If you’re new to Scouts BSA, we’ve created a digital “10 Essentials Quick Start Guide” for you. These are 10 easy steps with videos, links, etc. to get you and your Scout started on your incredible journey with us! (Unit leaders: please add a link to the guide in your “Be a Scout” welcome message to new members. Feedback is always welcome too!)
Incident Reporting will be a highly monitored reporting area in the Scout post-bankrupt operating environment. We need to ensure that all Scout leaders understand what Incident Reporting is and why it is important that all incidents are accurately and timely reported. Scouting strongly encourages units to report any incident so risk management can ensure any unsafe conditions are addressed and safety measures are put in place. We may also recommend training that may need to be created or enhanced to ensure safety and for insurance purposes. The Incident Report landing page link below, will explain why reporting is so important and the links to the appropriate report.
Please share this information with other unit leaders and assistants so they are aware of the reporting requirements.
Webelos prepares Scouts for the change from Cub Scouting to Scouts BSA. While Webelos are members of a Cub Scout pack, they become more involved in planning their own activities and performance approval begins to move from parents to unit leaders.
The two-year Webelos experience is a time of transition from Cub Scouting to crossing the bridge to membership in a Scouts BSA troop. Webelos and their families should be familiar and comfortable with the youth and adult leaders of the Scouts BSA troop, their role in the troop and troop activities, and feel excited about beginning this new adventure. The passage from a pack to a troop should be smooth, with no time lost in between. The crossover ceremony should clearly signify the transition to a new level of Scouting.
The key factor to a good Webelos transition is the ongoing working relationship of the leaders of a Cub Scout pack and a Scouts BSA troop. Ideally, a community organization would have both a pack and a troop with leaders who work together to help move Webelos Scouts into a Scouts BSA troop, the same way schools move students from elementary school to middle school.
By planning and coordinating their efforts, the pack and troop can help make the Webelos-to-Scout transition seamless and give all Webelos a chance to experience the fun and excitement of joining a Scouts BSA troop.
Of the six programs the BSA offers, typically over 50% of registered youth are in the Cub Scout program. Annually, we recruit more first graders to be Tigers than any other age group across all programs. In 2020, many units were unable or chose not to recruit in their communities. As a result, youth membership in the BSA plummeted.
It is time for a reset this fall, so everyone is being asked to focus on membership recruitment. As critical as that effort will be, data tells us that in a typical year we have had a problem with keeping them in the program. Voice of the Scout surveys have told us that families leave because of a poor den experience.
Dens are where the action happens, it’s where we conduct activities in the form of the Adventure program. Den leaders are well meaning adults who volunteered to guide a bunch of kids through a series of activities to reach the goal of completing an Adventure. Our volunteer den leaders like to have a playbook from which to draw and know what to do when holding a den meeting. They want to know what they should be doing with the youth and how to get it done. Our den leaders are not child development experts, they are parents and adults who volunteer. At the beginning of each program year, our den leaders and Cub Scouts are both stepping into the great unknown.
Advancement is how we deliver our program and measure the outcome, but advancement is not the end goal: it is a method for running a den meeting. Advancement should not define the activities to be completed; activities should lead to advancement. Cub Scouts do not have the developmental understanding of why they must complete certain requirements to “advance.” They came to the meeting to have a good time and do something fun. Typically, that’s all the Cub Scout cares about.
On the way home from a den meeting, Cub Scouts should be able to tell their families that they had FUN. They should be able to describe the meeting with glee and excitement and a need to return. If a Cub Scout looks out the car window and says, “That was boring,” chances are he or she will not be back to the next
den meeting or register for another program year.
Our challenge is to be sure den leaders are aware of the many resources available to help our leaders provide the best program possible; each and every meeting. Let’s re-set and focus on member experiences that shine and provide great fun and adventures.
BSA resources available to provide the best Cub Scout experience for new membership – youth and adult.
The Scouts create amazing adventures. Sharing the memories you make with your Scout on your social media account is one of the most powerful ways to increase parent involvement and encourage others to join. The Mayflower Council, Boy Scouts of America has created the hashtag #backtoschoolbacktoscouting to use with your photos of your Scouting adventures on these social media accounts to spread the word about how fun Scouting is!
Help us share the Scouting story by sharing your Scout’s great adventures with us and with others. Simply take a moment to share a photo or something exciting you did in Scouts on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram through Sept. 30th with the hashtag #backtoschoolbacktoscouting. Sharing your photos will qualify you to win special prizes such as Amazon gift cards!
Scouting instills values, gives youth a competitive edge and helps them become resilient adults, adults who lead. Scouting brings families together and gives them the platform for true, quality time together, where memories can be made that last a lifetime.
We also recognize that in your social circles, some may wonder about Scouting. They may ask questions about things they’ve heard or seen. They may be confused about who we are and what we do.
To help you answer those questions, we’ve put together a few tools for you.
We need to remind our communities why Scouting has thrived for more than 110-years. While we’ve evolved over the decades, along with our country, our values remain grounded in the same Scout Oath and Law.
Every family in our country should be invited and welcomed into Scouting.
If parents want their children to:
Then, they should try Scouting.
Please use the following tips and tools to help facilitate conversation as needed. You may have already received that question: “What’s going on with Scouting? What am I hearing about?”
Lead with your story. Share why you choose Scouting for your family. If you’re a volunteer, explain why. Share the impact you’re making. If they know you, they will connect with your genuine assessment.
Share with them what Scouting is doing. While you can reference some national results, Scouting by the Numbers, focus on what your unit is doing locally. Share that in our local council, units have been meeting through the pandemic, either online, or in-person following all the safety guidelines of the Commonwealth. Remember that the local council has offered significant virtual programming since the start of COVID-19 including service projects, virtual campouts, activities, and advancements. The council also has a robust plan to support units with virtual and in-person programming this fall.
Ask them what they’ve heard. If it’s related to the national bankruptcy case or the advertising they may be seeing connected to past cases of abuse, please be prepared to address those questions. Please review the following tools to help you better understand these complex issues and help you better answer questions:
If you encounter a question you can’t answer or need some help, do not hesitate to reach out to our Director of Field Service, Rick Riopelle.
Before any conversation about Scouting ends, don’t forget to invite them to join. The easiest way to do that is to invite them to join your unit and they can register online at www.BeAScout.org.
We are offering interactive hands on sessions for BeAScout.org pin information, online applications and online leads.
If you are a Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, crew advisor, committee chair or key three delegate, you are invited to join us for this session.
The unit key three can also delegate the authority in My.Scouting to a key three delegate to approve online youth applications. Don’t know how? Our workshop will show you!
These workshops will be hands on so be sure you have access to a computer during the workshop. Two dates available, pick the one that works for you.
Completing the Cub Scout Yo-Yo Preview Adventure and finding fun recruitment giveaways just got a lot easier. Order customized Yo-Yos, choosing your color and adding a logo, or purchase case packs of 12 Yo-Yos, prefect for making sure a den has everything they need for the Yo-Yo Preview Adventure. Duncan also offers the Yo-Yo Teen Program for Scouts BSA to fine-tune their tricks and earn patches long the way.
Changing functional roles can only be done by the COR or COR Delegate. The second tab on the Positions Manager page is for adding and maintaining “Functional Roles” like adding a Key 3 delegate or unit Training Chair. The process to assign or edit is a “drag and drop” method by clicking on a person and then dragging them to the position you are adding them to.
To deliver the promise of Scouting, your unit needs a great program. And to deliver a great program, your unit must Be Prepared with a plan. With many units returning to in-person meetings and activities, it is a good time to review upcoming program plans and to plan for the upcoming year.