Tips And Tricks: Let Them See Us At Our BEST!

One of the best ways to promote our programs and encourage new membership is to continuously promote our units and activities to the public. By doing so, we can create several positive outcomes if we show our units, activities, and programs off “at their best.”  

Those benefits include: 

  • Increased awareness, participation, and community support for our programs (such as “Scouting for Food,” etc.)
  • Increased opportunities for fundraising (Friends of Scouting or “FOS,” Eagle service projects, etc.)
  • Increased possibilities to recruit new members and volunteers

On a unit level, here are some ideas and ways that you and your leadership can easily promote your programs and units within the community:

  • Know your local Patch.com representative. Look on Facebook for your town’s Patch page (there should be an email address to reach out to). If not, sending a message may get better results.
  • Know how to reach your local news outlet. Community Newspaper Company, owned by Gatehouse Media, has weekly publications and the “Wicked Local” websites available for free in many communities within the council footprint. These publications & sites cover the local/community news. Scroll to the bottom and select CONTACT US to locate the reporter/editor for your community and send any upcoming events or ideas about your unit to them. 
  • Does your unit have an organization Facebook page? Starting one is easy. Use it to share National Council and Mayflower Council posts and promote your upcoming community events. Don’t have one? Stay tuned for information on how to create and maintain one!
  • Join and share your local unit event posts on your community’s local Facebook page! Also, make sure you monitor and follow up on any comments added to your shared post. Note: There will ALWAYS be someone who may try to speak negatively about your event/post, etc. As the OP (original poster), you may be able to hide their comments. Regardless, take the high road and kill them with KINDNESS when responding. Possibly send a message to the admin for the page and let them know what is going on if a note is particularly nasty.
  • Local community access channels exist in almost every community, too. Some shine a spotlight on community organizations and events. Contact your local community access studio for more information. BTW: Some of these studios can also be helpful with the Movie Making Merit Badge for your Scouts.
  • If you partner with another community organization throughout the year, make sure to share your “good news” or upcoming events with them through social media or directly through their leadership; this might also be a good time to mention the usefulness of Twitter and Instagram.
  • Be sure to send your good news to your local town officials (mayor, town council/select board, etc.)

Of course, all of the above ideas take a certain level of commitment from your unit committee or leadership to make it work. So, consider asking for a volunteer or parent to help – it’s important. After all, spreading our good news will show your unit’s commitment to your community. 




Welcome to Operation: Re-Engagement

As part of the Mayflower Council’s Spring Membership Campaign, we would like to encourage your participation in Operation Re-Engagement between now and March 31st, 2021. This effort, which is council wide, is designed to invite former Cub Scouts who may have dropped from your roster back into your pack. Your participation will be beneficial to the health of your pack, district, and the Mayflower Council.

Here’s How To Make This Work…

  • Download a report of Scouts who have dropped from your unit over the past two years. Step by step instructions on how to download this report on My.Scouting.org is available here.
    • NOTE:  Be sure to select the FILTER Button and enter dates from 1/1/2021 through 1/1/2022.
  • Reach out via a callout campaign (If necessary, designate several volunteers to help you) to the parents of these “lost Scouts” to invite them to your next pack meeting. Use this meeting as an opportunity to welcome them back into Scouting by encouraging them to re-register with your pack (Some key points to promote with the parents include the Pinewood Derby in May, upcoming pack meetings, Chuck Wagon Derby in June, summer day camp and other activities you have planned for your pack.)
  • If they indicate interest in re-joining, whether as part of the callout campaign or at the pack meeting, refer them to your page on BeAScout.org

A Few Tips for Success…

  1. Review the list with your volunteers to see who may have a friendly/personal connection with certain parents. Sometimes a call from someone they know can be very influential.
  2. If your attempt at a callout does not work, try an email.
  3. If the parent indicates interest in attending the next pack meeting, schedule a time to remind them, whether it’s another callout, or an email reminder a week prior to the meeting.
  4. If possible, work with them 1-on-1 with the online application. Try not to let them to “do it when they get home.” Remember, after that meeting, life happens. Help them transition back to Scouting by helping them in that moment, instead of possibly losing them to the things that happen after they leave your meeting.
  5. Consider using your April meeting as a membership building meeting, whereby these “lost Scouts” can come back to re-discover the Scouting experience.

We appreciate your effort in Operation Re-Engagement. If I can be of assistance, please email Rob or call him directly at 508-217-4623.




Spring Membership Campaign

As part of The Mayflower Council’s Spring Membership Campaign, we are primarily focusing on Scouts BSA troops and Venturing crews and 4 opportunities to increase participation in these aspects of the Scouting Experience.   

