How to recruit Cub Scouts the easy way

Some Cub Scout leaders create buzz around their packs outside of their typical recruitment events. Intentionally or not, Pack 758 of Carrollton, Texas, did just that this weekend, and I got a front-row seat for the whole thing.

Saturday, I lugged my kids to a pretty cool playground. It’s the kind of family spot with all the latest sensory-focused activities and accessibility for kids of all ages and abilities. It’s in the middle of a larger park with tons of room for sports. There’s a dog park on one end and a walking path on the other. There’s a splash pad and a pavilion for picnics and birthday parties. And every time I’ve been, winter or summer, there is an ice cream truck parked right out front.

Parents know the kind of playground I’m talking about. On a nice day, it’s packed with young families and kids from around the area. And if you’re like me, it’s the kind of place you take your kids when you’re desperately trying to wear them out (and willing to drive the extra five minutes to pass up the playground where you’re a regular).

So this Saturday, when I overheard a fellow park mom explaining to her son, “Those are the Boy Scouts, and they’re having a meeting,” I fully engaged in eavesdropping (hey, it’s for my job!).

I looked around to see a Cub Scout den gathered around their leader, flanked by a crew of parents watching from the sidelines. They were in a field alongside the playground and decked out in matching pack T-shirts. Then they spread out to warm up. Today, they were learning how to play the flying disc game known as “ultimate.”

After I mentally noted the frazzled mom didn’t know they were Cub Scouts or that the Scouts BSA program name changed a few years ago, I marveled at the perfect setting this leader chose for a meeting.

I turned to look back at the mom and son. She was trying to round him up to go home. He was focused on the Scouts.

The secret to recruiting without even trying

We call this passive recruiting because you can do it with very little effort aside from planning awesome, visible pack events and den meetings.

If you volunteer in the Scouting movement, you’re tuned in to this from time to time. You see Scouts. You see other kids seeing Scouts. Maybe you hear kids asking their parents about Scouting. But are you clocking these events as low-key recruitment efforts? And more importantly, are you utilizing this kind of easy publicity for your own units?

I had only a few minutes to talk to the leaders of Pack 758 to ask permission to snap photos. They were in the midst of an actual meeting and actual program delivery, after all. I don’t know if they intended to drum up interest in the pack through their choice of meeting location. If I had to guess, they simply wanted a fun meeting place with room to run around.

Either way, they drew interest from a lot of kids who may not otherwise know joining Scouts is an option.

Passive recruitment events: Are you using them?

Now that you’ve wrapped up a very active season of Cub Scout recruitment events, how are you recruiting passively?

Are you holding meetings in visible places? Are your Scouts wearing something that makes them a recognizable part of Scouting America? Are you using signs with your pack leaders’ contact info so passersby can get more information on joining?

Let us know in the comments. How are you recruiting the easy way?