trailwalker Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Hey folks, have you been seeing families dropping out due to National's reaffirmation of their membership standards? We've heard from about 8% of our families that said they weren't returning because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutNut Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 No. Folks drop out for a lot of reasons. Membership standards they knew about when they joined are not one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailwalker Posted September 7, 2012 Author Share Posted September 7, 2012 Well its the reason these families have been giving to me when they leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fehler Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 That's not a reason, its an excuse. A handy one, but a well-run, open program can succeed despite what some lawyer in Texas spouts about "teh Gazes". Either something else isn't up to "fun standards", or you're just seeing natural drift-in/drift-out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basementdweller Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Interesting that Trailwalker has only posted in topics related to gays in the bsa. I am going to say he or she is trolling... 8% of the boys who haven't returned so does that mean....1 of the 8 boys who quit??? Familys quit for a variety of reasons.... Some just need an excuse... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle732 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Not one family has mentioned this at all to me even though our newspaper (Baltimore Sun) just ran an article on the front page Sunday edition on an Eagle turning in his medal. I've been recruiting boys into the program for over 10 years and I've never had a parent say to me that they would join except for BSA's policy on gays. Nor have I ever had on quit over this issue either. It's not an issue for me and it's not an issue for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00Eagle Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 >>Membership standards they knew about when they joined are not one of them. I'll disagree. Not everyone knows exactly what the membership standard are as it's seldom talked about. The Ohio case and the resulting BSA press release got a lot of media attention (probably because the media wanted it to get attention). But in the preceding years it hadn't gotten much air time as the Dale case was long past. Down in NC back in 2002, we had a family leave after a Blue and Gold Dinner FOS presentation when it was mentioned that the Triangle United Way was no longer supporting the council except through directed donations. They inquired as to why and left after being told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packsaddle Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Good question. I'll send an email out to all the families in the CO and inform them of the issue. I'll get back to you if I hear anything from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSScout Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Like BDweller asked: Trailwalker: Is that 8% of your whole unit (Cub Pack? BSTroop?) is quitting because of homosexual policy or religious policy or 8% of those quitting do so because of etc. etc.? I have only been told (by one family) that they dropped from Scouting after they read the fine print on the back of the application about religious belief. I have known others that never joined because of the "Religious Faith Declaration", and the homosexual policy they read about in the papers. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutNut Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 >>">>Membership standards they knew about when they joined are not one of them. .... I'll disagree. Down in NC back in 2002, we had a family leave after a Blue and Gold Dinner FOS presentation when it was mentioned that the Triangle United Way was no longer supporting the council except through directed donations." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamanceScouter Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I wonder how many families actually sign up their sons at least partly due to the BSA's stance on homosexual leaders and belief in a god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catdaddyxx Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I'm glad it hit the media. We have seen growth because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callooh! Callay!1428010939 Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 No. But around 83.5% of folks have become about 9.58% less active lately. Overall that's just seven millionths of a percentage point less than the 8% drop in participation you've observed. Could it just be coincidence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisabob Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I see no reason to ridicule the OP. A serious question was asked based on his or her personal experience. Answer it or don't. Around here, I do not know any individuals who say they've been motivated to join or to drop out THIS YEAR based on this issue [i do know families on both sides who have said this in the past, though, and I have no reason to believe they were just making it up.] However, most of my contact lately has been with older youth and their families, not cub families. I think this issue might be more consequential for cub packs (in either direction) because that's the stage where people are just getting to know the BSA, habits and affiliations are being established, and also where parents have the most say in what organizations their kids will be part of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polaris Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 We've had 5 scouts drop out of our Pack due to: 1) 2 moved out-of-state 2) 1 transferred to an LDS Pack after his Tiger advancement 3) 1 due to daily sports activities 4) 1 due to single mom taking courses for her Masters degree At our Parent Orientation, I gave the parents a brief run down on BSA's position on religion. We are not chartered to a church, but to a civic organization, which may be a pro or con for some parents. From what I've heard from our families, they want family fun and character development for their boys. Everything else is a distraction from the program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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