Get the OUTING back into Scouting! The North Shore District saw a marked decrease in enrollment in our Scouting programs for the 2021 recharter due to the impact of COVID on group activities, but we have a great opportunity now to rebound. Summertime is a great time for Scouting units to grow their membership and Cub Scout Packs can earn the Summertime Pack Award in the process. It is July already so you must already have completed a Pack event for June to earn the award, but even if you haven’t, the fun can be its own reward. Two out of three ain’t bad.
For each summer month, June, July, and August, ask your Scouts to invite a non-Scout friend to join them at a summer activity. BONUS: If the friend joins the unit, the Scout earns the Recruiter strip to be worn on their uniform. You can also advertise your event on community forums and social media. This can really work… it has worked… so don’t miss the opportunity to grow your unit while delivering the best program you can for your Scouts.
Schedule a Bicycle Rodeo. This is especially good for Cub Scouts but is good for younger Scouts BSA as well. A Bicycle Rodeo is a derby event that can be conducted at very little cost. Events may include a safety brief / inspection from your local PD, a Turtle Drag Race, an obstacle course, supervised free ride, simple bicycle repairs workshop, and other activities. Use sidewalk chalk to mark boundaries or use inexpensive traffic cone sets that are available online. Folding chairs and surveyors tape (available at nearly any home improvement store) can also be used. All you need now is adequate adult supervision and you have your first Summertime recruiting event completed.
There are a lot of resources available for conducting a Bicycle Rodeo: Pack 170’s Bicycle Rodeo, Scouting Magazine, the Texas State Bicycle Rodeo, Tiger Adventure, Scouter Mom, Lake Minnetonka District, Pinterest, and so many more.
How about a “Hike and Fish” event at a community venue like the Williamson County Southwest Regional Park? Take your Scouts and visitors on a 1, 2 or 3 mile hike to a fishing spot and have some great fun. To make it easier, start at the fishing location so you don’t need to carry all of your fishing gear on the hike and take a circular route back to your starting point. Or a volunteer adult can transport the fishing gear to the fishing spot and meet everyone there. Whatever works best for you. Do a little homework in advance so you can tell the Scouts about the things they see along the way.
Resources for “Hike and Fish” include: Mountain Lion, My Tiger Jungle, Tigers in the Wild, Paws on the Path, Call of the Wild, A Bear Goes Fishing, Fur, Feathers, or Ferns, Webelos Walkabout, Into the Woods, Into the Wild, and more.
For a very small cost (price of a movie) and a little bit of tech you can engage with your Scouts and the community with a Movie Night. Choose an upcoming release movie that is good for Scouts. An upcoming release allows time to plan the event and ensures that a lot of the community haven’t seen it yet. Now get the word out well in advance to draw the biggest crowd. With the late sunset and the summer heat, an indoor venue is recommended but it can be done outdoors as well. Have enough light to clearly see what is happening in the room / area to be sure the kids are safe and having fun.
Encourage families to bring snacks and drinks to enjoy during the movie. Blankets and camp chairs make great seating, indoors or out. When the show is over, have a group discussion with the participants about how the movie related to the Scout Oath and Scout Law. And, don’t forget to clean up before you leave; A Scout always leaves a place better then s/he found it.
There aren’t a lot of “How-To’s” out there for this one because it is a pretty straight forward event, but Bryan on Scouting can be helpful when selecting a movie to show. Here are some suggestions to help guide the discussion about the movie: Ask, “Which character was most Scout-like?” and “Which character was least Scout-like?”, why? Step through each point of the Scout Law and pull examples from the movie where characters acted in accordance with that point and examples where they didn’t. Discuss the turning point of the movie and how the principles of Scouting played a key role in making the right decision.
All three of these events are low cost and high fun for your Scouts and your community. Do you have some other ideas that could make a great unit and Community event? We would love to hear about it at communications@northshoredistrict.org. Let your neighborhood know that Scouting is active and open to all families.
