SunnyD

Thanks, yes definitely want to talk to her more about it now that I've had some time to contemplate it, and in the meantime wanted to try to inform myself to be able to provide some alternatives since she won't really be familiar with what options are out there either. Like you say there are variations in standards and I also am not too knowledgeable about the nuances. The long-sleeve uniform shirt and a long skirt may actually work, that's a good suggestion that I can offer her to see if it would be acceptable. I appreciate your help!

I'm helping out a new pack and a couple of families have joined where the mothers wear traditional Muslim attire with headcoverings and floor length dresses. One of them has expressed interest in becoming a leader but was asking some questions about uniforms and clearly would refuse if required to wear standard-issue. First off, while I'm pretty traditional and wear the uniform almost every day myself, I'm not going to turn her down over the uniform, we'll gladly accept her help and figure something out without making it an issue. A Scout is reverent and respects the beliefs of others. How

Thanks, Kahuna. The issue that we're running into is that our CO says they are not a 501c3 and as a result we've had problems being able to accept donations that have been offered to us. Any other ideas on how to work around this?

Does anyone have experience with setting up a "Friends of Unit XXX" as a 501c3 to be your chartering organization? How difficult and costly was it, and how do you operate?

Gour0, don't know where you are in GA but it appears the Atlanta Area Council has one for Wolves/Bears at their camp in Covington. I am in Florida and think my council will have one but they have yet to confirm. For a backup, I started looking for the next closest council where I could find one and that was where I finally ended up. Like you, I found others for Webelos but not for the younger boys.

Agreed, they all need a chance to do this. We even have our Tigers doing it by the end of the year. Will 6-8 year old boys be perfectly polished at this? No. But, what is of more importance to what our flag represents, a colorguard that is slightly crisper, or flag ceremonies that teach all boys respect for our country and its symbols along with their place as citizens?

Evmori and others, I'm with you, I'd like to know more about this research. Even if they found a correlation between advancement to First Class in a year and retention, did they validate which was the cause and which was the effect? Pushing the FCFY program would indicate that they assume that boys tend to stay in the program because they earn First Class in a year. However, couldn't it also have been that the boys more likely to stay in the program (better Scouting skills, more support at home, more enthusiasm for the program, more active troops, etc.) were more likely to earn Firs

Hmm, our Cubs camp all winter in South Florida, never knew it was a problem. We've been out on days when the temp doesn't even reach 80... What badge does that earn you?

OGE, great question. It's so many things, isn't it? Does it oversimplify to summarize it as putting others before oneself? That encompasses a lot - doing good turns, taking responsibility, assuming extra duties with a cheerful spirit, putting the greater good first including the troop or patrol, helping the out new guy even if he's not popular, supporting leadership, never grumbling - just doing the right thing!

Eagle92, I agree with you that "rushing through" the program is less than ideal and that earning Eagle is not the be-all and end-all of the program. Plenty of youth who never earn Eagle have life-changing experiences. But allow me to play devil's advocate... I wonder what the retention rates are for Scouts who have earned Eagle by 14 versus those who have not. I would like to think the former would be more active in and would contribute more on the whole to the program. The equivalent of this AoL requirement would be to require that all Eagles be 17 1/2. That would ensure we kept

I think everyone agrees that under the current requirements this youth cannot earn AoL. The reasons given seem to focus on why he should not cross over to Boy Scouts. Why are we equating the two? Rules are made to be changed, not broken. So let's shift the conversation a bit. Let's look at the requirement. Be active for six months since finishing the fourth grade or turning 10. This lad has been told he hasn't "earned" the award yet. He has done everything within his power to do so. What he hasn't done yet is simply be older. Is that really much of an accomplishment? Why do we h

Those boys can no more be Boy Scouts right now than my grandmother can be. Neither the DE nor anyone else can change that. They can be Webelos visiting a troop. Buffalo's suggestion is excellent for many reasons and seems like a perfect solution if executed properly.

