Troop Open House Results

[SeattlePioneer]

I work with a small Troop of 8-10 boys. This troop desperately needs some new Scouts if it is to survive.

 

Beginning this spring I began focussing on how to attract some new Scouts. The Troop and I in particular had worked with a Cub Pack with five 2nd year Webelos Scouts. We also camped out with the Cub Pack and invited the Webelos boys to camp wwith the Troop rather than the Cub Scouts.

 

We also put on a stationery bicycle race at carnival run by the nearby elementary school at the end of the school year. We collected names and addresses of boys who participated who were of Scouting age.

 

I went out to the homes of these boys in June and invited them to a troop meeting and a troop bicycle camping trip. Zero response.

 

I was told by out DE that I should aim more at inviting the parents than the boys, since the parents were the decisionmakers and might also be reluctent to have their boys participate if they weren't acquainted with the adults involved.

 

Well, that was fine. So I organized a traditional fall troop open house. I visited the homes of the boys and invited the parents and boys to a desert and apple cider squeeeze. The parents and adult leaders of the troop would have a chance to talk, while the boys would have a chance to press fresh apple cider to be served at the desert.

 

That sounded like fun to me ---for everyone.

 

I had accumulated 15 names, five boys who had aged out of Weebelos, and ten names of boys from the carnival/bicycle race.

 

The turnout at the open house: zero.

 

It's discouraging.

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

[Prairie_Scouter]

Hi Seattle,

 

Well, that kinda, well, sucks, especially with all the effort you've put into it. But, these things kind of ebb and flow. My troop is only about 20 Scouts. 2 years ago, we got 1 new Scout. Last year, we added 5. There are a lot of things that go into why boys go to a particular troop, and I know from personal experience that many times it has nothing to do with the Troop itself. Among very popular reasons why boys join a particular troop is "because Joe joined and I wanted to go with him".

 

June may not be the best time to invite boys to a troop meeting. Kids are on vacation, and many just want to take the summer off. But, you've got the right idea in recruiting Webelos Scouts. Thats your new population. We've had a good relationship with one Pack for a number of years, and I'm about to start working with a 2nd. You might consider talking to other packs.

 

Also, our Council has listings of Scouts who have dropped out for whatever reason, and they can give you portions of that list sorted by Zip code. These are former Scouts, so you could have better luck with them than total strangers to Scouting.

 

If you're having that many turn you down or just not show up, you might want to ask them, the parents that is, why they didn't attend.

[Mike F]

Seattle,

I know that's frustrating!

Some ideas:

1. Keep focusing on those former Webelos.

Maybe they're a bit burned out from the Cub/Webelos experience and don't understand the difference between what they've seen in the past and what they can expect in Boy Scouts. Emphasize fun and adventure. Put together a slide show or picture board of your troop in action. Is their former Webelos leader any help? He/she might be willing to call a meeting of all former members. Make it fun - meet at a pizza place. Have the troop pick up the tab for all former Webelos.

 

2. Parents are sometimes burned out, too. Many packs/dens today seem to "require," or at least expect, a parent of each member to be present at every activity. Probe a bit to see if this was the case in Webelos den. Let parents know that help is needed, but voluntary and not as much work as Cubs/Webelos.

 

3. Press. Use your local newspaper to get the word out about activities your troop is involved in. Submit a few pictures showing guys in action and a paragraph or two. This isn't just for Eagle Court of Honor - show anything! Many local papers are looking for some filler articles for the weekend edition. It can be fun activities, or show the troop involved in some service project. Anything to show scouts in a good light. Include your name and number at the end for anyone interested in visiting.

 

4. Recruiter patch. Most join scouting because they were invited by a friend. Encourage your existing members to bring in a friend and award them the Recruiter patch when the friend joins. Age of prospective incoming scout is sometimes a concern, but it shouldn't be. About 6 years ago, we had a guy join at age 14 and he jumped into the program, enjoyed National Jambo, loved high-adventure trips, and made Eagle with no problem.

 

5. Make it fun and meaningful. This is really #1 on priority list. If the existing guys in troop are having fun and think scouts is worthwhile, they (and their parents) can't help but spread the word. We had 2 brothers visit last night who are on the verge of dropping out of another troop. Instead of wasting precious minutes talking to them about our troop, the SPL assigned them to a patrol for the evening and they were treated like members for all activities. On the way home, they told their dad, "Wow - that was different! We want to come back next week."

