ScoutLass

Jamist, to add on to what Fish said...

I'm a homeschooling parent myself. Google your city + homeschoolers and you'll likely find a few homeschooling groups. You may also want to search meetup.com for local HS groups. Contact the group owner/moderator/organizer with your scouting pitch and offer to give him/her some info to pass on to the other parent's.

Another option is to ask if your library has HS services. In the city I used to live in, the library gave out packets of info/coupons for local businesses and organizations targeted at homeschoolers. If your library does this, ask if you can give them some flyers about your pack to add to the packet. Also check to see if there is a homeschool book shop or educational store in your area. They often have bulletin boards you can put your info up on.

We have been told to never use the adult app. with Tiger Partners. If there are multiple partners for one boy who live at different addresses, they just fill out the bottom half of another youth app and we attach it to the original app for the boy before turning it in. Could just be our district's way of doing it, though.

As for running your own background check, I believe you have to notify the person you are doing so by law. It may depend on your state, but that is how it is in where I live.

Awesome Scoutfish

We've had a couple meetings already this month and they've been great, but we also stay pretty busy over the summer. We have our pack party tonight, so keeping my fingers crossed for a good recruit turnout!

Sweden, Norway and Denmark have Scouting and also have high populations of athiests/agnositics.

http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html

The lack of Scouting in places like China and North Korea has nothing to do with the religious beliefs of the country or its population, but by the corruptness of the government. Let's not compare apples to oranges.

Not all mobility scooters are created equal. There are models that can handle most moderate trail conditions. My dad has one, a Rascal something-or-other, and he joins our family on hikes in the mountains regularly. These scooters are specifically made for off-roading and look like miniature ATVs almost. His has a key in it, so I'm guessing most probably do. You don't have to own, many places rent mobility scooters, though not sure if they rent all models. (Medical home care suppliers and Scooter dealers mainly). It's worth checking out and at the very least, they can probably outline some options and may have even better ideas to make it happen.

Extra batteries solve the problem of recharging, but can be a pain to transport. My dad's off-roader uses two batteries instead of the one. I believe most standard scooter batteries are good for about 15 miles. Turning the chair off when not in motion can extend the life of a battery quite a bit.

You can likely rent a sport-style wheelchair from medical suppliers too, though I'm not sure. My dad considered one, but his problem concerns degenerative joints so the stress of wheeling it would be too much on his arms.

At the cub level we include sports. In fact some achievements for rank require some sports, such as ach. 1, Feats of Skill, for the Wolf rank. Our den meetings usually consists of a craft/activity/discussion for the first half and a game for the second half. When weather permits we try to incorporate outdoor games. For example, a couple weeks ago we played flag football (which also counted toward an elective point). The belt loop program at the cub level also includes lots of sports. At the beginning of each program year we ask the boys what they enjoy, including sports. Then we incorporate the things they already know and enjoy with things they haven't been exposed to yet.

Glue dots. These are available where scrapbooking supplies are sold. Glue dots stick on and peel off, leave no residue, and are acid-free archival quality. There are two types, removable and non-removable, so make sure to use the right one. Since they are marketed to scrapbookers, they must be archival and not damage or discolor fabric, paper or photos.

Luckily, we do not get many requests for assistance from families since we pay for almost everything except the $20 registration/insurance. Most of our money is from popcorn. We usually get another $200 to $300 in donations during the sale. Door-to-door selling isn't popular with our pack, due to the neighborhoods some of our boys live in. Most of our sales come from Blitz day and booth sales. We set up booths three days a week during the sale at a hardware store. (Not to sound sexist, but mainly men tend to go to hardware stores, and many of these guys were scouts. If they don't buy popcorn, they often give a small donation). We do much better at the hardware store than we do at Walmart booth sales. We raise the rest of the money during a spring candy bar sale.

Our district hosts a spring honey sale, but we never had any luck with selling the overpriced honey. We actually buy the candy bars at Costco and sell them at a slight markup. The bars cost us .30 each and we sell them for $1. We buy bars as we need them for the duration of the sale, so we don't end up with a bunch of unsold product.

