The Patrol Method

This program still exists today...now called scout reach and/or urban scouting.  😉

All of our girls were either friends of girls already in the group, or else were "connected to scouts" in some way.  That "some way" might be that a relative in a different state was in scouting.  Or perhaps a mother had been a Girl Guide in a different country, or been in GSUSA.  Or perhaps the father had been a Boy Scout in a different country.   Or the grandfather had been a scout.  That is,  many of these families already had a positive impression of the scout movement.    Don't assume that families need a current connection to BSA, or even that the father needs to have been in BSA, for the family to think that scouting is generally a positive activity for children. What such families to need is to realize that your troop (or proto-troop) exists.   Once we got a web presence we ending up collecting several girls from an adjacent school district (not in our council's borders) because they were able to find us on the web.

Hey @Snowball, I forgot to say, "Welcome to the forums!" Maybe if you tell us a little about yourself (position in BSA, experience as a scout/leader, family, rural/urban, number of folks helping you), we can guide you better.

Do you get out much? Looks like you're gonna visit ... Coffee shops and ice cream parlors. Put up Scouts BSA posters. Donate copies of Boy's Life and Scouts BSA Handbooks. If they have TV's, ask if they'll let you play some clip. Parks. Posters. On a popular day, get permission to set up a tent and maybe a campfire or some other activity. Schools. Ask your adults if they want to contact each school in your area to see which superintendents would welcome a presentation (either an assembly or an information table). With this pandemic it's gonna be rough. But, now's the time to improvise. Do each of these, and if they don't work, come back and ask for suggestions.

The toughest challenge I've had to give to some SPLs: "Are you going to follow your friends? Or lead them?"