So, how will your Pack handle recruiting girls?

[WisconsinMomma]

Hey Scouters,

I just want your practical advice, please, as there are many other threads to discuss the politics of adding girls to Packs.

My Pack will need to plan -- how will we handle the 18-19 school year?  This will come up at committee first, we have not touched it yet.   Will we actively recruit girls or wait for girls and their famiiles to show up and request Scouting?

Are there training materials on this?  I might be behind.  

Thanks!

[Eagle1993]

This is in order of likelihood a pigtail mafia member will leave a thin mint bomb in your mailbox.

1 - start with sisters of existing members

2 - have them reach out to their friends to recruit them to join

3 - standard Join Scouts Night stuff (flyers, yard signs, emails). Have something fun to do for the kids and ensure some girls that plan to join attend

4 - reach out to existing GSUSA scouts

5 - recruit existing GSUSA Troop leaders 

6 - boom... your mailbox just exploded 

Overall, I don’t see much of a difference from recruiting boys other than making sure parents and girls see that a group of girls are joining.  Once they see that, they’ll consider it more for themselves.

Oh, and I don’t really recommend intentionally using 4 or 5 above...   though we did end up with both (unintentionally). My hands shake a bit every time I start my car.

[Jameson76]

Don't try to understand 'em
Just rope, throw an' brand 'em
Soon we'll be livin' high an' wide

 

Edited February 9, 2018 by Jameson76

[numbersnerd]

The first thing you need to do is have a discussion with your CO and find out if they support inclusion of girls in their unit. Any activity before that is potentially a waste of effort.

[Tampa Turtle]

1 minute ago, numbersnerd said:

The first thing you need to do is have a discussion with your CO and find out if they support inclusion of girls in their unit. Any activity before that is potentially a waste of effort.

Good advice. Since the United Methodist Church committee on Scouting thinks its swell I'd be surprised if our Minister would care enough to dissent. I'd then ask the CC, etc for their position. 

[fred johnson]

11 minutes ago, numbersnerd said:

... a discussion with your CO ...

I agree.  It has to happen.  But it's also interesting how the CC is often treated as absent and then critical again.  Most CO's just have no clue what their units are doing day by day or year by year. 

For example, I think most COs would be less concerned about including girls and more concerned on whether you are conducting safe camping trips and meaningful events and if you represent the CO well.  But if they really don't ask those questions, I'm not sure you will get useful input from the CO on including girls.  If anything, you could be asking for more trouble than it's worth.  

But it's still a discussion that should happen.

Edited February 9, 2018 by fred johnson

[Tampa Turtle]

2 minutes ago, Col. Flagg said:

...or outside the medicinal marijuana shop if you are in those states. 

"We have CAMPOUTS not COOKIES!"

[JasonG172]

I will tell you what I see.  I am a CM and I go to my 3 schools during school hours and recruit.  When I walk into the room in my uniform and start talking about cub scout I tend to see more attention from the girls than the boys.  Sure there are boys highly interested but its the girls that sigh and say "ohh man"

I tell them what we do, where we go and what over opportunities there are.  I wont change my spill.

 

When I mention Girl Scout to the girls that are really interested I hear the same story "its boring, all we do is sell cookies"

[WisconsinMomma]

Good comments.  The little sisters of almost all the boys I know in Cubs are in Girl Scouts already, and it puts the girl scout leaders in a difficult position to consider jumping ship.

We will definitely need direction from our CO, they support the BSA and the GSUSA,and they may have specific thoughts on yes or no to girls, and that will make things clearer.

Has anyone run this by their CO or COR already and what was that like? 

Edited February 9, 2018 by WisconsinMomma

[T2Eagle]

We haven't fully decided yet, but our most likely approach is going to be doing the same recruiting we always do, just opening membership up to everyone, girls and boys.  From there we'll probably handle recruiting den leaders for girls the same way we handle recruiting for Tigers --- get all the appropriate parents in a room and explain that there can be no program unless one of them is willing to step up and be the den leader.  

One thing we will not be doing is targeting Girl Scouts or GS leaders.  We're sponsored by a Catholic parish, and we're one of many ministries for youth, we've never insisted on exclusivity and neither does anyone else.  Just as you can be in say CYO and Cubs, there's no reason you can't be in both GS and Cubs.

Which brings me to my next point, thinking about having enough volunteer adults.  Yes it's always a challenge, but CYO sports has for years been single gender, and has always managed to find enough adults to simultaneously run two of everything (except football).  I don't think for a second it will be easy, but there's a model that gives some indication that it will be possible.

[Eagle1993]

38 minutes ago, WisconsinMomma said:

 

Has anyone run this by their CO or COR already and what was that like? 

We discussed this with our CO who passed a formal resolution during the board meeting stating they would support either direction that our Pack committee would choose.  Our COR and IH supported adding girls.  I definitely agree with the comments that the CO should be informed and decide which direction the Pack should take.

 

[JasonG172]

3 hours ago, WisconsinMomma said:

Has anyone run this by their CO or COR already and what was that like? 

My COR is one of my Leaders and a very active person in my CO.  I have already put a word in that I would like to sit down with her and the IH before we start the 2017 fall recruitment just to be sure we are all on the same page.

[EmberMike]

On 2/9/2018 at 11:31 AM, Eagle1993 said:

... My hands shake a bit every time I start my car.

If you see a suspicious pile of cookie crumbs in the car seat, run, and immediately call the Do Si Do Squad.