Best Troop recruiting idea you have seen?

From the spun thread, I mentioned a campout that my Webelos den went on where they were the guests of our sister troop and went to a Camporee.

Okay, technically, we couyld ahve went as a Webelos den only, since it was open to Webelos scouts, but going with the troop made it better.

The Webelos were integrated in as a guest patrol and even had a troop guide and PL ( for this event).

So, the Webelos were assigned duties, given tasks to do and treated as a part of the troop and not just as cub scouts.

They cooked, they did dishes, they halped clean up the campsite.

This camporee was an event put on by two districts, but open to all in the council.

The theme was Pioneering Days Lots of lashings, ropes, old time contraptions.

This event just might possibly be the single coolest recruiting event for the troops that I have ever seen. Far better than Scout show put on each year, and more impressive than recruiting drives.

You didn't come listen to or watch the troops do stuff. At the camporee, you WERE a part of the troop!

So what have you done or seen?

Mine nets about 15 registered Scouts out of an audience of 50:

http://inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm

Your troop has the right idea.

I year ago in April, our troop took a 300 miles trip to Hocking Hills in Ohio. A very neat place with lots and lots of waterfalls (especially in April). We had several brand new Boy Scouts join us for the trip, and a few new dads. Since I spend the winters in Florida, I had no idea that some of the new scouts with us, were still Webelos. They had not crossover yet, and registered with the troop. I guess you could said, we treated them just like Boy Scouts!

I always invited Webelos to join us on trips. As you can immage, we do not get many Webelos that join us for a 300 mile trip. However, the ones that do, are sold on Boy Scouts, because we go to some great places. They are always put in a patrol with some older scouts (good with the younger ones). Their patrol leader has them on the duty roster, just like everyone else.

The only time we treat them differently is at our Tenderfoot Weekend / Webelos Campout. The new Boy Scouts are working with the older scouts on their Tenderfoot Requirements, while the Webelos Dens are given an older scouts Guide (some Eagle Rank)to work on the requirements for Outdoorsman. The Webelos cook their own meals, but not with the Boy Scouts. Of course, we only have one campfire, and the Webelos Den are invited to do a skit, the same as the Boy Scouts Patrols. (We have had as many as 130 people at the Saturday night campfire!)

Hello Scoutfish,

About 85% of Boy Scouts come from Cub Scouts, and inviting Webelos dens to participate with Scout Troops is a classic way of recruiting new Boy Scouts.

Smart Troop leaders will be sure that they are friends to the Webelos Den Leader, who rather ofte n would benefit from program assistance from a Scout Troop. I have a WDL who has been doing it on his own despite my best efforts to get a neighboring troop involved with him and my best effort to get him involved with neighboring Scout Troops and programs.

It sounds like the program you describe deserves an A+.

Still, a lot of Scout troops need to recruit more non Cub Scouts into their troops. That's a lot tougher to do.

The best method I have is to go into elementary schools right now, in the spring. While the DE and I are recruiting Cub Scouts in school at lunch, we can also talk to 5th and 6th grade boys about Boy Scouts and invite them to a troop recruiting night.

There are a good many boys who are interested in that. Talking to boys during lunch is a good time to approach them, and at least around here principals are generally willing to give us access to schools.

Unfortunately, I find little interest among troops in doing that kind of recruiting. I find that very sad.

Best thing my old troop did was at scout shows. We built a "Bosun's Chair."

Picture a 25-30' high tripod tower and a 15-20' high tripod tower about 50' apart. Stretch mil spec rope or wire rope, whichever he had access to that year, between the two and anchored, if possible by cars but otherwise with a series of 3' steel pegs pounded with sledgehammers. Attach a Rosa Gold pully mechanism with a chair underneath, and you got and instant attention getter with about a 30 minute wait.

Unfortunately BSA no longer permits it unless you get it certified by a COPE inspector; everyone wears brain buckets, harness, and belay lines; and there is a belayer.

Next best thing is a "wilderness survival" campout. Divide the Webelos into the patrols, have them review the knots they are suppose to know and teach them some lashings, and have them spend the morning working with the patrols on the patrol shelter. Afternoon is spent doing interpatrol competitions using lashings and having fun. This was so successful the first year, and also so much fun, that the PLC has been using this for years.

And the Webelos take to survival camping like ducks to water. Heck my oldest saw a video of his Den Chief building a survival shelter in the snow, and he spent I don't know how many months inthe back yard building and rebuilding survival shelters.

Last week the 4 and 6 year olds got into it at a museum. They had an area where you could build a shelter using netting, poles, and velcro ( My first thought seeing the set up wa "WHAT NO LASHINGS!?!?!?!?! ). They had a blast, oldest was a little bored b/c "It's not a real shelter, you're not even using rope."

4 More days to camp!

>>This event just might possibly be the single coolest recruiting event for the troops that I have ever seen. Far better than Scout show put on each year, and more impressive than recruiting drives.

Fighting over Webelos dens is fine, but what are troops doing to attract non Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts?

Here is what many ships do to recruit new people. Change some of the terminology and it should work for Boy Scouts.

http://wrseascouts.wordpress.com/category/sea-scouts/recruiting/