Printer friendly version Awarding badges and patches to recognize achievement is a key motivational element of Scouting and other youth movements worldwide. Take a look at your next meeting and you will probably notice that those who earn the most awards are also the most avid Scouters! A Scout's hard work is rewarded by the pride of accomplishment when badges are awarded and displayed on uniforms. Unfortunately, it is common practice for the badges to be handed to the Scout, who gives them to a parent, who puts them in a drawer.  Now imagine those proud Scouts when it's time to sew on the badges and they see their parent’s unhappy faces! Parents are busier than ever today and less likely to know how to sew. They send conflicting signals with their furrowed brows as they think about when and how to affix the patches, often just in time for the next Court of Honor! Innovative Scouting leaders across the country are ending this dilemma by putting patches onto the uniforms with Badge Magic during awards ceremonies and during regular Scout meetings! Parents are relieved of their “Badge Sewing Blues” and Scouts take even more pride in their accomplishments as they have their awards attached to their uniforms in front of the audience or when they learn to attach their hard-earned patches themselves! Here are several ideas for using Badge Magic® at Scout meetings! 1. Some badges lend themselves to being applied during Court of Honor and other awards ceremonies. Badges of Rank, Merit Badges, and Arrow Points can be put onto pre-cut sheets ahead of time and pressed onto uniforms and sashes in front of the audience. 2. Use the regular meeting after each awards ceremony for a “Badge Workshop” or “Patch Party.” Leaders can bring enough Badge Magic to attach all the awards that were handed out. A combination of a few pre-cut kits and a sheet or two of the Cut-To-Fit Kit should do the trick. 3. At badge fairs conducted to help Scouts earn advancements, hold a special session at the end of the day to put the awards on the uniforms. Teach new Scouts how to do it themselves, and have plenty of Badge Magic on hand for older Scouts. Imagine their pride when the Scouts arrive home with their badges and patches already in place! For more ideas, view or print our hand-out “Ways to Use Badge Magic at Awards Ceremonies and Scout Meetings” by clicking on this link.