#DareToDo
By Nathan Jenkins
Last night, National Chief Alex Call used his keynote speech at the conference to introduce #DareToDo – the Order of the Arrow’s service initiative for the 100 days following NOAC. This movement is committed to spreading the message of the admonition across the globe through small acts of service and sharing over social media.
While most of NOAC has been about celebrating the first 100 years of the OA, Alex challenged Arrowmen to pivot to the future.
“We must also plot the course of what we will do and what we will be in the future,” Alex said. “When we leave here in the next couple days, we will leave with the responsibility of laying the foundation for our next century of service.”
That foundation is the notion of love embodied in the admonition; as Alex put it, recognizing that “love is simply the act of making others matter.” Rather than asking Arrowmen to add one more activity to their schedules or assigning lodges a complicated project, #DareToDo empowers all people to take advantage of the daily opportunities they are already presented with and post their stories on social media.
Participating in the #DareToDo project is easy: make a difference in the lives of others by doing one act of service every day for 100 days. Arrowmen are then asked to add a photo or post to their social media with the hashtag #DareToDo. The acts of service themselves do not need to be monumental. The power of #DareToDo comes from the reach of all 165,000 Arrowmen posting about it together – and the hundreds of thousands of other Scouts and ordinary Americans who will follow their example.
“Each day, opportunities to demonstrate unselfish service present themselves,” Alex told the conference. “A classmate who sits alone on the school bus, hoping that someone will strike up a conversation. A co-worker who stays late every night, wishing they could make their daughter’s soccer game instead of an extra shift. A homeless teenager who stands at the street corner during your daily commute, looking for a warm meal – or even just a warm smile. With just a few words and a few minutes of our time, we can live out the admonition of the OA through everyday acts of service.”
#DareToDo has a website, dareto.do, as well as social accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These accounts will highlight acts of service posted using the hashtag and the website includes an interactive map to see the spread of the movement across the world. Arrowmen and their friends are encouraged to follow these accounts for inspiration and to encourage others participating in #DareToDo.
The first major opportunity for #DareToDo will be during Friday morning’s service project at Spartan Stadium. The first 10,000 people to attend will receive a special #DareToDo patch and by posting this act of service, the project has the potential to reach upwards of a million people on its first day.
Now is the time for every Arrowman to accept Alex’s dare. Join the movement that is #DareToDo and help your brothers impact the world by living the Admonition each day. It starts with us.
