Dear Hacker Scouts Community,

We have good news and bad news. The bad news , which should always be delivered first, is that we have received another letter from the BSA refusing to compromise or consider a licensing agreement and reaffirming their demand that we change our name or they will take legal action. This disappointed us, but it gave us a very clear choice to make. Our board took this matter seriously and our lawyer, who was as compassionate and supportive as he was wise, gave us his assessments. Based on all of that, our board has decided to close this matter and change our name. 

We know this will disappoint some of you. We know some of you wanted us to fight this. We don't blame you. We had those same feelings. But our job is to keep our organization focused on its mission. Our job is to make this kind of education as accessible and affordable to as many kids as we can. It came down to how does this further our goals and objectives? And it doesn't. 

It has already taken large amounts of time and energy that could have been used elsewhere. Often , when we need pearls of wisdom, we ask a kid. As usual, we were not disappointed. "It doesn't matter what you call Hacker Scouts," one kid told EdD Samantha Cook. "You could call it "booger" and I would still come. This is the best thing in my week." It was just what we needed to hear to make peace with our decision, although we did not add "booger" to the short list. 

So the good news is that we have a chance to reinvent ourselves in some ways with a new name, which, once it is chosen, will allow us to move forward in several other areas. Also, now more people are aware of the extraordinary powers the US government has given an organization that continues to discriminate and abuse it's position. It is our hope that regardless of our situation, that Congress will take another look at their congressional charter and amend it to reflect and abide by the same laws the rest of us must follow. The good news is also that while our name may change, the vision and commitment hasn't. We are relieved to have closure and excited to continue moving forward!

Once again, we would like to thank you for all the kind emails and posts in support of our situation. We will be announcing our new name and how we plan to transition soon. If you would like to help us move forward and be able to expand the amount of programs, activities, and badges we can offer our local and national community, we ask you to support our Kickstarter. As always, you can email us with any questions you might have.

Warmly, The Hacker Scouts Board