Welcoming new families the right way can do a whole lot to strengthen your Cub Scout pack. Think about any clubs or organizations you’ve joined over your lifetime. Did you immediately feel welcome? Did you feel informed and get an overall understanding of the organization? Did you have the desire to get involved? If so, I bet that was an important factor in you sticking around!

A dozen years ago, my son attended his first Cub Scout den meeting. Within a month, we attended a pack meeting. At the fall campout the following weekend, the kids hiked, made a craft, and took an adorable group photo on an enormous sideways tree branch. The kids got dirty and had a blast. The parents got to interact and also had some fun!

My family had a great first impression and interaction with our pack. And now at 18, my son has earned his Eagle Scout rank, along with many wonderful life skills like first aid, swimming, cooking, and teamwork. Oh… and for getting his Eagle Scout, he certainly practiced his leadership skills! In other words, a great welcome goes a long way.

PS. This article is a guest post collaboration between Cub Scouting volunteer Jaci H and Cole 🙂

In this article, we’re going to describe the best way to welcome a new family into your Cub Scout pack. In doing research, we’ve narrowed it down to these key aspects: communicate, educate, and engage. We’ll also provide details to help you understand what we’ve learned!

Communicate With New Cub Scout Families

Make sure your Cub Scout pack practices good communication. Good communication means that most (and ideally all 😛 ) pack members know what is happening or know where to find that information.

This good communication should be a top priority in the pack. Depending on the size, skills, and traditions of your pack, your methods will vary. If one parent could oversee communications for the group, that would be extremely helpful!

As I researched for this article, I saw many modes of communication being used by packs. Many packs have their own website, some have a Facebook page, and others have both! If you need help with either of those, contact your local council for assistance. They’ll provide resources and help you stick to Scouts BSA brand guidelines.

Generally, I see that a website or Facebook page offers basic, core information about the pack. A Facebook page tends to have more posts from recent events. Through Facebook Messenger, anyone can easily send a message to the pack. This could be convenient for interested families as long as someone is responding! 😀

Helpful Links: This Scouting magazine article provides and shares feedback on some effective Scouting websites if you need tips to refresh a site or create a new one. With resources and templates from Scouts BSA, the US Scouting Service project also provides some valuable thoughts regarding planning and building a site.

As far as member-to-member communications, I saw a wide variety of applications, including the list below. Many have the ability to sync calendars with Google and to have separate chats for distinct groups. For example, you could create a chat for all den leaders, another for the pack committee, and another for all parents!

Band
Discord
GroupMe
Remind
Scoutbook
Slack

Scouting Experience: My son just earned his Eagle rank, but his troop had recently started using Discord. Just to give a real example, we have the following chats: general, committee, fundraising, and court of honor. Then, there are always chats for each upcoming event. Right now, we have one called Scouting 101 and another named Kenny Grove Park Pre-camporee.

So, we’ve touched upon websites, Facebook pages, and member-to-member communications. What is the point of all that regarding a new member? A website or Facebook page is great for providing basic information about Cub Scouts, your pack’s meeting dates/times, and a calendar of events.

Remember, consistency is key with member-to-member communication. I would recommend that you stick to one platform. If you can do that, folks will be trained on where to find information. You don’t want to have some folks going to Scoutbook to RSVP for events and others going to Band! Be consistent in letting families know where to go for what.

Educate New Cub Scout Families

Now that we’ve touched upon where and how your pack should communicate, let’s discuss how to educate incoming Scouts — as well as potential new Scouts. Typically, an interaction with a new family happens in one of the following ways:

Scout brings a friend to a pack event.
Interested families research Scouts and contact a leader or attend a meeting.
Interested families participate in a pack recruitment event.

Scenario 1 is probably the best one: when a Scout brings a friend to a pack event. That means that the Scout is happy enough to talk to friends about what they’re doing and get friends excited enough to want to check out the pack! Word of mouth is always great for “business.” 😉

In Scenario 2, when a new family attends a meeting, pack members should be informed in advance by the leader who knows the family is planning to attend. (Remember when we said good communication is a priority?) Finally, through Scenario 3, people are coming to an event that you are specifically holding to entice them to join your pack. That brings us to the Enticement Packet…

The Enticement Packet

Once families from any of the Scenarios 1-3 arrive at your pack, they should receive an Enticement Packet. The purpose of this packet is to do as it says: entice families to want to join. It should have just the right amount of information to engage, but not overwhelm those families!

