Where have all of the volunteer leaders gone?

Volunteer groups like the Boy Scouts of America function and exist because there are adult leaders. At its core they are the reason the boys keep coming back, especially in cubs scouts. The adults brainstorm and commit program activities like camping, community service, fundraising and education to name a few. Without them the boys would be unable to function.

Sitting at a recent district commissioner meeting I was singled out as one of those 'young' parents, though I don't consider that true as I'm nearly 40. But looking around the room everyone was 50, 60, 65 years old or older. I was the young guy. But wait, my sons are in third & fifth grade. Where are the new Tiger parents, those young 30ish adults??? Aren't they also planning and running cub events? Why am I the sole adult in their 30's taking part in planning the years program for our 800+ scouts?


I read recently the young parents are now called the Connected generation. They thrive on Instagram and Facebook. Opting for a text rather than a call. They don't do paper newsletters, phone trees and old fashion calendars. But something else is happening, they are not driving the planning and execution of the bigger events. Are they intimidated or scared to step up? I will be honest, I only have 5 years of Scouting knowledge, not 40 or 50 years like some of my peers. And I was quiet and reserved my first few months as a commissioner. But I was learning, who the thought leaders were, who was the performer and who posed a challenge to work with...let's not forget these adults have decades of experience so they tend to push their agenda.

Out of 30 active cub units I have one or two adults in this age bracket who help. That is help with a project or event. Not at the strategy and planning level with the district. Why?

Over the next four months I M going to try something different at Roundtable. I'm going to challenge the cub adults who attend to take on chairman ship of an event like pinewood derby or On Target or Friends Of Scouting. Not as a direct assignment. But more as a challenge to keep scouting fun and make it fun and interesting for the young adults. This includes opening up our private Facebook page to encourage them to post events and videos, not just photos and training reminders. Utilize snapchap and Instagram to drive home the reason why we are here. To make the program safe and fun.

Cub Scout Year Round Recruitment

What is a leader to do when they are asked to focus on year round recruitment? We have heard the news, overall declining numbers of new youth joining Scouting. Why? In my opinion it's due to our ever changing loves. Sports, academics, friends, parental jobs, I am sure you can provide me with at least five more.

Well as the round table commissioner for Three Rivers District in Central Florida I'm dealing with the same challenge as everyone else. My own pack has had dwindling enrollment, we lose scouts throughout the year. But how do we keep going?

Year round activities, including Summer Time activities. Well I have two ideas, one is to provide an incentive to scouts for bringing friends to scouting. And a second is to promote inter pack activities.

The first is simple, tell your scouts, if you bring in at least one friend who joins you automatically earn the Recruitment patch, but you also get to enjoy a pizza or ice cream party with your fellow scouts. Bring in at least three friends and you get free admission to a special scouting event. In my district its the On Target for Scouting event, a full day of all shooting and action events. Bring five or more friends into scouting and earn a free camping weekend at our local scout ranch.

The district net members and other pack leaders like the idea, I just need to get it approved at the council.


The other activity is one of my wood badge tickets, setup a inter pack sports event. Just one time, have the boys get together and earn a loop, have fun, get to know each other and enjoy friendship. In my case I've expanded it to include all packs. But instead of managing it all push the leaders to talk with other leaders and setup their own events. Nothing like this is happening today.

If you are doing either of these at your local district or council let me know. I want to help not only my own pack but also my district expand its reach into the community and provide a great program to the youth.