Over 900 Boy Scouts will gather in Joplin on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, to support recovery efforts from the May 22 tornado. Scouts are traveling here from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Wisconsin and other parts of Missouri to provide a day of service assisting the Joplin school district.

Under guidance of teachers and school officials, the Scouts will work in playground areas, assemble classroom equipment, help with cleaning and distribute new supplies to classrooms. Their reward will be a specially designed badge paid for by Best Choice Marketing of Joplin.

We are excited about the number of Boy Scouts coming to assist with the recovery efforts in Joplin, said Scott Gibbins, assistant Scout executive - Ozark Trails Council. Our Council has had numerous inquiries from across the nation from Scouts wanting to assist Joplin in some way. We visited with school officials soon after the tornado and determined that the greatest need would be in organizing the classrooms in early August.

Most Scouts will be camping at the 900-acre Frank Childress Scout Reservation located four miles south of I-44 and west of Diamond on V Highway. At this location meals will be served and activities coordinated. The camp includes campsites named after the characters of Rudyard Kiplings Jungle Book, a large swimming pool, dining hall, pirate ship, Old West fort, old mine, Indian village, a stocked trout pond for fishing and hiking and biking trails surrounded by native plant and animal life.

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