 

Good luck!

-mike

[Bob White]

Mikes 5th point would be my first one. I would not be putting so much energy into enticing scouts I don't have when I could be putting it to use serving the scouts I do have.

 

The best promotional and recruitment tool you have is the enthusiasm of the scouts currently in the unit. If they are having an outstanting scouting expereience then others will come to join.

[Hunt]

OK, once you have your excellent program in place, how do you get the word out?

We're struggling with this--so far, the only thing we have found that works really well is a personal invitation from a boy in the troop to another boy that he already knows. So far, we have gotten almost zero response from flyers, signs, and the like. Our ability to distribute flyers has been hampered, because the public schools have banned "backpack mail" by non-school organizations. In addition, the PTA would not authorize us to use the PTA directory addresses to do a mailing. So it's tough to reach people who may not know about the troop.

I think contacts with Packs can also be an effective method--my son's troop is trying to improve this element. (We don't have a "feeder" pack.)

But personal invitations do work, if the boys can be motivated to do it. And yes, I GET IT that a good program will improve that motivation, but I don't think that alone is enough to get teenage boys to invite others to come--they have to be reminded and urged to do this, and perhaps further incentivized.

[madkins007]

Word of mouth is THE best advertising. Every advertiser knows this and works hard to increase it.

 

Talk with your guys in semi-private and find out if they know anyone they can invite. See if you can find some way to motivate them to invite their buddies. We USED to do 'buddy camping' when I was a Scout years ago (invite a buddy on a campout usually with the troop covering his share of the costs. I assume that today you'd need to invite a parent along as well) but see what you can do to support your guys in this effort.

 

Your DE OUGHT to have lists of interested folk from your zip-code from many sources, including ex-Scouts as mentioned. This can be a useful resource.

 

You may want to re-think your recruiting activiites. I hate to say this but squishing apples and riding stationary bikes does not sound like my idea of a 'high time'.

 

Is there perhaps a local, busy store that you can put a recruiting booth outside? If so, can you think of things to do at the booth that would make people stop and look? Dutch oven cooking is always good (sights, smells, tastes- the more senses you can capture the better!), as would be some sort of simple contests or activiites- crossing a monkey bridge (over pads or soft ground), name the knot, patch display, give-a-ways (pencils, stickers), rope making, 'odd' cooking techniques (eggs in orange shells, biscuits on a stick, cooking in paper bags, solar oven...)...

 

Who is the CO? Do THEY have any youth? We ARE supposed to be THEIR youth program, but it is amazing how often their kids somehow slip past us!

 

Tough situation, Seattle! Good luck!

[EagleBeaver]

Bummer. But, there's 5 months to recruit scouts before the Webelos finish up in the spring!

Our troop attended an open house type event last fall. The idea was that Webelos would come and check out each troop. Great idea, lots of boy scouts, but only a handful of Webelos.

 

You didn't ask for anything, but some of this might be useful...

Reaching the cub scouts BEFORE they finish Webelos has been a big help to us. The past 2 years our SPL has visited each Webelos den at one of their fall den meetings to describe Boy Scouts and answer questions - LOTS of questions. :-) This spring, we had 3 new scout patrols and I believe it is about 90% due to the fact that they had visited us and had 'the boss' meet with them on their home turf.

 

I'm assuming with your small troop size that you aren't able to supply a pack with a Den Chief, but that would be even better. If you got a Boy Scout into a Webelos II den for the next 5 months, that could make a big difference in the cross-over rate.

 

For my part as scoutmaster, I've recently sent email to the Cubmaster and Webelos den leaders letting them know I am here to assist their Webelos in earning their Arrow of Light. I'm available for any questions they have about boy scouts and our troop, our boy leaders are available to visit their dens any time, and they are welcome at our troop meetings and Courts of Honor. I included our schedule in the mail. At the next Roundtable, my agenda is to seek out the Cubmaster and ask how Joing Scouting night went and follow up with my offer to assist her Webelos den leaders. Then, I will call the den leaders I did not hear back from.

 

I believe that a concentrated effort to convince your existing scouts to recruit their friends could pay off handsomely. With our growing pains, finding more scouts is not a big concern to the scouts, but there are 2 that are inviting a friend to this month's campout.

