Communications with Parents

[SctDad]

I seem to be having problems with communicating with my packs parents. I have tried e-mail, starting a web group, and have found that the only way that I can get messages to most of them is to try calling, which only works some of the time, and when I leave messages, it can take days to get a response.

 

Does anyone else have these issues with communications?

 

Does anyone have any pointers?

 

 

[fgoodwin]

See if anyone on the Pack Committee is handy with WORD (or better yet, Publisher) and would be willing to put together a monthly pack newsletter. In my son's old pack, the newsletter was done by the CC, and when I took over as CC, it was my pleasure to also take over the newsletter, until I found another volunteer who was skilled at Publisher.

 

To save postage, we printed the newsletter and had it available at each pack meeting -- and parents never failed to get one, because each month, we listed the awards earned by each boy, by den.

 

We also had den news, a calendar of upcoming activities, a short status of of our bank account, a CM corner, announcements of pack & district activities, and anything else anyone wanted to publish.

[SctDad]

I have tried this, but it seemed like no one looked at it. It seems like they just took it home and tossed it away.

 

But I do plan on putting together a new one this month.

[evmori]

If you are sending e-mails & making phone calls & have a newsletter in circulation, it sounds like the problem lies with the parents not your communication skills! Ya can lead those ponies to the trough but you can't make them stick their heads in!

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[msnowman]

Fgoodwin is right about Publisher. I used to do the Pack newsletter as a Word doc - okay, but not real special. In September I finally took the time to learn how to use Publisher - it made such a difference. 1st - I changed it from "newsletter" (how boring - who wants to read the news?) to Pack 123 Bugle (because we are "Trumpeting" news lol). I changed the format, use a lot of graphics and articles. Each den gets a section to put their news in. Some months I publish song lyrics or pencil games. Sometimes its jokes, etc. Various boys have written articles to share in it, which I put in unedited except for spelling. Scans of Hockey Team autographs have gone in to - whatever the boys like. The calendar goes in as an insert (calendar is also done in Publisher).

 

If you have Publisher and would like to see a sample set up PM me with your email address, I'd be happy to share what we have.

 

YiS

Michelle

[scoutldr]

This was frustrating to me as well. As District Camping Chair, I would prefer using e-mail because I didn't have time to spend evening after evening playing phone tag with people. A simple request, such as "where is your troop going to summer camp this year" would go ignored. Out of all the units in the district, I would be lucky to get one or two responses. I never understood that. I tend to think the attitude was "none of your durn business", when they got a request from a silver looper.

[ScoutNut]

Keep the Packwide e-mail and newsletter, but if you are calling everyone, don't do it yourself. Utilize your Den Leaders.

 

Den Leaders see, or at least have more contact with, their families each week. They can ask parents to stay at the beginning or end of a meeting to get/give the info you need.

 

Den newsletters are also a great way for the Den Leaders to keep their families in the loop on Pack activities.

 

[infoscouter]

Publisher is great, but not everyone has access to the full Microsoft Suite.

 

For Scouters without extensive computer skills, National provides a fill in the blanks template on-line for us to use:

http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/newslettertemplate.aspx

[fgoodwin]

infoscouter: what a great resource!

 

And ScoutNut mentioned DLs, which I completely forgot about: DLs see the families every week or so, so they are a great channel to get info out to the families.

 

Our pack used a "pack box" kinda like the RT box: instead of a folder for each pack, we had a folder for each den, so announcements, newsletters, etc. all were provided in the folder for the DL, who in turn handed the stuff out to the families.

 

The box was managed by the CC (but really, it could be anybody) and at each committee meeting, the DLs would pick up their stuff, then distribute to their families at the next den meeting.

 

In a large pack, there would be way too many families for a CM to contact each individually, so I think a Pack file box is a great way to go.