CarlaB

That sounds like a neat game idea. I'll talk to my husband about it.

I am currently on dial-up so I tend to stay away from internet videos but I will check it out. Thank you!

Oak Tree,

You made a really good point about selling the parents not the kids. I had been gearing most of my stuff towards the boys. I will work on coming up with a good balance so the boys will want to join and the parents will want to sign them up.

Thank you so much!

Erin,

I know how you feel. When my husband and i joined Scouts this past September our Pack was well almost shameful. Many leaders were not trained and the ones that were didn't act like it. Everyone seemed happy to be underachivers. Our son was given the option to fundraise popcorn, whereas there was only two weeks left. He really wanted to do it so we spent about 2 hours going down one side of a street in our neighborhood. His only goal was to Fill up one page. He did so! His total sales amount was $610. He was the top seller of our Pack. I felt that was quite sad. Out of 32 registered boys who had months to sell popcorn. A Tiger Cub in for only two weeks, who only put in 2 hours of work became the Top Seller.

Our Pack meetings were a bore. Our Cubmaster, just stands at the front of the room and reads out of the Program Helps quide. My husband was in Scouts from Tiger through Eagle, and he couldn't stomach it, so we went to a Committee Meeting, where the atmoshpere was very simular to the Pack meetings. Only a few people showed and they acted liek zombies. Being 'the new guys in town' we sat back and remained quiet for the first one. The second one we showed up with Books and things we found online. Our Tigers did a skit or audience participation song whether or not anyone liked it. But "Amagingly" the parents and boys did like it. We personally purchased our Dens awards and handed them out. Soon parents we're complaining and stepping up and saying, "Well why isn't my boy earning awards?" Then suddenly we found out we had an Advancement Chair, we had thought he was only a den leader. People started listening, reading the newsletters that I faithfully made to hand out at every pack meeting and mailed to those that disn't show. Our Pack has apparently been around for ten years and even with 30+ registered boys never had more than 30 people show to the Blue & Gold Banquet. This year we had 75.

Change can happen. It only takes one person changing one den, for people to start asking "How'd you do it?" Then other Dens and the Pack will compete. No one like to be shown up by the "New Guy". All people children and adults alike crave structure. Yes you will loose people, but they are probably not people you want involved anyways.

This is BSA where we teach our boys how to grow up Doing their Best to set goals and achieve them. Don't let others discourage you. Whether you try to turn your current Pack around, or start a new one, or find a good/better exisiting one. Do not give up.

Another option that I have not seen anyone mention yet is the option to Lone Scout. I strongly suggest looking into other Packs or forming your own before you look into it, expecially whereas you are already homeschooling. But Lone Scouting is where it is just you and your boy completeing the requirements, directly under your District Executive and Commissioner.

As the wife of an Eagle Scout and the friend of many Star - Eagle Scouts, I can tell you that this organization teaches boys what nothing else can teach anyone. Boy Scouts walk, talk, and act differently than any other supposed men I have ever met. If you give up completely you are giving up on giving your boy the most important education of his life.

DO YOUR BEST! for your boy.

CarlaB

Thank you everyone for your answers. I love the idea of setting up the Derby track and cooking food, unfortunately for the upcoming fair we only have a 10x10 indoor booth to work with, but perhaps for our Spring Recruitment we could have an "Outdoor Area", that would be fun.

As for 'Down and Derby' I have not yet seen it myself, just heard a lot of great reviews. We also have a promotional video that our District has put together, so I am thinking that will be the direction we will go in. Thank you for letting me know that the movie may not be such a great idea.

Unfortunately our Pack does not have many pictures of our events as of right now. As I mentioned my husband and I are trying to revive it, and to our knowledge not many fun things were done in the last 2 years at least and what was done no one took pictures of. We now have a Pack Historian who is working on putting together a Scrapbook.

Thank you again everyone! I hope to hear more.

