Good Problem to Have With Cub Scout Day Camp

[Eagle92]

Well as you can guess, I got a problem with my day camp. I have more people registered for it than projected, and I still have 11 days left. While I am scrambling for more staffers now, I think this is a good problem. Need ideas to recruit more staff though.

 

I've talked to two of the CMs last nite and they are working on recruiting parents to help out a day or two. The other CMs will be contacted as well, but these two are on staff and hence the early calls. I've also sent out an email to the staff asking them to help recruit, and will be sending an email out to nite to everyone who has registered so far and have given me an email. Phone calls will follow for those without email. I will also be recontacting the troops and seeing if they may be able to help as I know things change, and maybe some of the college age leaders can help since they are now in town.

 

Long story short the day camp program has been very, very small. First year I was a DE only had 7 Cubs. Yep you heard me 7. Similar number the next year. That was 12+ years ago. Don't know about events between 2000 and 2008, but in 2009 we had 25, and that was a large crowd. In 2010 officially we had 38 (actually we had 42; have a feeling 4 were put on another camp's rooster)and as of today 54 for 2011.

 

So while 54 may be small potatoes for some folks, 54 is a good problem for us. Again any ideas to getting extra staff that I may have overlooked?

 

Thanks.

[shortridge]

Are there any OA members around for the summer? Any den chiefs free for a week? Can the local resident camp loan out any CITs or junior instructors, maybe rotating them through? Do you know any local teachers who could help out? Is there a Venturing Crew nearby that could lend a hand?

 

I assume you have all the core program staff - archery, BB, lifeguards, nature geeks - and are mostly looking for extra bodies to help with crowd control.

[SSScout]

Well, you have four requirements: Gotta be registered Scouters, gotta have a week off (or more!), gotta be fairly conversant or expert in their topic and gotta NOT mind acting silly. Hey, do you have a goodly number of Boy Scout Junior Staff to help? My Scout aides loved the little brother aspect of the CSDC.

So where to look. Training Committee, Council Program Chair have any connections? Is there an email newsletter that could send out a "EXTRA"? Phone calling is probably best at this stage. But who to call?

Check with the public works folks, paramedics, parks service, Nature centers, they might know some "civilian" people that could be enlisted.

Of course, you have already gone thru the Roundtable list...

Did I hear you say you ARE the DE? Was going to say contact him/her.

Go out of District... Contact your neighboring DEs... Is there any really big industries in the area interested in building the public goodwill? Or small industries? Maybe they could be persuaded to let a worker or two off to help. Any Scout people in their staff? Annual leave waived? Acknowledgement in the Scout world?

We had a template letter drafted to thank the boss for allowing the employee to come help CSDC, thus acknowledging the boss' high public spiritedness. Some of our DEs liked the idea, some considered it just an addition to their work load.

Need volunteers? go to the volunteer businesses. Ask the Park service for their volunteer coordinator. Bet they have one. Bet they know who does what, or could. Local VFDs? Local hospitals? Lions Club? Kiwanis? Rotary? Elks? AmLegion?

Oh, you do require the Cubs be accompanied by Den Walkers, yes? We require one per ten Cubs. Call each DW and check to expand from that crew.

 

54, eh? Congrats on building your program. The Cubs will have fun and mebbe learn something along the way, right?

 

Our District (soon to be beauracratically divided into three, see previous thread of two years ago) fields three CSDCs, each with over 200 Cubs in attendance.

Our biggest problem, and all three of the CSDC Directors agree on this, is that the Council ofice SAYS they will honor the deadline we set for registration, but then accepts fees and issues reciepts DAYS past the deadline. Makes it hard to plan and buy gear and supplies when on Thursday you have a number and then on the first Monday of camp, four days later, ten new Cubs show up with new paper work and receipts saying the Council office has accepted their money.

But your Council is sensitive to such things, yes?

It will work out. Always does.

YiS

KiSMiF

[Eagle92]

I'm going to be shaking the bushes again for staff. Crowd control is what I need. And I deliberately scheduled things so that IF we did not get enough staffers, I could use some of the key staff to fill in for a period or two in a different area. Still Want more people, plus isn't there a 1 adult staffer to every 4 kids guideline somewhere? I know I've seen it, just can't remember where, nor can I find it.

 

Youth staff is not problem, and in fact some of the dens have 2 DCs.

