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Bill's Unofficial Cub Scout Roundtable
A compendium of Ideas For Cubmasters, Den Leaders and those
who help them.
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By the end of May (at the very least), your Pack should have appointed a person to lead your fall Roundup program. The duties of the Pack School Night chair are:
Follow up on new Cub Scouts to ensure that they become active in the pack and see that every parent is asked to take a specific responsibility with the pack.
I have been appointed Coordinator for new Cub Scout and Adult Leader
recruitment for our local Pack. What should I do?
Congratulations, it's wonderful that you are getting started this early.
Anything you can do in April or May will make things easier in September
and reduce pressure and tears in December. I hope that some of the kids
that you recruit this fall become Eagle Scouts down the road. You will
have started them on that trail.
SCHOOL RELATIONS: Cement relations between the pack and the school you will be recruiting from. Service projects, cookies for the school secretary, talks with the principal, relations with volunteer coordinators, school site committee, parent associations. Sell the facts that Cub Scouting is an educational program and that we stand strongly for ethical behavior and character development, that the Webelos Activity Badge program compliments the grades 4 and 5 curricula. Be visible, helpful and cooperative. You will need to set dates and get permission to recruit from the school.
DISTRICT AND COUNCIL HELP. Check with your DE and District Roundup Coordinator. They have a packet of things like flyers, posters, yard signs, Parent Guides, New Leader Guides and Bobcat Trail pamphlets for you. Get a good supply and be ready to use all of it. The district can also supply some human help like the DE going into the school and doing a rah rah talk to the kids, great, but some parent from the school should set it up and be there too (preferably in a Scouter uniform.) In August, the district holds a Roundup kick-off - be sure to attend with some of your key helpers.
START PLANNING NOW. State your objective: hopefully to recruit DL's and other leaders. Collect your resources: get commitments from every leader in the pack to be there. Delegate jobs like putting up posters and yard signs, greeters at the door, entertaining the kids while the most persuasive person in your pack sells the program to the parents. Line up displays of pinewood derbies, etc. and especially camp photos. If someone can create a Power Point presentation of your activities, that's a winner. Check for help from neighborhood Scout troops. Don't wait to get these things lined up. Do it now!
MAKE AND ACTIVITY SCHEDULE.Get your annual plan down on paper and have copies on hand for your recruiting night. Hopefully it includes all sorts of neat activities. Have a budget so you can inform parents what it's going to cost them.
BE VISIBLE.Your pack should do things during the summer that will be seen. Things like parades, picnics, rainwater regattas in a local park, media coverage will all help sell your pack program. Make sure that your uniforms, flags, banners etc. are seen.
Remember there probably is a sizable Home school population in your area. Typically they favor Scouting. Let them know you exist.
RECRUITING FLYERS. If you can distribute flyers, give some thought on what you want printed on them. Certainly the time and place of your pack's recruiting night, phone numbers and email in case they can't make it. How about registration fees, leader's names, program highlights? What do you think your neighbors will want to know before they show up? The Council will print your message on the flyers if you have the copy ready when your order them.
LOOK SHARP. On your recruiting night, try to look well organized. Have the room set up well in advance. Everybody should know their roles and be on hand a bit early. When the new folk arrive, they should be greeted at the door or even the parking lot. Give them registration forms, and other handouts and have them sit by grades so you can easily form dens later. Be ready for one parent to show up with kids in more than one grade. Be ready for siblings of all ages. Start things off with a stirring flag ceremony. A Webelos den or a Boy Scout patrol probably. Pull out all stops. It's your first impression. You may want to do a couple fun sparklers to get things rolling, especially if you have a good song leader or cheer master in your your pack. Tell them about your program. I have seen Webelos do great jobs reporting on summer camp and other activities. If possible separate the kids from the parents and then sell the program to the adults. Don't be negative. Sell the values of the program. Sell the ideals. I strongly believe that most parents love their kids and are willing to put out a lot of time and effort it they believe your program is worth it. Show them that it is. Let them know that everyone will be asked to help and that you expect them to say yes. Tell them about support like training and literature.
FULFILL THE PROMISE. Make sure that before the evening is over, both boys and adults are invited to some special activity. Our council runs a special open house at our Cub Camps in October just for new recruits called the Stampede. The kids come and shoot bows and arrows and bb-guns and other stuff and the parents stand around and gawk. We promised those kids that Cub Scouting is fun and adventure, let's make sure they get some as soon as possible.
COMPLETE THE PAPER WORK. Before they leave collect registration forms and money. Turn it in as soon as possible so that each boy is covered by your pack insurance and starts getting his Boy's Life on time. Do follow up calls to those who didn't make it.
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Parent Agreement I have read the Cub Scout Promise and I want my son to join the pack. I will assist him in observing the policies of the Boy Scouts of America and of his pack's chartered organization. I will:
While he is a Tiger Cub, serve as his adult partner and
participate in all meetings and activities and approve his
advancement.
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Roundup is a special time for boys and for the Cub Packs they join. Its special for the boys because it marks a great milestone in their lives. It is special for the packs because it is the renewal point in the cycle of members and leaders. Here are some ideas to help make your roundup successful.
Recruit a parent to Chair the Roundup. Send him or her to training. No excuses.
Plan your Roundup. Assign duties to as many leaders and parents as possible.
Tools for Success. Check out the list at Scouting.org Your council should be able to supply a lot of it for your pack.
Attend the district Kick-off. Send everyone who can walk.
Work with the schools. You should set a date for your Roundup between Sept. 6 to 23. Help stuff first day envelopes or whatever help you can offer your school admin.
Date for a school visit - Set it a couple days before your Roundup. Inform our DE and order flyers.