SctDad, I have made a few promotional videos in the past (non for Scouting yet, but have seen some) and the best advice I can give is to use high paced up beat music that does not have words. If it does have words you should only use a piece that has something like, "So you wanna have fun?" repeated or even mixed in with wordless music. Techo-y music tends to work really well. Disney soundtracks usually have some good ones, just be sure to list the who's and what's in the Credits. If I run across anything I'll pm it your way.

Hello Everyone,

I recently signed up our Pack for a Recruitment booth at a Family Fun Fair our town is having, and then we will have our Spring Recruitment at the beginning of May. I have done recruitment for other NPOs and we have some ideas for the Fair and Recruitment Night, but I was wondering what tried and true methods other Packs may have?

For the Fair our ideas so far include:

Giving away popped Trails End popcorn in small bags

Having an area where boys can make a few small crafts with their parents

Having the movie Down and Derby playing

Have all four Rank books on display for people to thumb through

We have Welcome to Our Pack Letters that give a very basic overview

We also have a Parent Orientation Handbook (have not decided whether or not to do a live Parent Orientation following the fair whereas we have one coming up on May 10th)

For our Recruitment Night:

Have each Rank set up a booth of sorts where they can have some displays of things they have done, and crafts or games going on.

Have a few copies of that Ranks Handbook at their booth

Have a Registration Area where the parents can register their kids while they are hanging out with the Den they will be joining

Have Down & Derby or a promotional video playing on a large projector screen

Having the Welcome to Our Pack Letter to give parents

Information on Parent Orientation

Current Newsletters or a list of Upcoming Events

Information on our Arrow of Light/ Crossover Overnight Campout where they will Officially be inducted into our Pack

I know that probably sounds like a lot, but if there are things here that you have tried and they did not work, or if anyone has any suggestions at all I would love to hear them.

Thank you all for your help

Hello all,

I am new to these boards as of yesterday. New to Scouting as of September of last year, though I have always wanted to be a Boy Scout so I have done plenty of research over the years On recruitment night in September my husband (An Eagle that started as a Tiger) and I got 'volunteered' to be the new Tiger Den Leaders. After one months time we realized our Pack was severly in need of revitalizing, and in these few short months we have made a huge turn around. I am currently our Pack Committee Chairman, and my husband is our Pack Trainer and our District Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner.

We love Scouting and everything it has to offer to our boys and to adults. It has turned out to be a far greater organization than I ever thought.

I am happy to be here amoungst all of you and look forward to getting to know you,

Carla

Burnside,

I think you said it best - "(particularly one which our early American ancestors worked so hard to destroy)" This is one important reason to incorporate their traditions. We have a strong Shoshone and Temok tribes in our town, and from speaking to them they have expressed that they are happy that someone remembers, that we don't dwell on the our people hurt your people, but instead we work on re-building those friendships of some of our ansestors. As long as we stay in contact and ask for their experience and insight we are working on making a better world for our boys.

On the other hand, if we go about these ceremonies without knowledgeable people, without requard to local tribes, and without teaching our boys that "Yes, Indians do still exist" it becomes that imaginary world that is Knights in Shining Armor, Pirate good guys, etc. By no means am I saying lecture the boys, but I am saying to involve them in the planning, have local tribes come to pack meetings and tell stories, invite them to your Blue & Gold and Crossover Ceremonies, become friends.

I like the comment about Scouts being a great program until the adults get involved. It is sad but typically true. We as adults are there to be positive role-models that is it! We cannot expect our boys to respect a culture if we do not also. And being afraid of offending someone that is part of something that you are not, is not the way to go about it. Communication is the key! Get ahold of those people ask them questions, find out their feeling on it, and share that information with your boy. Our goal should be to teach the boys that responsibility is fun!

I am so sick of hearing about our Countries traditions being axed because some uninvolved person felt it was offensive.

By no means am I trying to bash you Burnside, I feel you did the right thing, you talked to someone about it, then you talked to more knowledgeable people about it, and from the sounds of your posts your opinion has changed. I wish more people did that.