Where do dens meet?

[mbscoutmom]

Facilities for our den meetings have been a constant problem ever since I became CC. We previously had been meeting in a building that is also used for CCD. Last year they converted some of the rooms into offices and then told us we'd have to meet somewhere else this year. They gave us the choice of meeting in the Parish Hall or in another building that had previously been used as office space. Since it would be very hard to have 5 den meetings going on in one large open space, we worked out a deal with the troop--they use the Parish Hall for troop meetings and we use the other building for den meetings; we switch with them once a month for pack meetings.

 

It sounded like a good plan until we found out the condition of the building. The previous occupants had left a huge mess behind. Then it was used to store garage sale merchandise all Summer. We finally got in to clean it up in late August, barely 2 weeks before School Night. Once the mess was cleaned up, there was still the problem that the roof leaks whenever it rains and the Church can't afford to fix it.

 

There have been numerous other problems with this building. At one point they told us we'd have to clean it ourselves (vacuum, clean bathrooms, etc.) They also filled one large room with stored items, so that we've had to squeeze into the smaller rooms. Now they've given two rooms, including one large one that two dens had been sharing, to another organization. We'll have to squeeze 5 dens into the 4 smaller rooms.

 

The last straw came yesterday. I happened to call the Church office about another matter, and found out that the new ministry had not finished moving into the rooms they're supposed to use, and had left things in the other rooms as well. The rooms we were supposed to use last night were unusable. If I hadn't happened to call, we would have shown up last night and had no rooms to meet in! After I complained, the stuff was moved and we were able to meet as planned. However, I'm fed up with this!

 

That

[mbscoutmom]

I hadn't meant to post that yet. (BTW, how do you edit a post?)

 

I was just coming to my question: where else could we look for a meeting place for our dens? The school rooms are used for CCD classes almost every night. We're going to look into using them on Thursdays, the one night CCD doesn't meet, but some of the parents really like meeting on Tuesdays. Do you think we might be allowed to meet in a public school even though we're chartered by a church? Are there other possible places to meet besides people's homes? (We've never had much luck getting people to volunteer their homes for meetings.)

[SemperParatus]

When I was Cubmaster and Den Leader, most of our dozen dens met on different nights at different places. Some met in homes, some at churches, some at schools, one at a community center, one at a business, one at a fire station. Oddly, none of the dens met at the church (not the CO) we had our pack meetings.

[gwd-scouter]

mbscoutmom,

 

Your situation with the CO is not unique. I had similar problems when I was Cubmaster with our CO using rooms that I thought were set aside for us on Monday nights. Also, we would routinely get bumped from using the Fellowship Hall for Pack meetings, even after it had been on the church calendar for months. Sometimes, we wouldn't even find out about it until we showed up for the Pack meeting.

 

I've never heard of any restrictions on where dens hold meetings. When I was Cubmaster, most of the dens met at the Church on Mondays. However, some of the den leaders prefered to hold meetings at their homes; some for convenience, others because they wanted to have them on a different night.

 

I wonder why your den leaders are reluctant to hold meetings in their own homes. Seems like that would be very convenient for them. Good luck with your Pack and hope you're able to help everyone find a suitable meeting place.

 

 

[msnowman]

Good luck with getting your meeting needs met. Have you talked to your COR? Perhaps he/she could be helpful bridging the gap between Pack and Church. Our Pack is very lucky in that our COR is a very active Scouter, involved with both Troop and Pack, as well as holding a District position.

 

gwd wondered why den leaders are reluctant to hold meetings in their homes. I wanted to point out that not all den leaders have homes that are conducive to have a group of young, active boys in them. I would hold a meeting in my home only as an absolute last resort. I have rugs throughout the house and it is far easier to wash the industrial tile floors in the Parish Hall if paint/food/glue/etc gets spilled on the floors than it would be to clean the same out of my rugs. And yes, that makes a difference. Add to that the small, breakable, collectible antiques in our living room and it is not a space that is Cub scout friendly.

 

YMMV

Michelle

[mbscoutmom]

Michelle, our COR does not actively help us; however, the troop's COR looks out for the pack as well as the troop. That's why it's so frustrating: she met with church leaders and the new ministry leaders and had everything worked out. Still, no one even informed us that the rooms were unusable until I happened to inquire.

 

 

[ScoutNut]

You have 5 dens & 4 rooms. Why do you have to all meet on the same day, at the same time? Why don't your dens meet on different days? That way you could even use 1 room for Pack storage only & still have plenty of room for the dens to meet.

 

Some of our Cub Dens meet in our Parish School on various evenings & on Saturday, some meet in a Den Leader's home in the evening. One Den meets on the same evening as our BS Troop, but they meet earlier & are finishing up as the BS's are starting so it works well for their Den Chief. There are no Den meetings on the evenings we hold the monthly Pack meeting.

 

[mbscoutmom]

Scoutnut, we don't have to all meet at the same place and time, but that's what everyone prefers. It also makes it easier for turning in money, forms, passing out info, etc. Especially since we get very poor attendance of leaders at committee meetings. If I didn't touch base with some leaders at den meetings, I would only see them at pack meetings.

