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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

From Army hand-me-downs to Oscar de la Renta, the Boy Scout uniform is, itself, a story… 

As you put on your Scout uniform, did you ever catch yourself wondering, how did we get here?

After all, it’s one of the most iconic ensembles on earth. No matter where you’re from, everyone can picture a Boy Scout.

A neckerchief, olive green, and khaki – top it with a hat (and knee-high socks); even parodies like Russell’s “Wilderness Explorers” in Pixar’s Up and Sam Shakuski’s Khaki Scouts in Moonrise Kingdom can’t escape the ubiquitous nature of the classic Boy Scout (or Cub Scout) getup.

That’s part of what makes those films so great. No matter the color, on and off-screen, a Boy Scout uniform tells the viewer a lot of information, even before anyone speaks. 

For example, we’re laughing because Russell goes to great lengths (and heights) to earn an important merit badge. We believe Sam can do anything because of his Scout uniform (and seemingly magic backpack). 

Meanwhile, and perhaps most importantly, Life Scout Henry Jones Jr. wearing a Boy Scout uniform in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade tells you all you need to know about Indy’s character (and gives clues as to why Dr. Jones wears durable adventures gear and a wide brim hat as he gets older).

What’s unique about the BSA uniform, with an over 111-year history, remains its utilitarian construction. Its durability. And its ability to tell a story for the wearer.

Over the last few months, Stan “Scouter Stan” Richards has posted three vlogs explaining the importance of the Scout Uniform and how it evolved over more than a century.

And speaking of Oscar de la Renta, Scouting Wire did a whole breakdown of the designer’s work for BSA. 

“We felt the uniform should meet several criteria,” de la Renta told Scouting Magazine in 1980. “It should be equitable for strenuous activity; it should be made from an easy-care fabric, and at the same time the wearer should still look like a Scout.”

New video explains the Scouts BSA program designed for kids in K – 5th grade…

For those of us who grew up in Scouting wearing a blue and gold uniform, the question seems – well – unnecessary?

However, it’s important to understand that a whole new generation of children is coming to Scouts BSA.

Many families were not fortunate enough to live near a pack. Or, perhaps, someone in the family tried the program and, for whatever reason, it didn’t stick. Meanwhile, girls joining Cub Scouts remains a relatively new facet of the program. Maybe there was even a financial component to the decision to skip Scouting.

The reasons are myriad. So, it’s important for everyone to check out Cub Scouting with fresh eyes and with a notion to expand the program to more children than ever.

Perhaps you, the reader, come to contemporary Cub Scouting with lots of questions, even though you might have once been a Weblos (We’ll be loyal Scouts…) Scout.

In that (arrow of) light, the Mayflower Council presents the following video, designed to take the guesswork out of the equation and give new and old families alike an understanding of what so many of us know so well:

“Cub Scouts is a game with a purpose.”

Of course, if Cub Scouts is already part of your child’s world, be sure to forward this story along to a friend or family member whose kids might just be ready to put on the blue and gold.

And if you need more info on Cub Scouts, click this link.

With Halloween just around the corner, here are some great recruitment ideas for your Cub Scout or pack to use to recruit new Cub Scouts and families to join the Scouting program. These can be great ways to reach those families who missed your Join Scouting Day, want to be part of Scouting, but simply don’t know how or who to call. Let’s help them join the fun and adventure of Cub Scouting!

• Trunk or Treat: If your chartering organization or local civic organization is hosting a Trunk or Treat, ask if your Scout unit can participate. Adults can wear their Scout uniforms and distribute not only candy, but also joining information.
• Pack Costume Meeting: Make your last meeting before Halloween a costume meeting. Scouts can invite their friends to attend, show off their costumes, and really display the fun and excitement of Scouting to potential members.
• Trick or Treat (out with kids): When you walk around your neighborhood with your children, wear your uniform. Have some joining information handouts with you to give to other parents you meet.
• Trick or Treat (at home): Stick a unit business card, flyer, or join Scouting sticker in kids’ candy bags (along with some candy too, of course). Place Scouting yard signs in your yard, since families will be walking by and admiring everyone’s decorations.
• Halloween Peer to Peer Recruitment Cards: These Halloween Bilingual Peer to Peer Cards can be printed to hand out during Trick or Treat in your community.