Greetings Scouters near and far,
Today I want to touch on the topic of recruiting for outside of the Cub/ Join Scout night arena and into the vast chasm of Boy Scout recruiting. This seems to often be a subject that rarely gets any face time when it comes to our membership agendas, as (and rightfully so) the prevailing theory is that if you get Cubs in early, they're more likely to stay in the program.
However, I find that this theory is not enough to sustain any type of growth within our organization and in our District. If we simply wait for boys to join our Troops, then what happens to those who we missed? What happens to those who were not interested in Cub Scouting? Does this mean that every boy is asked to join Scouting between the ages of 6 and 10 years old and that's it?
I have heard much discussion on this subject. What I'd like is to have your thoughts about what we can do better, both as a Council, District, and in your own Troops to put forth a truly concerted effort to recruit boys. I'd like this to remain positive and I'll ask that those who respond please refrain from finger pointing, i.e., "Council doesn't provide enough materials" or "Our feeder Pack doesn't feed into us anymore."
Thanks in advance for your participation and I look forward to reading your responses.
Gary
Today I want to touch on the topic of recruiting for outside of the Cub/ Join Scout night arena and into the vast chasm of Boy Scout recruiting. This seems to often be a subject that rarely gets any face time when it comes to our membership agendas, as (and rightfully so) the prevailing theory is that if you get Cubs in early, they're more likely to stay in the program.
However, I find that this theory is not enough to sustain any type of growth within our organization and in our District. If we simply wait for boys to join our Troops, then what happens to those who we missed? What happens to those who were not interested in Cub Scouting? Does this mean that every boy is asked to join Scouting between the ages of 6 and 10 years old and that's it?
I have heard much discussion on this subject. What I'd like is to have your thoughts about what we can do better, both as a Council, District, and in your own Troops to put forth a truly concerted effort to recruit boys. I'd like this to remain positive and I'll ask that those who respond please refrain from finger pointing, i.e., "Council doesn't provide enough materials" or "Our feeder Pack doesn't feed into us anymore."
Thanks in advance for your participation and I look forward to reading your responses.
Gary
As requested, in response to a challenge posted on your blog, here are some ideas I have used (the first 5) and suggestions from Lise Baur that she gave at last nite’s Montgomery South Leaders Roundtable:
ReplyDelete1. Article in local community newsletter
2. Let Church members know about the Troop
3. Flyer at local middle school's Back to School Night
4. Boy-to-boy recruiting - most successful method for us
5. Web site that people can find by Googling
6. Pass out flyers @ sporting events
7. Flag ceremony for PTA
William Totten
Sm t763