its
best features and popular places where people gather; and the challenges it faces.
c Stage your presentation in front of your merit badge counselor or a group, such as your patrol or a class at school.

When working on merit badges, Scouts and Scouters should be aware of some vital information in the current edition of
the Guide to Advancement (BSA publication 33088).Important excerpts from that publication can be downloaded from
http://usscouts.org/advance/docs/GTA-Excerpts-meritbadges.pdf.
You can download a complete copy of the Guide to Advancement from http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf.

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