Scouts earning the "RECRUITER" patch

[Scoutfish]

I know it could be said that BSA already has policy and rule overkill as it is, but I personally think this is a case where another rule or guideline should be established.

 

I have looked a a few different websites devoted to scouting and have noticed that, since the recruiter strip qualifications is council based,there are wide differences in qualifications.

 

One council only requires that you attend the fall roundup. Another requires you to get at least 1 new person to join. Another requires 3 to join while another was pretty vague, but *hinted at* - if you talked a fellow ( currently involved and registered) Cub Scout to STAY in the program, you have earned the strip.

 

In that last case, I imagine that all you have to do at the last meeting of the rank year, is to have all your scouts look at each other and say "Hey!, Don't quit okay!" and then at the beginning of the next rank year, hand out recruiter strips to everybody.

 

While I don't expect a 27 point requirement to earn this patch.. shouldn't it be a bit harder to get?

 

At the very least, require that you have to talk two new kids into signing up ( for the first time) and refer to you as the person who swayed them to join. Maybe there could even be a check off box like they have on product registrationson the scout application:

" I joined because... checkoff #4 A friend ...........(friends name ) recommended joining."

 

 

Your thoughts?

[Basementdweller]

Just one scout once we receive the application and fees.

[Knot Head]

In our troop you get a patch if you get a guy to join our troop who was not a cross over that resulted from our troops annual recruiting process (campout + pack visits to our meetings). Since new guys that cross over don't count this is typically a guy who joins late. The recent patches were for a guy that wasn't a cub but played baseball with the recruiter. The other was a guy who was a cub but had moved to our area and joined 6 months after crossover. The recruiter had made friends with the new guy at school and invited him to a troop meeting and he joined. The recruiter gets the patch when the new scout reaches tenderfoot.

[ScoutNut]

Most councils that I have seen only require a Scout to recruit 1 paid youth. That is for both the strip and the patch.

 

My council has no formal requirements at all for the strip. It is left up to the individual unit. Similar to the BSA Attendance Award.

 

Personally, I have no problem with that.

 

 

 

 

[WestCoastScouter]

We require that the boy personally invite a friend, or other boy to come and join. I have had the boys prepare invititations to a fun event... trip to police or fire department, city hall to meet the mayor, or a saturday morning nature walk...

 

They then hand out those invitations to two friends... We have doubled our size by this simple recruitment idea.

 

The patches help encourage them to keep inviting friends. If half of your boys get a friend to join that's a 50% increase. Then if THOSE NEW RECRUITS ask a friend... See the snowball effect !??

 

and it really does work... and that is not counting the flyers to schools, good newspaper press about our community service, and other advertising...

[Knot Head]

West Coast those are great recruiting ideas. Your ideas are great and I plan to mention them to the PLC.

 

We have had success using Den Chiefs, inviting webelos to a campout with us and also having a couple of eagle scouts visit a webelo meeting meetings to teach them something they think is fun and cool like how to make a stretcher out of a tarp and two poles. The eagles then give them a ride on the stretcher and ask the webelos to see if they can carry the eagle. Webelos also love to get a leg splint put on using sticks and bandanas. We've also shown them a backpack fitted for Philmont, let them put it on to see how heavy it is and then let them see and hold each item while the scouts tell them what it is.

 

(This message has been edited by knot head)