Use Pack’s Summer Events for More Than Fun!

Every summer, our pack earns the National Summertime Pack Award.  And our summer events do triple duty! 

In addition to qualifying us for the award, we open up the events to non-Scout families in the community as a “service” for our community.  However, we don't count this as a community service project–more an opportunity for some positive publicity.

We also use the activities to recruit new Cub Scouts.  If a family is interested in Cub Scouting, we'll talk to them about our pack.

During April, we discuss which activities we would like to do.  Typically, we ask that one rank plan June's activities, another plan July and another plan August.  This shares the responsibility so that no one person has to do everything.

We hold the events on the lawn of our chartering organization church.  After we decide on the events and the dates, we schedule them with the church.  Next, we have a flyer created.

One of our Cub Scout moms is a graphic designer, and she does an awesome flyer for us every year.  I love this one because the boys look so cool standing by a creek!

Our principal sends out a weekly email to all of the parents, and she allows us to post Cub Scout news in her community events section.  We try to complete the flyer so we can have her include it in a newsletter before school ends.  We encourage parents to print the flyer and keep it for free summer activity ideas.

We share the flyer on social media and emphasize that these are free and open to the public. We try to share it multiple times–especially on Facebook groups.  Most of our neighborhoods have a group page that we post the flyer on.  Some years, we have the flyers printed and hang them in restaurants and businesses around our little town.

We have had several families join Cub Scouts after attending one of our events, so we consider them a success!

Do you open up your summer events to the community?  How does that work for you?

Yours in Scouting,
Sherry

P.S.  Read more about the National Summertime Pack Award!