Most important in your Enticement Packet is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page (single- or double-sided) using information from helpful sites such as these:

A FAQ from Scouts BSA
Cub Scout-Specific FAQ
A local Cub Scout group with a nice website FAQ (and yes, you could also put this information on your website!)

Be sure to keep the information as current and accurate as possible. Your FAQ should answer the following:

What is Cub Scouts (the mission, Scout Law, and Scout Oath)
Who can join Cub Scouts (ages 5-10 and quick overview of how kids are grouped by grades to work on age-related adventures and skills)
When your pack/dens meets (day/frequency)
Where you meet
Why Scouting matters (1 and 5 could be covered together)
A contact name and number if someone wants to ask a question
Overall cost to participate

Other items that should be in your Cub Scout Enticement Packet include the following:

Current Cub Scout pack calendar. A generic one could work if you follow a general pattern for certain events (e.g. January: Pinewood Derby; February: Blue & Gold celebration)
Expectations of parents and list of volunteer roles. Present this piece in a way that makes it enticing and inviting to be involved!
QR code that leads to your pack website where you also have a link to the application for Cub Scouts.

If your Enticement Packets include the items just described, they should have enough information for families to understand the activities, mission, and time commitment of being a part of your pack. A packet should be given to anyone from Scenarios 1-3.

The Welcome Kit

When a family has committed to joining your pack and completed an application, you’ll want to provide them with a Welcome Kit. I have seen online Welcome Kits, such as this one from Pack 488, as well as physical ones. Here are recommendations for what to include no matter which format you choose:

A welcome letter from the Cubmaster or Committee Chair adds a nice personal touch. Pack 488 has a good example on its website. This pack also has a great welcome letter that is emailed within 48 hours!
The official Scouts BSA’s Welcome Packet. Although I found what I think is a better version of the last page of the packet from Scouting magazine.
Information about your pack’s main fundraising activities and key dates

If a family did not receive an Enticement Packet, you should be sure to add those items to their Welcome Kit. You will definitely have folks who come to join your pack without being enticed! I’m sure you have many examples of families like that. 😀

New Parent Orientation

Host an orientation after large recruitment efforts to help educate new families. Distribute the Welcome Kits at this meeting, which will cover the same topics. Parents will be able to refer to the kit later when they have a question.

Stephanie A. from a pack in Winder, GA said that a new member kit is a must. “Also, a new parent orientation at the start of the season is very helpful.” Be sure to have several experienced parents and Cub Scouts there to help answer questions and make the families feel welcomed into your pack!

I came across this wonderful example of an orientation kit from a group in Pennsylvania. In addition to the items we’ve mentioned already, this group included permission slips and health forms. As Scouts BSA undergoes program changes, be sure to keep parents (old and new) in the loop on changes and direct them to training as it’s available.

Scouts BSA has a cute 30-second video that describes Scouts:

Engage New Cub Scout Families

You’ve communicated. You’ve educated (and will continue to do so). Now it’s time to engage those new parents! Every adult should complete the Family Talent Survey so you know special areas where their skills and interests might come in handy in the Cub Scouts program.

You could include this survey in your Welcome Kit, give to parents at the first den meeting, or email to all new parents. Or maybe you use a combination of two of those methods. This form is important and helpful to the functioning of your pack!

Scouter Tip: Have veteran parents serve as mentors for new families. Connecting new families with someone they can easily ask questions of is a great way to get a new family acclimated and again, help them feel a sense of belonging!

Cub Scouts whose parents get involved and engaged will be more successful. As one parent said, “Volunteer and have fun with your kids. You might love it also!” My husband stayed involved and has many terrific memories from those years he served as Cubmaster for the pack.

Conclusion

According to a survey shared by Scouting magazine regarding the key drivers of satisfaction of Cub Scout parents, Scout leadership was one of them. If your pack leadership does an excellent job of communicating, educating, and engaging parents, you’ll fulfill this driver of satisfaction!

Another driver of satisfaction was parents feeling a sense of belonging. 😀 We think the elements described within this article will also help you achieve that. We encourage you to watch (or listen to) the full Cub Chat video (30:09) about what parents want:

We hope this article has inspired you to improve the way your pack welcomes new members. We also have many other articles related to the subjects we’ve touched upon:

Be sure to check them out if they’re topics that will help you to become an even better Cub Scout pack supporter! Best wishes as you navigate the Scouting journey with your Cub. 🙂

How To Welcome New Families To Your Cub Scout Pack: A Complete Guide