BetterWithCheddar

I appreciate all of the replies. I was more curious about the nuances of the campaign (but I'm sure it varies widely by council). I plan on making a token FOS contribution (but probably not the full $401 the council requests). Our DE seems like a nice guy and has been very responsive. However, I already self-fund most of my Den's activities - at least I can be sure that goes 100% to program. When I review my council's annual report, I see roughly 8% of their income comes from FOS and 20% from Popcorn. However, the council also lists fundraising as one of its largest expenses (so it's

I'm a parent of a Lion and will be experiencing FOS for the first time this Spring. For the more tenured volunteers, can I ask a few questions? I have an FOS flyer from my youth asking for $129 (the cost to support 1 scout for 1 year). Mentally, I was preparing to make a donation of around $200. Now I see the campaign is asking for $401 (the cost to support 1 scout for 1 year in 2023). What the heck happened there? I assume the council has an FOS fundraising goal. Does that goal get pushed down to the districts and the unit level? If so, does that mean every unit has an FOS goal? W

I have a somewhat cynical view of the OA, but this is a perfect service they can perform to help convert Cubs to Scouts BSA. OP, have you considered reaching out to the Scout Troop your Cubs will be joining? Perhaps, they'd be willing to cover the recognition costs? My Cub Scout Pack has an OK relationship with a few local Scout Troops, but they seem to be more responsive when there are bodies on the line. 🙂

Child safety is a shared concern. My implication is that Millennial mothers drive household decision-making. (Including having final say on their child's participation in Cub Scouts). I always get a chuckle when I hear a story about a well-meaning girl who writes to a detergent company to complain about sexist advertising. She's assuming that women are often featured in detergent commercials because the company believes wives do more laundry than their husbands. While this may be true in some households, the company is featuring women in their ads because women are more likely to BUY THE

Welcome. Great first post! Please let me clarify - Like most others, I have no concerns about a long-tenured, non-parent volunteer participating in overnight events, provided YP is observed. However, you don't have to convince me that Scouting is safe - you have to convince Millennial mothers. And right now, that's akin to convincing people to board a blimp right after the Hindenburg disaster. I'm not sure how my statement could be construed as sexist. It's a response to observed behavior (with about 82,000 examples, right?). Allow me to provide some insight into how a typical Mille

I will tread lightly with my follow-up post. I am fully aware of the many contributions of non-parent volunteers (having been the beneficiary of them myself as a youth). This is my perspective as the parent of a Cub Scout: My wife and I are almost 40. We are politically moderate and live in the suburbs of a mid-size city. We have good jobs and sufficient disposable income to provide extra-curricular opportunities for our son, but our time is limited and we have to be selective about the activities in which he participates. You could apply this same description to the majority of parents i

Unpopular take: This is 2023. Grown men without children in the unit should not participate in overnight activities. I'm fully aware this would exclude many terrific volunteers from participating in a key aspect of the program. By all means, they are welcome to volunteer in other capacities (staffing a day camp or training parent volunteers, for example). As a 30-something parent, I'd be highly skeptical of a male volunteering at the unit level if that person wasn't also a parent and I'm certain my wife shares my skepticism. And we all know moms drive the big household decisions (like whe

I'm halfway through my tenure as a Lion Den Leader. I've tried very hard to simplify everything from our calendar to the advancement requirements, but I've learned I've got about 10 minutes of "instruction time" before our den meetings need to give way to fun and games. If the Lion year were still in its pilot phase, I would enthusiastically recommend holding off until 1st Grade. I'm pleased my son and his friends seem to look forward to their meetings (and that alone has made it worth it), but it's sapped a lot of energy and enthusiasm from me.

I'm sharp enough to realize these types of situations exist, but the concept of the AOL award being perceived as a serious academic credential still baffles me.

The BSA has long permitted youth to earn Eagle in 18 months, so I do not see questioning whether new female Scouts have "fulfilled the letter and spirt of the requirements" as a valid critique of girls in Scouts BSA. We can debate that in the program at large. (And @Cburkhardt, I know that was not necessarily your opinion. You were just framing the discussion) I worry less about new 16- or 17-year-old Scouts earning Eagle in 18 months than I do about 12- or 13-year-olds earning Eagle in that same amount of time. I do not mean to suggest that all the younger Eagles are undeserving (surely,

I know this is being re-hashed for the 5th time here, but I'll bite: Yes, this seems like a knee-jerk reaction from National that we all have to live with. Yes, there is value in the message, but it could probably be combined with other Citizenship MBs. Yes, kids get a lot of this same material in school and now a few more of their Troop meetings just became School 2.0. However, the situation is what you make of it. Find the right person to deliver the message and make it worthwhile for your Troop. Some of the best presentations I've ever attended were on subjects I ini

I never liked singing as a youth. I enjoy it less as an adult. The council camp I attended and staffed as a youth usually sang in the dining hall after lunch and dinner and that always seemed like a chore to me ... even when I was 11. The exception has always been a well-timed campfire song ~ Vespers, America the Beautiful, etc. I never minded singing those types of songs (still don't) and agree with other posters on those songs being a great place to start. One low key upside to singing (and why I think it still has a place in Scouting, despite my personal aversion) is that it builds con

Regarding the discussion on the custom numeral strips: I was able to order a pair of strips through Scout Shop online without needing to order a dozen minimum. I distinctly recall needing to hit the minimum order size in the past, so this was a nice enhancement to the site.

