Community Service
Community service is a huge part of Scouting. In our Scout Oath we promise “to help other people at all times.” For many youth Scouting is their first experience with participating in community service. It can be great to devote an entire Pack meeting to doing things from others. Here are some ideas.
Cheers:
Cheers will add fun and excitement into a meeting. Match you cheers to your monthly theme for a quick way to get the Pack’s attention and to change the energy level of the meeting. Here are several examples of cheers.
Shopping for a Local Food Pantry.
Cubmaster: Yummy, Yummy, Yummy.
Scouts: In our neighbors tummy!
Park clean up
Cubmaster: What kind of sweep?
Scouts: A clean sweep!
Coat, hat, and Mitten drive
Cubmaster: BRRRRR, BRRRRR, cold!
Scouts: Not any more!
Any Community Service
Cubmaster: Help other people.
Scouts: At all times”
Possibility Activities:
Shopping for a Local Food Pantry: Take some of the money from your Pack account and use it to purchase food for a local Food Pantry or Food Bank. The Scouts may not see the direct end result of this activity, but making sure people in their community are fed is a wonderful thing to do. Call the Food Pantry in advance and see if they will come give a short talk to the Scouts about what they do and why. Hold your Pack meeting at a local grocery store so you can easily shop. Talk to the kids about the concerns of quantity, quality, and price. This is a great lesson for them even in their own lives as they grow up. Be sure to have the Cubs wear their uniform as best as they can. It is a great reminder to the community of what we do, and might let a family know there are Scouts in town when they didn’t realize!
Cleaning up a local Park or Playground: Outdoor spaces are community treasures and Scouts can help them stay that way. Cleaning up trash is an easy community service and can be quick depending on the size of the group and space. Try to get a hold of the owner of the space, they may have other needs you can help with. Maybe some equipment needs a fresh coat of paint, maybe some bushes need a trim, flower beds need weeded, or playground mulch may need added or just raked to be evened out.
Ask your Chartering Organization What they Need: Without these chartering organizations we wouldn’t have a unit. They often provide us with meeting spaces and resources because they believe in the power of Scouting. What a great group to give back to. Perhaps the house of worship where you meet needs some landscaping done. The VFW may need some assistance putting on the Veteran’s Day Parade. The school that has been letting you meet in the cafeteria may need some new benches or picnic tables. Doing community service for your Chartering Organization is a wonderful way to say thank you but also strengthens the relationship so they know they are benefiting from you too.
Coat, Hat, and Mitten Drive: Most areas have families in need and winter can be a hard time. Consider having Dens spend some time at a Den meeting making flyers and other advertising, then the Pack meeting can be the drop off time for people to bring the items to donate. Local schools and churches are likely to be able to tell you about items they need for families that they work with. Local Children’s Services agencies can also be a great resource to make sure the items get to the families that need them.
Working at a Nature Preserve: There are lots of great things that can be done at a Nature Preserve and what fits Scouting better than nature? They may need a litter clean up to keep things looking nice and natural. Sometimes they would love someone to build some brush piles that can serve as shelter for snakes and rodents. Maybe they need some new plantings done to draw in certain critters. Bat Boxes, Bird House, and Duck Boxes are all things that can be pre-cut and then easily assembled by Cubs. The Cubs can also help with hanging and installing them. Sometimes something as simple as digging a few trenches to make sure runoff is managed so erosion doesn’t become an issue.
