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HELPING the PACK

What family / parental involvement is expected?

Scouts is an opportunity to for those that want to engage deeply with kids on how they grow into adults. To keep having fun as a year-round parent-led program, we ask every family to help at the pack level at least once in the year, and to help at the den level at least once in the year. Throughout the year, we check in with families to see who can help with individual events. If you have ideas on how to improve our program (e.g., recommended guest speakers, new weekend events, etc.), please talk to any leader to share!

Helping the Pack

Each family should help with at least one of our pack-level events. This means being part of a group that helps execute the event. Tasks might include buying necessary supplies (reimbursed by the treasurer), decorating or cleaning up for an event, managing event RSVPs, etc. Fortunately, we have a lot of past notes on how to plan each of these events in our pack files, so you won’t be starting from scratch. Here are the key events we need most help with, and their approximate timeframes:

Recruitment - Aug-Sep
Fall Campout – Sep-Oct
Scouting for Food - Oct-Nov
Ice Skating and Toy Drive – Nov-Dec
Pinewood Derby - Jan-Feb
Blue and Gold Celebration - Jan-Feb
Spring Campout - Mar-Apr
Summer Activities - May-Jul
Monthly hike coordination - Aug-May

Helping the Den

Each family should expect to help with at least one of the den meetings. Den leaders and assistant den leaders are the primary organizers of the den meetings, but for certain den meetings will need help in buying supplies, coordinating external trips like hikes, or even bringing snacks. Some dens meet at JMCC, while others meet at the homes of den members, and need help in hosting from families. Finally, while most den meetings are drop-off meetings (Grades 2-5), there will also be specific meetings where den leaders may need added support, like knife safety meetings. Your den leaders will be in touch with you on ways you can help, as well as which den meetings you should plan to attend.

Helping as a Registered Leader

The most impactful way to get involved is as a registered leader. Every registered leader in the pack started just like you, as a parent curious about helping and deciding to step forward. You don’t have to have any background in Scouts to help – the pack has tons of resources, and the Scouting America program is designed to be run by volunteers.

If you'd like to discuss becoming a registered leader, please reach out to any leader, or the Cubmaster at cubmaster@pack296cubs.org.

Two-deep Leadership and Scout Safety

In Scouts we follow a "two-deep leadership" model. This means that at all pack organized activities there must be two registered leaders present, including one female leader when female Scouts are present. This is one more reason why our registered leaders are so important, and why you should consider registering.

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