WHAT’S INVOLVED 

The Spring Membership Campaign involves several different elements: 

  • Operation Re-Engagement
  • Webelos To Scouting AND Scouting to Venturing Transitions
  • Peer To Peer Recruiting
  • April Membership Event

SETTING YOU UP FOR SUCCESS 

We have complied LINKS for the following documents to help you succeed, including: 

PLEASE NOTE: Once you have set a date for your April membership event, please let the council know by filling out the form located here.

THE INCENTIVES

  • Top five units who recruit between now and May 31st will receive a weekend cabin at one of our camps.
  • Any Scout who recruits a friend using our peer-to-peer campaign will be entered into a drawing to win one of three restaurant gift certificates

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

Additionally, the following resources are available upon request: 

  • Photos/videos from BSA  
  • Buddy cards 
  • Posters/fliers to promote your membership event 
  • Sign in sheets for your membership event 

Simply email Rob to reserve yours.  

NOTE FOR VENTURING CREWS:  Use this as an opportunity to invite prospective members to an upcoming meeting or event.  Additionally, we will be working on getting you information on Scouts who have “aged out” of Scouts BSA.

NEED HELP OR TO DISCUSS IDEAS ? 

If you would like to set up a time, please click here to schedule a time with Rob to discuss.

OR  

You can also register here for Virtual Office Hours on Tuesday, March 22nd and Monday, March 28th from 7 to 9 PM each night. 

 

We appreciate your effort with our Spring recruiting effort.




Tips & Tricks: Let Them See Us At Our BEST!

One of the best ways to promote our programs and encourage new membership is to continuously promote our units and activities to the public. By doing so, we can create several positive outcomes if we show our units, activities, and programs off “at their best.”  

Those benefits include: 

  • Increased awareness, participation, and community support for our programs (such as “Scouting for Food,” etc.)
  • Increased opportunities for Fundraising (Friends of Scouting or “FOS,” Eagle service projects, etc.)
  • Increased possibilities to recruit new members and volunteers

On a unit level, here are some ideas and ways that you and your leadership can easily promote your programs and units within the community:

  • Know your local Patch.com representative. Look on Facebook for your town’s Patch Page (there should be an email address to reach out to). If not, sending a message may get better results.
  • Know how to reach your local news outlet. Community Newspaper Company, owned by Gatehouse Media, has weekly publications and the “Wicked Local” websites available for free in many communities within the Council footprint. These publications & sites cover the local/community news. Scroll to the bottom and select CONTACT US to locate the reporter/editor for your community and send any upcoming events or ideas about your unit to them. 
  • Does your unit have an organization Facebook page? Starting one is easy. Use it to share National and Mayflower Council posts and promote your upcoming community events. Don’t have one? Stay tuned for information on how to create and maintain one!
  • Join and share your local unit event posts on your community’s local Facebook page! Also, make sure you monitor and follow up on any comments added to your shared post. Note: There will ALWAYS be someone who may try to speak negatively about your event/post, etc. As the OP (original poster), you may be able to hide their comments. Regardless, take the high road and kill them with KINDNESS when responding. Possibly send a message to the admin for the page and let them know what is going on if a note is particularly nasty.
  • Local community access channels exist in almost every community, too. Some shine a spotlight on community organizations and events. Contact your local community access studio for more information. BTW: Some of these studios can also be helpful with the Movie Making Merit Badge for your Scouts.
  • If you partner with another community organization throughout the year, make sure to share your “good news” or upcoming events with them through social media or directly through their leadership; this might also be a good time to mention the usefulness of Twitter and Instagram.
  • Be sure to send your good news to your local town officials (mayor, town council/select board, etc.)

Of course, all of the above ideas take a certain level of commitment from your unit committee or leadership to make it work. So, consider asking for a volunteer or parent to help – it’s important. After all, spreading our good news will show your unit’s commitment to your community. 




Temperature Drops But The Fun Factor Stays High

Cub Scouts can #AdventureOn during the winter months…

Yes, it’s cold. Yep, it’s snowy. However, just like Scouts BSA, Cub Scouts can still find outdoor fun, too.

That was the theme of a recent repost of a 2010 article entitled, “Hot tips for cold-weather fun with Cub Scouts.”

For Scouting, Mark Ray wrote:

Tim Tocket, a Scouter in Pen Argyl, Pa., always thought the BSA had a rule forbidding Cub Scouts from camping when temperatures dipped below 32 degrees. Not so. The “Age-Appropriate Guidelines for Scouting Activities” states that only Scouts BSA members and Venturers may participate in winter camping. But the addition of heated cabins (when you follow appropriate Youth Protection guidelines) can make winter activities with overnight stays suitable for Cub Scouts. With cabins available, a Scout who gets too wet, too cold, or too tired can head inside.