 

What's a deadline? Only deadline we have is early registration (1 month before camp starts) and day camp. Last year we had one person sign up on Wednesday! Yep it makes budgeting tough.

 

 

[ScoutNut]

Do you have your Day Campers sign up individually, or by Pack?

 

We have them sign up by Pack, and require enough adults to sign up with them to cover the 1:5 ratio. If someone wants to sign up individually, an adult is required to sign up with them.

 

Contact those last minute folks and let them know you need more adult volunteers.

[shortridge]

There is a mandatory resident camp standard of two adults per eight boys, per unit attending camp, but that doesn't apply to day camps.

 

The publication "Cub Scout Day Camp: An Administrative Guide for Local Councils" says: "Ten Campers to any one staff person at a time is a good ratio."

[Eagle92]

thanks all for the help. few comments and I got to run.

 

1) OA is AWESOME, and I do have Arrowmen helping out. PROBLEM with the OA is that a bunch are working summer camp. When the CA is the Shooting Sports dir. and wants an excellent staff for camp, he know how to get them before I do.

 

2) I am the former DE from way back when. Current DE is summer camp director and not much help. I'm the volunteer PD. CD is very detail and administrative oriented, but not a people person or program freak. So I am working on this through my core staff, especially the 3 CMs on staff

 

3)My district has some challenges. CS RTs are not well attended, and several units do not do anything with the district whatsoever. So getting scouts from those units was a great shocker.

 

4) Unfortunately it is all individual registrations, except for the one new pack that actually used the group registration form I created. This is a mixed blessing as I know they will be 6 fokls form their pack attedning. BUT their apps are missing at this time.

 

5) Thanks for the citation. Of course the one book I didn't have access to when looking for the info was the one having the source. Important lesson learned; NEVER TAKE YOUR NCS INFORMATION OUT OF THE BINDER AND USE IT INDIVIUDALLY.

 

Question, and I am sure it is in the book, is the 1:10 Staff:Cubs, or is it ADULT STAFF: Cubs. If youth staff are included, we are good.

 

Thanks and keep it coming.

[infoscouter]

The day camp Guide doesn't specify youth or adult staff when discussing ratios (and it only makes that one brief message).

 

If you can't find your paper copy - here's a link to the online version:

 

www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/13-33815.pdf

[CCbytrickery]

One thing our district came up with was that each pack needs to send one adult for every 5 scouts registered. Our pack had 5 scouts (4 of our Tigers/upcoming Wolves and one Webelo/upcoming W2), we were required to send one adult. But two of us went (myself and the Tiger/upcoming Wolf den leader aka my spouse).

 

Of course, our lifeguards quit the Sunday before camp started. To go work at the aquatics camp. For pay. did I mention the lifeguards were all Venture or Boy Scouts? Yeah, way to honor that commitment you made there guys.

 

 

[Austinole]

Our Day Camp policy is 1 volunteer per 4 scouts. Each Den had at least 3 adults supervising/leading.

[momof2cubs]

Eagle: our district and neighboring districts as well, register cubs with the pack. In other words, every pack has a registrar and gets all the registrations together from the boys, fills out a master list and then sends it in. The reason I am telling you this boring procedure is because another thing the district requires is a 1:4 of volunteers to scouts being sent to day camp. A pack MUST send in one adult volunteer per every 4 scouts they register. A neighboring district requires a 1:3 ratio.

 

I was the registrar for my pack this summer and I was forced to send e-mails to all the parents that had not volunteered and tell them that if we did not meet the ratio, some of their kids would not be able to attend. Yeah, rude, crass, maybe even mean, but it is what it is.

 

 

I don't know how common this is in other areas, but in our area we have come to this since we have had trouble explaining to parents that BSA does not, in fact, stand for Baby Sitters of America.

[SSScout]

Correction: That is one Den Walker per FIVE Cubs, (I said ten). Camp Staff is "as many as we can get". Tigers neeed their adult partner. The two can not be the same, the TAP cannot be counted as a DW, etc. Got that from my lovely wife/past CSDCDirector...

As the Scout Skills fella, I make sure the Den Walkers do not become Den Sitters at my station. They get up with their Cubs and tie the knots, throw the ropes, fold the flags, drag the Cubs up the slip and slide, walk with'em thru the compass course, and laugh with'em in the cheers and yells. And when my Scout Assistants are working with the Cubs, I'm schmoosing with the DWs.

"To the Queen! (drink glup, glub)"