 

Offering your scouts to help with the Pack's Pinewood Derby or doing a flag-in at their first Pack meeting or a skit or anything that the Pack might need will get your scouts in front of the Webelos and provide a service.

 

Scout On,

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

[Kudu]

Indoor Recruiting:

 

As the philosopher Bob White once noted, the reason that most boys don't join Scouting is that nobody ever asks them. The following indoor presentation works very well. I usually get half of an assembly of sixth grade boys to sign up as interested in joining Scouts, including a good number of former Cub Scouts who hated scissors and paste and never made it to Webelos. It is designed as an in-school presentation during school hours, but it will work in most other indoor youth venues:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm

 

Don't assume that all public schools are off-limits to the BSA, but do try to find someone who knows the principal and is gifted with social skills to arrange this assembly.

 

If you can't arrange an assembly before November, then postpone it until the last week of school before summer vacation. While it is easy to get half of the boys to sign up when you offer a program with matches, knives, rattlesnakes, and bears, most parents will not allow their sons to join Scouting if they have recently received a failing "progress report" from school. Do not make this mistake.

 

Be sure to run a summer program for the new Scouts because most of them will not be able to afford summer camp at such a short notice. It is my experience that sixth grader summer recruits are more likely to remain in the Troop over the summer than fifth graders.

 

Flyers:

 

I hand out an informational flyer during the above assembly. But when I talk to their parents that evening, I find that only one out of ten flyers has made it home with even the most motivated boys. If you read the BSA handbooks written in the 1930s, you will find that the same phenomenon has always been true. Even in the depths of the Great Depression, William Hillcourt recommended spending money on postage rather than trying to get "trustworthy" Scouts to bring printed information home from Troop meetings.

 

Outdoor Recruiting:

 

The BSA has just released an outdoor recruiting DVD called the "Scout Zone." Overall it looks OK, and it includes "Open House" ideas.

 

Patches

 

The Scout Zone DVD package also includes a free new style 3" round "Recruiter" patch. I suggest that you stock up on the out-going 3" round recruiter patches so that you have three different patch styles, which you can tier as follows:

 

Recruiter Strip = for recruiting one new Scout

Old-style 3" round Recruiter Patch = for recruiting a total of two new Scouts

New 3" round Recruiter Patch = for recruiting a total of three new Scouts

Patrol Leader Badge = for recruiting a total of four new Scouts

 

Outright Bribery

 

Patches may motivate your patch collectors and aspiring Patrol Leaders, but I have found out that the true "coin of the realm" in peer-recruiting is Reeses Cups! When a Scout brings a friend to one of our meetings or a campout they each get a Reeses Cup. They do not have to be serious about joining, but if they do return with a completed registration form, the whole Patrol gets an additional Reeses Cup because, after all, it takes a village :-/

 

Kudu

[Mike F]

Yee-haw!

These lasts posts are some of the most valuable I've seen!!

Thanks, gang!!!

-mike

[ManyIrons]

After two near disasters with School Night for Scouting (the school forgot to handout the flyers last Spring and this Fall) I decided to take a different route I put out the council-provided promotional materials and sign-up sheets at our towns annual Founders Day. We normally run a few booths for fundraising so I set the materials on the counter at each booth. I got six boys (with their parents) to sign-up in one afternoon.

 

Four of the boys visited us at our last troop meeting and the other two will be visiting next week. On top of that I've got 2 other prospects from boy-to-boy recruiting and two others referred to us by the council.

 

Like many others, we're also taking a proactive approach with the Webelos in our "feeder" pack. We're inviting them to attend council events with us and looking for other opportunities to interact with them (campouts, skits/ceremonies at Pack Meetings, etc). Our plan is to make ourselves (and our activities) so familiar to them that it's only natural that they want to become part of our troop.

 

Another method that seems to work is to be visible in your community. This past May we placed flags in the local cemetery and conducted a Memorial Day Ceremony at our village hall. Both events were covered by the local papers and were very well received by the community. The village wants us to do it all again and has also asked us to take the lead for their 9-11 ceremony next year. The visibility has paid off. We've received inquiries from parents from neighboring communities asking if their sons can join our troop when they bridge over.

 

This is the first year we've done these things, but so far it appears to be working well for us.