First off, good luck - reading this and your other thread you will have your hands full. Glad you stepped up to the plate though, it can be a great opportunity for you, your son, and all of those boys who otherwise may not have it. I agree with the others that it is unusual for the crossing Webelos to be taking their money with them, even if there were individual scout accounts. Your pack should have some bylaws. I would look to see if this is mentioned there. Unless it is, I would be resistant. Alternatively if there were any committee meeting minutes (as a previous policy decision,

I'm with the others on this - I'm not a trader myself. While colorful or unique patches may be cool, you'll never find one on my vest or blanket that I didn't earn. That being said, I'm a veteran of a world jamboree. There the interest was not so much patch trading but uniform trading. I came back with some nice souveneirs. However, there the US uniform was a currency that devalued through the week because we were a large contingent with probably more uniforms per scout on average, so the opposite of the scarcity situation that was described can happen. I would say, even if he th

This is similar to some issues discussed in other threads but different enough that I've started a new one. Suppose you have a Scout who all throughout the program has been one of those exceptionally high achievers. His Webelos 1 year he is 9 when he starts 4th grade and because he has an early birthday turns 10 in September. During the summer and fall he completes all requirements for AoL except for being active for six months since his birthday. (This requires some work with the Web 2's.) No question he can earn AoL in March and is eligible to cross over then. Pack tradition is

I'm scheduled to take WB in a few months, and I have a related question. Can ticket items be initiatives that we already have in progress at the time of the course? I'm a CM but have some ideas that I plan to work on with the district and council that will also benefit my unit at the same time. I would be doing these things anyway, with or without WB, to contribute to the local Scouting community. By their nature, even if I start soon they will be in progress but not yet complete by the time of the course weekends. I'm not going to hold off on starting these things just so that I

As we go through the 100th anniversary year, I'm considering trying to do brief capsules of some kind on the history of Scouting, covering a decade in each monthly meeting. In other words, the first month something on the foundation and on Scouting in the 1910's in the context of WWI; the next month the 20's, and so on. By the end of the school year we would be to modern times and at graduation I could put the focus on the future. Or if every decade is too granular perhaps I could cut it down to half a dozen spread over time. This might be pictures, skits, stories, etc. to illustrate w

I wouldn't advocate Webelos nights counting toward the merit badge (Boy Scout advancements should be earned while a Boy Scout and most Cub camping is different in nature than Boy Scout camping anyway, as has been pointed out). I was amused though by the assertion that Webelos don't camp much. Our pack camps 15 nights every year. Add in resident camp and Webelos-specific activites, and a scout could easily surpass 40 nights in the 18 months as a Webelos. In fact, our active scouts who started as Tigers have a good 70-80 nights under their belts before ever crossing over - some could get

I always liked the knee-high red-topped ones, even as a scout in the 80's. (I came after the garter kind, never had those.) I was disappointed this week when the council shop was sold out, but I got a couple pairs of the new ones for camp this week. Loved them! Thickness is good, nice and comforable. I hope the elastic holds up well since they only go part way up the calf. I will definitely wear these more than the "classic" ones.

Funny, I was just going to ask this question. Our council apparently uses the week after Boy Scout camps are over, Sun-Wed for Wolves/Bears, Wed-Sat for Webelos. I suppose they use most if not all of the same staff as the Boy Scout camps. This is new to me; when I was a Cub we only had day camp. Our pack hasn't participated before, so my son and I (I'm new CM) are going to try it out this year. Valid question though posed by Rick, if a scout camps two years as a Cub and two more as a Webelos, how interesting is it going to be as a Boy Scout simply staying at the same camp a

Where we live, most camping and other outdoor activity is during the school year due to the weather. For the summer, we have planned: Ice skating Minor league baseball game Ice cream social Movie matinee Bowling Waterpark Roller skating Zoo Fire/rescue tour Arcade/go-karts Drive-thru safari Other ideas? Some of these already were already mentioned, but... Team sports beltloops Fishing Hiking (age appropriate difficulty, of course) Service project - clean up a park, plant trees, etc. Family picnic - barbeque, horseshoes, baseball, sack races, etc. - po