The Calvinist Cadet Corps (CCC) is a non-denominational, non-profit Reformed Christian organization that equips men to mentor boys.
Clubs meet weekly or biweekly and participate in Bible study, crafts, projects, games, and merit badge achievement programs that explore a boy’s specific interest areas.
[5] In the late 1940s and early 1950s several churches in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area that were affiliated with the Christian Reformed denomination were sponsoring boys' clubs.
By the mid 1960s the organization had 330 clubs, a catalog of materials (guidebooks, badges, and uniform supplies), and it held its first international camporee in Colorado.
These local units sponsor regular multi-club activities such as field days, rocket launches, and pine wood derby races.
The CCC offers two programs for older boys, Guide Trails and Voyageurs, for those churches that find that their young men enjoy this type of ministry and are interested in leadership development.
Some older boys choose to stay on in the ministry and serve as junior counselors after having completed leadership training requirements.
The magazine defines its purpose as "using stories, articles, news, humor, puzzles, games, and projects to encourage boys to be servants and leaders in their homes and communities."
[citation needed]All Cadets are encouraged to complete the Bible lessons provided; in many cases, these are integrated into weekly meetings.
The Clarion Newsletter supports the Cadet counselors in their roles as mentors with articles that inform and train, as well as providing project and service ideas.
In order to serve these DCEs a newsletter is sent out twice during the Cadet season to update their training skills and to encourage them in their local educational endeavors.
Volunteer leaders (counselors) are offered several training opportunities in which to learn how to use the Cadet curriculum as well as gain important insights into the lives of the age group they are teaching.
The councils' primary objectives are to share club resources, sponsor larger events that enhance a boy's experience as a cadet, such as field days, pinewood derby races, and collective camping trips, and develop educational opportunities for counselors.