We are trying a third fundraiser this year because we would like to stop the spring fundraiser. Barnes and Noble book stores allow organizations to wrap gifts in their store for donations during the Christmas season. They supply the table and wrapping, you supply the labor. You keep 100% of the donations. Naturally, it will be us parents and leaders wrapping gifts with the boys drawing in the customers--I can only imagine what a gift wrapped by a Tiger Cub would look like! Spots go fast and now is the time to contact a B&N store manager if you are interested in trying this sort of fundraiser. We have heard promising things from a Girl Scout troop about the profits brought in by doing this

Right now with the general fund, boys are expected to sell a certain amount. We give them a goal, and yes some boys surpass it while other don't sell much at all. We give the boys a $500 goal for popcorn sales, but it isn't mandatory. Each boy is expected to participate in either Blitz day or two booth sales. A boy can opt out of both fundraisers by paying $10 monthly dues, but we have never had anyone exercise that option.

So this long-winded post is basically yes, we do just fundraise until the goal is met. The first year our current leadership group took over it was a mess and a lot of stuff came out of our pockets to make ends meet. Last year it was pretty painless, and we actually earned enough for the year with popcorn alone and the spring fundraiser gave us a surplus. We focused on group selling (Blitz and Booth) and made more that way then we did when the boys mainly sold individually in past years. It might also help that it gets cold here in October, so people take pity on the poor kids standing outside for two hours trying to make a buck

Our pack is trying to develop a workable budget, but we are getting there. We are still rebuilding our pack from near death a few years ago. The problem adult leadership team has moved on, thankfully. When the current group of leaders took over the pack, we had a negative balance in the pack account (though the ledgers said differently). Whether it was poor record keeping on the part of the last treasurer or theft, we may never know.

We have two main feeder schools for the pack. One is a solidly middle class school while the other holds the distinction of being the poorest in the county. We must tread carefully otherwise a line is drawn in the sand by the two groups of parents. (Horrid sounding, but unfortunately true). We have great parents that step up and do what is needed within their means, and for that we are very grateful!

We have right at 20 boys far this year (lost quite a few to crossing over last year and need to replenish our Tiger den at next week's round-up!) We spend about $150 per boy each year. This includes:

$15 registration

$4 insurance

$5 Leader fees/recharter

$25 patches, advancement, handbooks

$5 B&G

$5 Pinewood track rental and awards

$15 Family camp out fees & BBQ

$20 District/council events

$40 field trips

$20 Den supplies

Each family pays $20 a year, unless they want Boy's Life, then it's $32. We don't force the Boy's Life subscription on a family. We sell hotdogs, chips and drinks at our Pinewood Derby that takes care of its cost. (Scouts in uniform get their hotdogs for free. Only siblings and family have to pay).

We pay for two district or council events we attend as a pack--a fall event and a spring event. Cubs and parents must pay out of pocket for any other events they wish to attend. We give handbooks out to each boy crossing over into the next den. We found it the best way to ensure every boy had a handbook.

We have a uniform closet for boys that need help acquiring a uniform. We take old uniform donations and scour thrift shops each summer for old uniforms. Families and cubs can either pay $10 for a complete uniform or donate their time to at least two pack event set-ups and break-downs in exchange for a uniform. Most donate their time which really pays off. We get the new parents involved in the pack from the get-go and they tend to remain wonderful volunteers for the duration of their boy's Cub Scout career. We also have 100% uniforming nearly 100% of the time, which is just plain awesome.

We only pay the fee and for the ingredients for the pack dutch oven desserts for our yearly pack camp out, families supply their own gear and meals. We do supply the food for our year end BBQ. We have a potluck for B&G. Last year I spent some time making/sewing table cloths, centerpieces and other B&G decor so we would no longer be investing in disposables each year, so from now on it's only cost should be the cake and paper plates.

We have a pack event or feildtrip each month. About half are free. About three are paid for by the pack and the other three paid for by the families.

We pay for a lot of things other packs expect the family to pay for, but it allows us to share Scouting with boys who's families otherwise may not participate. It also prevents the pack from becoming split into the haves and have-nots, which would occur if only half the pack could afford to attend special events.

If all goes at least as well as last year's popcorn sale, we are looking at having a surplus in the pack account this year, finally. Once we have a surplus, we want to implement scout accounts (hopefully next year!). Money left in the boy's account can help offset the initial costs of Boy Scouting once he crosses over (first year camp fees, etc), as well as covering extra activity fees, day camp, etc while he is a Cub.

That being said, I and the other leaders and volunteers put in a lot out of our own pockets. But we find the program worth it or we wouldn't do it. We had our first meeting last week. Every single boy who didn't cross over last year was there, plus a few new faces. 100% retention! We must be doing something right, but it sure can be stressful sometimes!