I would not have appreciated this comment as much as a Scout as I do today as a parent. A weekend campout that requires less than 24 hours of my time is immensely preferable to one that forces me to abdicate my other home, work, and marital responsibilities for a full 48 hours.

Does the BSA still offer customized numeral strips? My son's Pack has a 4-digit unit number. Rather than buy and sew on 4 different numbers, I was planning on ordering a dozen customized 4-digit strips from scoutshop.org; however, I did not see that option available. I know they've sold them previously because I ordered them 20 years ago as my Crew's Treasurer. They look infinitely sharper than the 4 individual numerals. You've got to be a sewing pro to get those to line up perfectly.

I ordered several custom patches from Craig years ago. It was a great experience. I'd highly recommend visiting his site. He's the genius who makes square knots on green backgrounds to match Venturing uniforms. Honestly, who thought tan on green was a good idea?

You've got a capable young lady who loves Scouting - ordinarily, that wouldn't be a problem, except your Troop is experiencing some growing pains. In theory, a Troop exists with Scouts ages 11-17 in perfect harmony, but in practice, kids have different needs and interests. While I'd encourage older Scouts to take an interest in the development of their younger peers, it's unfair to charge them with that responsibility (no matter what the Handbook says). So, yes - it's normal. Even the best, most-involved Scouts follow a fairly typical evolution: Ages 11-14: Troop Life is the core o

I grew up in what most would consider a great Boy Scout Troop. Without hesitation, the reason our program was so successful was our dedicated Scoutmaster. I cannot say enough good things about her. A secondary reason for our success was a high number of dads willing to go camping every month. While my Scoutmaster was the glue that held the Troop together, we were never short on parent volunteers. My father wasn't an active Scouter, but he was on the Troop Committee, helped with BORs, and chaperoned some events. Lastly, our district had a strong program. District camporees were staples of

I'm about 2 months into my tenure as a Lions Den Leader. We just had our first Den meeting on Tuesday. Most Scouts in our Pack are from the same elementary school. The school allows us to hold our monthly Pack meeting in the school cafeteria, but has limited meeting time / space for other groups. Fortunately, I was able to reserve a community room at our public library for Den meetings. This turned out to be a stroke of good luck because parents told me they liked having the opportunity to let their kids check out books before or after the meeting. Some families let older siblings tag alo

Maybe it's just me, but as an adult, I'm not too keen on wearing medals. Save that type of acknowledgement for people who save lives. I'm still appreciative of recognition but would prefer a square knot and/or small desktop award. I do, however, share the OP's desire for consistency.

Thanks for making that commitment. You're probably the perfect person to provide continuity for your Troop, having already had the full experience with your oldest and another two in the pipeline. Good luck!

I'm also running my son's Lion Den after returning to scouts as a parent. I'm aware of the burnout potential and have planned a simple calendar (1 Den Meeting + 1 Pack Meeting per month). Most Pack meetings have a special theme or activity and aren't strictly administrative. I'll make parents aware of special events outside our standard meeting schedule, but I've encouraged them to cherry-pick the activities their families find most interesting. There are a few more experienced parents in our Pack who have graciously told me not to worry about anything this year outside of my own Den

Wow, that's quite a load for you to bear. Thank you for doing your best. On the subject of religion: When in doubt, put control of sensitive subjects back in the hands of the parents. Not every requirement needs to be completed at an official Scout function. It's OK to give Cubs and their parents a little homework every month. You wouldn't want it to become a chore, but 20 minutes of discussion between monthly Den meetings isn't unreasonable.

Agreed. I find the different colored neckerchiefs useful for distinguishing between dens and helping younger scouts get to the appropriate place. It's the different neckerchief slides for each age group that seem unnecessary. One neckerchief slide for the entire Cub Scout program would be sufficient. Somewhat related: I noticed ScoutShop.org is having a 20% off flash sale today (9/24) with code AUTUMN.

Welcome @ajherkert! Wow, lots of parallels here. In addition to being a new Lion Den Leader, I also earned my Eagle award in 2003. I'm excited to have this experience with my son; however, I'm quickly finding it'll be one very different from my youth. Not only have there been some major changes to the program (most of them for the better), but also, I'm starting to see liability in places where I once saw fun. I'm not too worried about putting on a good program for the kids (it doesn't take much to stir their imaginations); rather, my biggest concern is keeping the calendar well-orga