Message for the back of the flyers. Include, date, time and place, the cost of joining, phone contacts and any other special items you want. Ask your school about any need for non English information - the Council has a fairly good selection.
Boys wear their uniforms on the day of the school visit - especially the Webelos. Work up a plan so that a present member can earn a HI segment if he recruits a friend to join.
Posters and signs go everywhere: school bulletin boards, supermarkets, yard signs.
The Pack Roundup Guide has a great agenda, but don't be afraid to add your own special twists.
Have lots of displays, adults and boys in uniform, friendly greeters, and an impressive opening ceremony.
Recruit Parents. Parent Information forms are a great resource. Use them.
Turn in all Applications, with fees pro-rated though December. He's not a Cub Scout until you do.
The following DVD is available to support recruiting:
Three chapters -
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Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts may be awarded, and wear, below the right pocket on their uniforms, the Recruiter Strip shown above. There are NO formal requirements for these strips. Each Unit establishes the procedure for awarding the strip. Usually, a Recruiter Strip is awarded to a Cub Scout or Boy Scout the first time he is successful in getting a friend, relative, classmate, or other acquaintance to join his unit. Typically, only ONE strip is awarded to a boy while he is a Cub Scout, and another may be awarded while he is a Boy Scout. |
I have to admit that I ran the idea of the idea of a Spring Roundup through the Pack Committee first. The committee enthusiastically backed the idea.
We came up with a fee to cover the new scouts registration fee (BSA registration, Boys Life), their book (Wolf or Tiger), their T-shirt (Tiger T-shirt or Pack T-shirt for other Scouts), a Scout Belt, and a little more to cover most of the new Scout's summer activity cost. In other words, a one time summer fee and parents did not even have to go find the Scout Shop . (The parents really liked this approach) We gave each Scout who signed up that night their Rain gutter Regatta kit and invited the new Scouts to our Pack Graduation, which was a week later.
At Pack Graduation, we gave each Scout his Cub Scout belt and T-shirt to change into. You should have seen the faces of the new Scouts when they saw their new uniform. During the Graduation, we had an induction ceremony for the new Scouts. Boy, were those new Scouts excited. Rain gutter Regatta is this weekend and the new Scouts should have a ball.
We signed up 7 Tigers and 2 Wolves, which increased the size of my pack from 12 boys up to 21 boys. The leaders and I were really pleased with the success of the Spring Roundup.
By the way, we told the new Wolf parents that they won't have to buy the full uniform until August.
Will we do a Spring Roundup again? Most definitively.
CT - Chuck Wagner, Pack 471
CM, Step by Step School/St. Anne's School, Tomball, TX
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Have you ever climbed a mountain?
Boy Scouts Do |
We give all the new boys their first neckerchief and slide.
I set up a campsite in the school cafeteria including a tent, outside the tent is a cooler, a battery lantern, a backpack, folding table and chair, anything I can find available. In front of the tent I set stack 6-8 small logs in the log cabin style. I put a utility/work light inside the logs so that the light glows orange through the plastic cover. I put a large (camping style) pot on top of the stack of logs. Inside the large pot is a smaller pot that I have already put the shirts, neckerchiefs, and slides into. Between the two pots, inside the large one but outside the small one, I add chunks of dry ice.
I tell a story of the Cub Scout colors, explaining the meaning of the colors. As I explain the meaning of Blue, I hold up a clear plastic gallon container filled with blue colored water and pour it over the dry ice getting the steam effect. Then I explain the Gold color and do the same with yellow colored water for more steam. I then call the boys (older boys first works best for us since they can sit still longer after their turn) up and reach into the boiling pot to pull out their neckerchief/shirt. The looks on the boys faces when the pot started boiling were great, but the looks on the parents faces were even better.
The problem is, after you start with a ceremony like that, how are you going to equal/top it at future meetings.
CT-Marty Linn CM, Pack 1878, Sam Houston Area Council
Jim Miller, Sr.
Many parents attend their first Cub Scout meetings ready to be involved as leaders in their son's pack . All it takes is for us to find out why they want to, and then tie that reason to our invitation. Here are some of the important reasons why parents in your pack may want to be leaders:
CPC-MEM
At the meeting we seat the boys and parents by grade/age and have an opening flag ceremony done by the Cub Scouts (mostly sons of the leaders) and a couple skits and/or songs. Then the boys are sent outside where we have two or three den leaders, available den chiefs, and any volunteer Boy Scouts keep them busy with games.
Inside we break the information into sections with different leaders presenting topics.
We give a sales talk on what Cub Scouting is, what activities we participate in, and how it can help their boy. Another talk is on our rules and expected involvement by parents. Another talk is on what the costs are, where the money goes, and how to sign up. Break it into sections so you don't have one person up front doing all the talking, but make it clear what is to be covered. Nothing is worse than having five leaders getting up front and taking turns telling everyone the same things over and over.
If you have to do it all yourself, take the time in advance to plan out the different topics that need to be covered and use note cards to keep yourself on track. Make sure you have enough people to help with filling out applications and collecting money. And if they are still using those terrible applications with the health record on the back, make it clear not to fill in the back, give them a separate Class I form. The separate form will be easier to work with and you will be able to read the registration information.
CT-Marty Linn, Cubmaster, Pack 1878
Sam Houston Area Council
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What leaders and other key adults in your pack will still be around next fall? You will most likely lose a few and they must be replaced so your pack can continue to provide a quality program to the boys. |
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Be visible in your neighborhood. Show up in uniform with flags for parades, community days or anywhere else that folks gather. Let everyone know you exist and that the boys are having fun. |
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