Of course, The BSA Guide to Safe Scouting is the definitive list of rules and guidelines for winter camping and sports. However, Ray pointed out a few general thoughts about Cub Scouts in the cold.

Tips included:

  • Give plenty of packing guidelines to parents and adult leaders and stress layering for warmth…
  • Pack extra items of everything warm. Domino suggests bringing a stash of extra hats and mittens for Cub Scouts whose gear gets wet, lost, or forgotten…
  • Remember hydration. Campers need plenty of fluids, even in the cold.
  • Offer plenty of hearty food, and keep meal preparation simple.
  • Cancel or postpone if the forecast calls for heavy snow or extremely low temperatures

Even better, in yet another article, “Making Winter Fun for Your Cub Scouts,” Ray said, keep the C-O-L-D in mind. 

Clean: Keep your insulating layers clean and fluffy. Dirt, grime and sweat can reduce the warmth of a garment.

Overheating: Adjust your layers of clothing to match the temperature, and stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

Loose Layers: Wear several loosely fitting layers of clothing and footgear to get maximum insulation without impeding your circulation.

Dry: Sweaty, damp clothing can cause your body to cool quickly. Avoid clothes that absorb moisture, and keep clothing around your neck loose to let body heat and moisture escape.

Looking at the weather forecast for tomorrow at Camp Resolute: 34-degrees and cloudy.

Sounds like it’s time to #AdventureOn.




Scouters: Lots to Learn! Where to Start?

Sometimes, volunteers feel overwhelmed, but some simple steps can help…

You’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. We all would like to have it. 

In many ways, the “Trained” patch symbolizes adult advancement and achievement. Mostly, it simply means you have “a clue.” 

However, it might be the first step to feeling like your work outside of Scout or Cub meetings is paying off.

But even before getting into the training that delivers the patch, volunteers need to take the first step. 

Or maybe, once they put on “the shirt,” it is the “next” step.

Back in 2013, Scouting Magazine’s Mark Ray spoke to two Cub Scout leaders and asked how they encouraged training among the volunteers in their units:

To fill their packs’ training gaps, [Andy] Albin and [Todd] Birkhoff took on the role of pack trainer… In the years since, they’ve more than achieved their goal of getting pack leaders through the basic training sequence of Youth Protection Training and position-specific training.

Their tips, in short:

  • Set a good example.
  • Establish expectations.
  • Eliminate obstacles.
  • Keep good records.

And why is training so important?

“As long as you have a trained leader, the [Scouts]  are going to have a better experience,” Birkhoff told Scouting Magazine.

The full article is much more comprehensive, and might just be the introduction to your own unit’s training manual.




A Scout is Helpful: Session Explains Scoutbook

The Mayflower Council looks to help leaders open Scoutbook on January 31…

Scouts BSA may have been born in 1910, but the current program is a little more contemporary vintage. And since a Scout is brave, Scouting continues to march into the digital landscape.

For example, did you know that Scoutbook is the BSA’s online tracking service?

Scouting.org explains:

From the first knot tied to the final hours of service performed, the Scouting experience is a journey like none other. And Scoutbook is your go-to tool to ensure not a moment is missed – tracking advancement, milestone achievements, and all the fun along the way.

Okay, okay. You’re familiar with Scoutbook. But maybe you are just a bit unsure of how to use the online module. Or perhaps you are just a bit technologically averse.

The Mayflower Council has a solution.

Mayflower Council Scoutbook Training: January 31, 7:00 to 8:30 PM

Does your unit use Scoutbook, or are you wondering how to get going with it?  This session will cover a basic overview and ways to begin using it.  

Topics like how to log in and how leaders sign off on requirements will be covered.  Please join us with your questions and come away with an understanding of how this tool can benefit the scouts and leaders in your unit.

So, Zoom in on Scoutbook!

Register in advance:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.




Scouting For “Unbored” Kids In The Winter

A helpful post from Scouting Magazine outlines information about boredom…

We’re just a few days into winter, and my kids are already tearing the paint off the walls. Beyond school break and the COVID caution, we’re all staring at each other a whole lot.

Looking for relief during the holiday vacation, we found a helpful article from Scouting Magazine. And while the information might be a few years old, the sage wisdom makes a whole lot of sense to this parent.

Back in December 2014, in his article entitled, “Activities to help your kids beat winter boredom,” Mark Ray posted, “it’s the rare kid who doesn’t complain about being bored during long breaks from school.

“So what should you do when you hear ‘I’m bored’? To find out, Scouting talked with two experts: Josh Glenn, co-author of Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun (Bloomsbury USA, 2012), and Jean Van’t Hul, author of The Artful Parent: Simple Ways to Fill Your Family’s Life with Art & Creativity (Roost Books, 2013) and host of the Artful Parent blog (artfulparent.com).”