Gary, while I agree with you in theory, in action money is a limiting factor. If the choice for a pack is to award unlimited belt loops or to spend the money on field trips and activities for the boys, I vote for the activities hands down. If we began requesting dues, we would lose a lot of boys. It has been attempted in the past, and parents pull them out rather than admit they can't afford it. (Pride can be a strange thing). The CO now requests we don't do dues. It's just a request, but it makes sense for our group. The families that are better off financially already fund a lot silently, so asking for more there would be unfair. We do two fundraisers a year (popcorn + a pack fundraiser), but getting clearance is always like pulling teeth. Last year it took the council almost four months to approve our fundraiser.

I know it sounds like excuses, but we do our best to give the boys every last bit of the program available, but realism has to take over sometimes. Not every pack is the same or has the same resources available. In the end you have to do what is best for your pack while delivering the best program possible.

The way we do it is each den votes in September and again in January on which belt loop they want to earn. Then that den works toward the loop. The pack pays for these two loops. Any loop earned at home, the parents or scout pays for. Our pack doesn't charge dues, so we have to have some limits in place. The boys can also decide to work toward a pin on an already earned loop instead, if they want. Our CO requests we don't accept dues, because we have quite a few families from low-income homes that otherwise wouldn't participate. Boys are expected to participate in fundraisers instead, which works well.

Dens work together on the loops, when possible. For example, my wolves already have the marble loop, which the bears are working on right now. So the wolves are helping teach the game to the bears then having a tournament with them in a couple weeks. I've never seen boys so proud of their accomplishment as when they teach older scouts something they know.

Since parents are worried about unfair (probably more so than the boys are) you could propose that tigers and wolves choose two loops to work on in the den, and the current bears and webelos can choose 3 or 4 for the first year it's introduced. I personally think unfair always makes a silly argument, though. I just really like the belt loop program for extending the kid's interests and I'd meet naysayers halfway just to get the loops active in my pack.

Starting next spring, we are also going to host a belt-loop recruitment event. We plan to host a loop "workshop" followed by some games and a BBQ for our cubs, families, and boys and families interested in scouting. If a new boy signs up at the event, he gets awarded with the loop right then and there. If he chooses not to, he gets awarded with a participation certificate. If he then decides to join the pack in the fall, he can trade in his certificate for a belt loop at the first pack meeting in September.

Sounds like our Camporee this weekend. We only went for Saturday, because who wants to camp at the fair grounds? Most of the events were held inside the Expo center, and the only food available was from a local fast food vendor that has an exclusive contract with the fair grounds. We had a one of those big blow-up jump houses there, the climbing wall, and a pinewood derby, as well as a bunch of other carnival-like games. A ton of local businesses had booths set up for the boys, and it seemed like a lot of people were there for the free swag more than anything.

The Smokey Bear booth did things the best, in both my opinion and that of my Webelos son. They gave the boys 'badge books' and required them to participate in several different activities to earn the patch and swag.

The one benefit of this kind of Camporee is the turn-out, I guess. Our pack has spent the last year trying to up recruiting and retention. About 95% of our boys showed up on Saturday. They likely will go to school Monday and talk about this. I handed them 'invitations' to our pack meeting this week they could pass out to friends. Hopefully this excited them enough to bring in a few more boys.

But nope, it isn't camping or a camporee, in my book. There were tents and fires in the camping area, but it was pretty clear camping was primarily for those packs and troops coming in from out of town so they'd have a place to stay. Something fun? yes. Practicing the ideals of scouting? maybe, to a point. Encouraging community support? Heck yeah, though a bit too advertisement heavy for my taste.

I am a little curious about the religion requirement. We're good, our family is Buddhist which is 'acceptable' by BSA standards, even though there is no true god in Buddhism. (Buddha is not a god, just a man, though many non-Buddhists mistake him or Hotei (the fat Buddha) as a god). The problem is, by allowing all religions the BSA cannot claim to be a Christian organization. Which means they are ignoring the needs of a portion of their membership who meets the religion requirement but does not practice some of the, shall we say, less than savory bigotry that tends to wrongfully pass as religion these days.

As a Buddhist I have sworn to do my best to end all suffering of all beings, so I had a bit of soul-searching to do when my family became active with scouting. I finally decided I could do my best for the boys and families in front of me, and lobby for tolerance on the side. Things like this come from within, not from fringe groups on the outside that use bullying tactics like the ACLU, after all.