 

I've suggested that den leaders talk to the parents in their den and decide whether or not they want to switch to a different night. It might be difficult to switch in the middle of the school year, though, since the boys may have already signed up for sports or other activities.

 

Meeting on different nights doesn't solve the real problem, though, which is that we can't depend on those rooms being useable even though we're on the schedule to use them.

[gwd-scouter]

mbscoutmom,

 

From what you've already described, it doesn't sound like the problem you have with your CO is going to get solved. It seems they are unwilling to work with you on setting aside usable rooms for your den meetings.

 

It's true, having all the dens meet in the same place on the same night makes it much easier to give out information, collect dues etc. But, many Packs operate with meetings in different locations on different nights and do quite well. It just takes a bit more effort on the part of the Committee, the Cubmaster and the Den Leaders. Perhaps you could have your Committee meetings following your pack meetings. That way you'll probably have no trouble getting everyone together since they are already there.

 

msnowman. I never had a den meeting in my LIVING room either. In my earlier days in Cub Scouting and while raising two very active boys, my house was furnished with sturdy and fairly indestructable furniture, old carpeting or tile floors in every room but the living room. That's why I had no problem holding den meetings there. Games in the den, crafts in the kitchen. Same held true for the other parents in our Pack that held meetings in their houses.

 

mbscoutmom: May I also suggest that kitchens, back porches, garages, basements, or just outside when weather permits - all can be excellent places within one's home to hold a den meeting with active, messy young boys.

 

[SR540Beaver]

When I was a Wolf, we met at Mrs Huddleston's house on 52rd street right after school. When I was a Bear, we met at Mrs Phillip's house on 58th street. When I was a Webelos, we met at Mr Ryland's house on 51st street. We walked to all of those locations. We had our Pack meetings at our elementary school on 52nd street. Of course, that was 40 years ago. It is a little difficult to meet right after school anymore with two working parents and safety concerns. But perhaps your best solution is to have home den meetings. Then the den leaders don't have to "travel" to the den meeting every week and might be more apt to attend a committee meeting once a month to get Pack info.

[kittle]

Our dens all meet at our CO's building. We also meet on the same night, but we only have 11 boys in our Pack.

 

Meeting in the leader's home is not always an option. I live in the country and most of our boys walk to the meeting because parents don't want to be bothered.

 

Is there any other church in town that would let you use their basement or something. Maybe another organization that wouldn't mind pitching in. There are a couple of churches in our town that would let us use their building if we needed to.

[Lisabob]

mbscoutmom,

 

Check with other service organizations in your town as well as your public school system and other churches to see about finding a new meeting place. One pack around here is sponsored by a church but meets at a public school because of the lack of appropriate space over at the church. In another pack that is sponsored by a public school PTO, one of the dens meets at a local church and another den meets at a different public school, because that's where they could find an open room on the days/times they wanted to meet. My son's troop is chartered by one service club, holds its troop meetings at a public middle school, and has committee meetings in the basement of another service club's building.

 

When my husband and I were DLs we tried to avoid holding den meetings in our home where possible too. Some living situations just do not lend themselves to hosting a herd of youngsters on a weekly basis. We didn't usually find it difficult to locate a more appropriate meeting location; it may just take you a few extra phone calls.

 

Lisa'bob

A good old bobwhite too!

[jens3sons]

Mbscoutmom,

 

Our pack is chartered by the Elk's Lodge (now there was no way we could possibly all fit in the Elk's Lodge for a pack meeting, and now their building is torn down to make a new one) We have always met at the school, and have been chartered by someone else for the longest time. The school (especially if it is the school a good portion of the pack attends) should not deny you usage of the building, however there is a lot of paperwork to fill out usually. I can tell you the PTA ALWAYS gets precidence of usage of the school, so sometimes a different night needs to be figured out, but there is usually a lot of notice before hand and can be worked around. The other benefit is that there is no charge if the school is used on a school day and janitors are already working. My point is, just because the CO is your CO doesn't mean you need to meet where the CO is. If you are determined to stick with meeting where your CO is, maybe it is time to find a new CO. Good Luck!

 

[mbscoutmom]

One question about meeting in a school: are they likely to let us use a classroom, or some other room such as the cafeteria? It's much better to have each den meet in its own room rather than having several dens try to share a larger space. (The noise can be deafening!)

 

I've been thinking about asking a nearby public school if we could meet there, since their pack could not get going this year and several of their students joined our pack.

 

Of course, each den will decide where and when they want to meet--I just want to give them all the possible options.

[SR540Beaver]

Not to rock the boat or anything, but you guys do realize that part of the charter agreement is that the CO will provide a safe setting with adequate space don't you? Since it can be a tough proposition to find new CO's, I'm sure that the DE and district staff are not going to run down to the CO and give them a hard time about not meeting their obligation. Hopefully it can be approached in a positive and diplomatic way. Bottom line, the CO has agreed to provide you space that meets certain standards of safety. If not, they are not fulfilling the obligation they agreed to undertake.