The top takeaways include:

  • A Little Boredom Is OK
  • Preparation Is Essential
  • Screens Aren’t (Necessarily) The Enemy
  • Fun Is A Team Sport

But, one anti-boredom balm seemed to elude all of our authors (although admittedly, participation in BSA was probably assumed based on the publication).

However, as we are entering another membership drive here at Mayflower Council, we would also include:

Join Scouting!

Example: Two of my three sons are members of local units. And while the Cub Scout was excited to join members of his Lions Den for a special Pinewood Derby garage (for the Kindergarten set) and looks forward to the next meeting, the older Scout asked to invite a member of his troop to the local Scout Reservation for a hike. We did that.

Then, the middle guy invited a friend along and said we could consider them both “recruits.” We’re heading to the trail tomorrow.

Suddenly holiday break seems just a little too short for this sappy Assistant Scoutmaster!

So, if you are interested in joining Scouting, just send me an email. I’ll get your family signed up before anyone in the house utters b-o-r-e-d.




So Far, So Good: A New Scoutmaster’s Story

Via storytelling, this concise, helpful book tackles the wide breadth of emotions that come with being a Scouter…

I found it!

For several weeks since becoming a leader in my son’s Scout troop, I looked for some reading that would help me sort out the many observations, emotions, and lessons that popped into my head on the drive home from our unit’s weekly meetings.

As an assistant scoutmaster, I often marveled at how cool the more experienced Scouters were in terms of dealing with the moods and methods of our teenage boys and girls. I noticed that, contrary to the Cub Scout meetings I’ve been more used to over the length of my son’s BSA career, the adults endeavored to place the Senior Patrol Leader in the prime leadership position.

They were also much more able to deal with the cacophony of squeaky sopranos and tenuous tenors. But I digress.

Former Scoutmaster Clarke Green’s book So Far, So Good! A New Scoutmaster’s Story reads like the way you’d hope your interactions with the Scouts, fellow Scouters, committee members, and parents would sound like in real life. Of course, Green fully admits that the book contains moments, incidents, and experiences from his over 30-year career.

However, Green’s Amazon description reads:
Now that I’ve retired my Scoutmaster badge I’m able to write what I would have appreciated reading when I first took on the job 30 years ago.
Since I started writing a blog at ScoutmasterCG.com 11 years ago, I’ve learned something of the power of storytelling.
This narrative loosely follows my own experiences, but the new Scoutmaster in the story begins knowing things that took me many years to understand [emphasis mine]. I share it with the hope you’ll find it useful, and inspire you to discover something more about the spirit of your work as a Scouter.
This was a great “listen” – and I would recommend downloading the audiobook and listening to Mr. Green himself speak to the experiences we all look to understand.

Now, hindsight is 20/20. But the way the “Mr. G” in the book interacts with everyone lends real insight into the actual goals of Scouting, with an emphasis on youth leadership and giving teens a safe place to learn, fail, and find success.

Moreover, in regard to adult leadership and learning, as Green said in his dedication:

We all encounter the same challenges, setbacks, triumphs, and rewards. We are never alone.
We share the joy of serving Scouting’s most important volunteers: the Scouts themselves.

The entire book reminds the listener/reader of those facts and emphasizes the patience required to help the kids in our charge improve along their own path rather than churning so-called perfect Scouts.

I can’t recommend So Far, So Good! more.




Exploring The History of Scouts BSA

It’s pretty easy to find articles and videos about the beginning of the World Scouting Movement and its “uncle” Lieutenant General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell — Baden Powell or “BP” (Be Prepared) for short. It’s a little more challenging to get to brass tax about the origins of scouting in the United States.

Scouting.org explained:

Stop me if you’ve heard this— and if you haven’t, you must have joined Scouting very recently. It’s the story of the Unknown Scout who guided Chicago publisher William D. Boyce through a pea-soup fog in 1909 in London—and that led him to the office of Robert S.S. Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting. There Boyce picked up a trunkload of literature about the young movement for British boys, leading him to incorporate the Boy Scouts of America on Feb. 8, 1910, soon after returning to the United States.

But despite the made-for-Hollywood story, the rest of the tale isn’t as well known, as Scouting.org added, “W. D. Boyce is a shadowy figure among Scouting’s pioneers.”

“This is due largely to the fact that he did not take a hands-on approach to Scouting as did the founder, Baden-Powell, in England and, in the United States, Chief Scout Ernest Thompson Seton, National Scout Commissioner Daniel Carter Beard, and Chief Scout Executive James E. West.

“Boyce did his thing and left the details to others.”

But what are those details? Or, how did we get here from there?

Well, two different Scouters produced videos to help show us the way.

Check these out: