Volunteerism

[f2c]

 

I guess this is a rather rhetorical question at this point than anything direct. Many moons ago, I was a scout but our troop fell apart due to lack of a scoutmaster (or something along those lines). Now that I have settled down a bit in life (i.e. got married, a carrer (I am a computer engineer and my wife is a MD), had a couple of children (both girls)) I thought it would be a fun and perhaps noble thing to volunteer for an adult position in the scouts.

 

Anyway, I went to the local council's webpage and filled out the contact me page. The next day I got a call from the DE and he came to my house and interviewed me. He seemed to like me (the interview lasted almost 3 hours), said he had a unit that needed an ASM and I would be contacted by the SM of the troop. Curiosity I guess got the better of me after not hearing anything for 6 months, I sent another email to the DE asking if it was something about me or did I just slip through the cracks. A couple of days after sending the email, he calls me up again and professes that they just kinda forgot about me. I told him I was still interested but now a couple more weeks have passed.

 

I am not sure I am going to bug him one more time. Am I missing something here cause I just don't get it.

 

 

[scottteng]

Show up at a scouting unit and make know your willingness to volunteer the proverbial one hour per week and see what happens they may not view you as a prime prospect not having the preferred boy child in your household but sooner or later someone will take you at face value and draft you into a position you will be comfortable with.

[Lisabob]

Boy someone really dropped the ball there (twice)! I agree with Scott. Find an organization in your town that charters a troop (think religious groups, Elks, American Legions, etc.). Ask them to put you in touch directly with their Scoutmaster or Committee Chair rather than going through the DE's office. There are probably lots of troops who would be more than happy to have you as part of their program. Don't let the DE keep it from happening.

[f2c]

I can see your point that I do not have any 'boy' children. Is such an attitude prevailant in BSA?

 

I am not sure I would go about 'imposing' myself. Its not up to me to tell them how to run their organization and I am not going to 'make' someone accept me. To me that is not what volunteering is about.

[SemperParatus]

I had a fellow call me about a year ago. He had moved back to the area, was a scout as a child and wanted to give back to his community by getting involved with a troop. I told him we would be happy to have him join us (most units will not turn down a sincere offer). He came to the next meeting, we talked, he filled out the paperwork, he left looking forward to getting involved. I never heard from him again.

 

As the others have said. Check out the units in your area. Visit with the unit leaders. Offer your services and see where it goes from there.

 

As you become more involved in scouting, you will learn not to expect too much from the professionals (DE).

 

 

[ScoutNut]

http://www.thescoutzone.org/locator.html

 

This is a link for the Troop locator on BSA's recruiting Web site for Boy Scouts.

 

http://www.joincubscouting.org/locator/index.html

 

This is a link for the Pack locator on BSA's recruiting Web site for Cub Scouts.

 

Both sites list, by city, the unit number & the Charter Organization name in your area. It also has all contact info for your local council.

 

If your religious organization is a CO for a unit I would start there. Also check out your daughters school for any units. Basically, if you are already known by the Charter Org in some way, it will make it easier for you to approach them.

 

Good Luck.

 

[f2c]

Thanks for the links, there actually are units listed that are not on the council page.

 

My church does not sponsor a unit and actually most units in the area are LDS which I do not belong. The kiddies are not in school yet.

 

editted to say: actually its not most but more like half of the units are LDS.(This message has been edited by f2c)

[Jeffrey H]

F2c,

 

The SM may not have contacted you because the ASM position became filled by one of the parents in the Troop that the SM already knows. Thats a guess, but a likely scenario. In any case, he should have contacted you as a courtesy.

 

Contact a unit directly and introduce yourself to the Scoutmaster. Ask him if you can come to the next meeting and discuss volunteer opportunities. Be patient. Most often, leadership in units are stacked with adults that have sons in their units and they may be a little cautious with you at first. A little caution is always a good thing when evaluating any adult for Troop leadership. Once they get to know you and the quality contribution you can bring to unit, you will be on board.

 

Ask if you can serve on the Troop committee to get your feet wet and spend some time cultivating friendships in the Troop and understanding BSA policies. If they need an ASM, they will certainly offer that position to you at the proper time.

 

It's refreshing to see someone like yourself willing to volunteer that does not have a "son" as a prime motivator. Best wishes to you.