As for first amendment, honestly, why does it matter what was meant? Human decency to each other is human decency, regardless of what our forefather's thoughts on the matter were. It was a different time, after all. Women couldn't vote, slavery was still in force, and the methods of discipline back then would lose you your kids today. Our forefathers were great men, but they were only human afterall. No human is infallible, no human is perfect.

My view point may not make me popular, but I can't ever be accused of not being loyal to my faith

As the others pointed out, this isn't how a pack should be run. In fact a Webelos should be doing most of his work in the den with the other boys. Please don't let this turn you off scouting, it is a wonderful adventure that really fits in with homeschool philosophy when it is done right.

I'm a homeschooler too. Many areas have packs made up of homeschooled kids, so it may be worthwhile to inquire at your local scout office to see if they are aware of any. Local homeschool groups may also know of one. Check out a couple of packs and find one that is a good fit.

Good luck!

Potlucks require organization to be successful, so don't give up on them too soon! Otherwise you end up with one or two families trying to feed everyone. It usually just takes one bad potluck for everyone to realize they better pull their fair share next time.

The first trick our pack discovered is to do a theme--Italian night, chicken dinner, what have you. Then, assign dishes by den. For an Italian theme you may have webelos families bring the main dish, bears the salad or side, wolves the dessert, and tigers the bread. Give families the option of opting out of the potluck for a small donation, say $5, as long as they let the den leader knows one week before the event they are opting out. Use the $5 to purchase a potluck item to replace what they aren't bringing.

We usually give webelos the main course, as their families have been part of scouting the longest and understand the responsibility to the pack for a potluck. Tigers usually get the easiest item to provide because their families are newest, plus the parents are more likely to want an item they can cook with their child. Tigers also often seem to have older brothers in the pack so we don't want to overload one family with bringing multiple, hard to make or expensive items.

As you learned, it is always best to have someone serving to avoid plate overload and waste. Some people just see a free meal and go a bit overboard if there is no one serving. It also keeps the kids from sticking their dirty hands into the communal chip bowl! With someone serving, and sending the families and cubs up one den at a time, it doesn't take long to get everyone their food.

Thanks for the info Troopgeek! I went ahead and did the survey.

If you need any other information feel free to ask me.

We are told each year at Pow-wow that most boys join cub scouting because they think we want to camp all the time. It is how the program is sold. Even the little sheets of paper we hand out at the schools have a boy in a canoe on them so naturally this is what they boys expect.

Now, you don't have to go camping to satisfy this. Go to a local park for a den meeting and practice setting up and taking down tents. The boys will have a ball. Alternately, plan a a whole day and run a 'camping skills seminar' either at a nearby campsite or at park. Practice tents, first aid, setting up logs for a fire. Even if you can't have a real fire put on a campfire program with skits. The boys have blast even if they didn't get to sleep outside. It keeps them hooked until you really can go camping.

If pack finances are a problem, an outdoor seminar doesn't have to cost anything. have the boys bring their own lunches or assign each boy an item to bring which you can cook on a grill at the park. (hotdogs, chips and drinks or whatever). Give a local troop a call and see if any of the guys want to come over and teach the cubs some outdoor skills, such as shelter-making. The cubs love it when the Boy Scouts hang out with them.

I'm a little confused as to why you are gathering the information. Are you looking to build a pack/troop site, offer a product to packs/troops, or just curious? Knowing the aim of the information may make me a little more comfortable with sharing it.

That being said, I am our pack's webmaster because I'm the one who knows how to build websites. I used Wordpress on my own hosting account to do so, because Wordpress is awesome and whoever inherits the website duties from me can quickly be shown how to update it--even if they have never seen a computer in their life.

I use our council site all the time, primarily for the calender and to keep abreast of the latest happenings around here and at national.

I'm not too picky, but there better be a lake or river to take a dip in if the weather is too hot.

A local troop offers an outdoor winter seminar for all the cubs each year. The troop camps the whole weekend but cubs and their families are welcome to camp the night if they desire. This year my 4 yr old son tagged along and he didn't want to go home, he enjoyed it so much. Of course, it only got down to 25 degrees.

I think a lot does depend on what neck of the woods you are in. Here in Eastern Washington people start wearing shorts and sandals if the temps are above 40 in the winter. When I lived in New Mexico, 60 degrees was heavy jacket weather!

I finally got in, too! Thanks to those members who noticed that registration was a no-go!