Boys in every elementary school in the district are given the opportunity to join the local Cub Scout Pack in the form of a School Night for Scouting in the Fall.  Over one thousand boys accept the call to join our program by visiting one of our School Night programs.  In order for these boys to be given the opportunity to experience being a Cub Scout, we need to have every Pack in the district schedule a School Night for the school that they serve.  Packs also have the opportunity of holding a Spring informational night to help parents make a decision to join Cub Scouting.

Letter from the Del-Mi District to Cubmasters and Committee Chairs:

Thank you for your continued service to the youth of our community by serving in your current capacity as a pack leader. Please know that your work is truly making a difference in the lives of the boys in your Pack.

Spring Recruitment Initiative

Based on suggestions from both parents and leaders, the Del-Mi District is making some changes to this year’s Cub Scout recruitment campaign. In the past, we have started the recruitment process in the fall and finished it at the end of the calendar year. This year we would like to try something new—we would like recruitment to begin in the spring and culminate in the fall at the traditional School Night.

It is our hope a few things will be accomplished through this process:

• Families will be given the opportunity to join Scouting at the same time as other youth organizations are forming.
• Parents will have more time to decide whether Scouting is right for their family.
• Packs can identify and train potential leaders over the summer before the fall School Night.
• Boys that join in the spring will have the opportunity to participate in a district organized Fishing Derby and evening at Summer Camp. These are in addition to any summer pack activities.
• Your fall program will be less disrupted by new boys joining after your fall School Night.
• More boys will have the opportunity to join Scouting!

Fall School Night for Scouting Campaign

Last year, we made some changes to the fall School Night campaign that was received with overwhelmingly positive reviews from both new and existing leaders. The largest changes were district suggested dates for each pack’s School Night and community trainings for new leaders a week following the recruitment event.  We intend on continuing these initiatives again this year. We are also excited to let you know that many more changes are in store for this year’s fall recruitment including a new campaign theme called “Blast off into Cub Scouting.” More information about the Fall School Night for Scouting campaign will be shared in the coming months by the council.

A schedule of suggested School Night dates for this fall is below. We have done our best to ensure that the recruitment night is at least one week after the first day of school. While we realize there may be conflicts with some schools’ schedules, please make every effort to secure the date for your Pack listed below. Please begin contacting schools now to add the date to the calendar (if allowed by the school). You should reserve both the gymnasium and cafeteria from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. with an anticipated start of 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. Because most Packs have not yet planned their calendar, we hope the Pack schedule can accommodate this date. We would also suggest holding a new parent orientation meeting within two weeks of the fall joining night to help new parents understand more about Cub Scouting.

When contacting the school, be sure to ask for the dates of the ice cream social, meet the teacher night, or any other informational events are scheduled for the 2009-2010 school year. We recommend the pack make a display and have a space reserved at those events to advertise the Cub Scouting program to potential new Scouting families. We have found this method to be the most effective way of letting parents know that Scouting is available to boys at the school. Last year, one pack in the district more than doubled their school night attendance and recruitment as a result of having a display at their ice cream social.

We look forward to working with you and all of the volunteers in your Pack to make this a successful year for Scouting in Hamilton and Tipton Counties. Most importantly though, know that without your efforts many boys would not have the opportunity to participate in Scouting in your school.

Yours in Scouting,

Suggestions for a successful recruitment from the Del-Mi District:

The following suggestions may help your pack in putting together a successful recruitment campaign.

These resources will help you to implement some of the suggestions listed above:

• Council Resources from www.crossroadsbsa.org:
• Cub Scout Pack Program Planning:  This page includes a program planning worksheet in Excel format that will walk you through the process of planning the pack's next year of activities and the budget necessary to make these events happen.
  
  
• National Scouting Resources from www.scouting.org:
• ScoutParents.org: The ScoutParents mission is to develop and implement methods which encourage and empower Scouting participants to help maximize the number of dedicated Scouting youth and parents and mentors as dedicated Scouting volunteers who participate with their Scouts.
  
  
  
• Fast Tracks: A series of den meeting plans (two den meetings per month) designed to be used in conjunction with the youth handbooks. By following the prescribed den meeting plans as written, the boys will fulfill the requirements necessary to earn the badge of rank by early spring.
  
  
  
• Newsletter, Poster, and Calendar Templates: A monthly newsletter and an annual pack calendar can be two of the most important tools in publicizing the pack's excitement and fun year-round. At pack meetings, you can put up a poster-style version of the newsletter to keep everyone informed.

• The Pack's First Three Months (13-010): This brochure was developed to help leaders get a new or reorganized unit off to a great start.

• Cub Scout Den Leader Kit (13-134):The Cub Scout Leader Kit is provided by local councils to Cub Scout leaders in the fall of each year to help them get their units off to a successful start.

• Program Ideas for Your First Month of Den Meetings (13-232): If there are any new boys in your Wolf, Bear, or Webelos den, use these program ideas to help them earn their Bobcat badge, which every boy in Cub Scouting must complete.

• Cub Scout Program Helps (34304): For your convenience, the current and next month's program helps (from the annual Program Helps publication) can be downloaded from this Web site.

• Cub Scout Program Themes: Here's a look ahead at the monthly program themes for Cub Scouting for the next few years.

• Annual Pack Budget Plan ("Plan Your Ideal Year of Scouting"): This plan is geared to help you provide funding for you pack's annual program, obtain sufficient resources for activities, and involve the youth members and their families in the planning process
  

• New Leader Brochures:

• This series of brochures was designed to provide an at-a-glance orientation for new Cub Scout leaders.

• Tiger Cub Den Leader (13-233) [PDF]

• Cub Scout Den Leader (13-239) [PDF]

• Webelos Den Leader (13-247) [PDF]

• Cubmaster (13-237) [PDF]

• Pack Committee Member (13-240) [PDF]

• The Pack Trainer (13-152)

 If you have questions, please contact the School Night Chair or one of the District Professionals.