[SWScouter]

F2c,

 

This is similar to a situation I had. I filled out and turned in an application to join the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization for Catholic men. I was never contacted. After several months, I filled out another application. After about eight months or so, I was finally contacted and able to join. It is frustrating when you want to volunteer your services but aren't given the opportunity to in a timely manner.

 

It sounds like you might live near me. I'm in Phoenix, AZ and I believe about half of the units in the Grand Canyon Council are chartered to one LDS ward or another.

 

As far as volunteering for the BSA, another possibility, depending on your preference, may be to volunteer as a unit commissioner (UC). A UC is an advocate/friend/counselor for the units (troops, packs, teams, crews) he/she serves. The desired level of service is 1 UC per 3 units. A UC is a district level scouter and works for the district commissioner (DC). One of the main jobs of the DC is to recruit and oversee a competent staff of Assistant DCs and UCs. If this seems like something you'd be interested in then you should talk to the DC.

 

For more information on commissioner service, see http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=cm

 

Thank you for wanting to volunteer your time and talents to the BSA and I wish you the best of luck.

 

SWScouter

[Fuzzy Bear]

We had a guy volunteer as a UC. He came to one meeting and he was never seen again. Sightings of UC's are about as common as are those of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Some believe that maybe the I.B. Woodpecker has been sited more times. fb

[local1400]

I dont have any children and I still volunteer even though our troop has 35 Scouts and 14 Scout Leaders. Growing up my troop had 4 SM's in 8 years and only 1 was a parent of a scout-aged child. Like me, all had been scouts and loved the program so wanted to give back. Think of the decades of knowledge handed out over and over!

[f2c]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

If the obvious is true then I really dont think BSA is getting their monies worth. If it isn't, I seem to remember something about a scout being honest. Personally I learned the truth is the best way to go, whatever it is, a long time ago.

 

Finally, I guess its a little strange to me that an organization that exists because of volunteers, be rather cavilear toward them.

 

Regards all

[Trevorum]

f2c, Thank you for volunteering!

 

BSA is not an efficient or well run organization - but it means well. Be patient. If you want to volunteer your services, sooner or later, the niche will find you.

 

Reminds me of my own experiences. When I first came to this town some 15 years ago, I visited the scout office, introduced myself, and said I would like to volunteer as a merit badge counselor. Blank stares back at me, "We don't do that." I finally gathered that in these parts, counselor lists are maintained by individual units, so no one at council knew how to respond to my volunteering. Some years later, my son joined a pack. For two years, I attended all of his den meeting and pack meetings but never once did the DL or CM ask me to volunteer. My niche finally found me when a new elementary school opened and I was catapulted to become CM of the new pack.

 

Ask you friends and neighbors what troop/pack their sons belong to. Visit some meetings. Make friends. Attend activities. Have fun. Teach the boys something you know. Have fun. Before you know it, you'll be up to your eyeballs in Scouting!

[fgoodwin]

Given the bad press that can be caused by one bad apple, I can understand a unit not jumping on an offer to volunteer from someone who doesn't have kids in the unit.

 

In addition to the Commissioner Corps, there are scores of district jobs you could fill: lead a Cub weekend or district camporee, lead a district Pinewood Derby, become a trainer, staff the health lodge at camp if you are certified, counsel one or more merit badges, sit on an Eagle BOR, join the district FOS team, etc. Next fall, maybe you could help with in-school recruiting for Cub Scouts.

 

Find out where your district holds its monthly RT and go. Meet your fellow Scouters. Also attend the monthly district committee and district commissioners meetings. Go to training. Offer your services. Maybe your local religious relationships committee could use some help (if you have one, I guarantee you they will take you up on your offer!).

 

Use some creativity, think outside the unit box. The needs are definitely there.

[emb021]

"Finally, I guess its a little strange to me that an organization that exists because of volunteers, be rather cavilear toward them."

 

This is not a problem that is in any way unique to the BSA. I am and have been involved in other volunteer groups that have had the same problems with attracting and keeping volunteers. So I've seen it all:

 

* offers of help being ignored

* volunteer burn out because they are overwelmed (in part because there aren't enought volunteers)

* volunteers turned off or away due to cliquishness of other volunteers

* lack of appreciation by paid staff and other volunteers

etc.etc.