One of the biggest challenges our council and every council around the country is facing is we don’t have enough unit level volunteers especially Den Leaders. Every Cub Scout Pack could use a few additional Den Leaders.

Where do we find these volunteers?

Many times, it is the parent who does not step back fast enough at the joining night, which is far from ideal. 

A successful Pack will be looking year-round on who can be a new Den Leader from the families that are already members of the Pack and other community members/parents outside of the Pack. Being a Den Leader is a big commitment and can be very overwhelming when not recruited with the appropriate lead time. Recruiting someone to be a Den Leader at the Pack joining night is not ideal. Recruiting on the spot with an immediate need can be a real challenge and create an unexpected twist to the individual being recruited personal life. 

The format of the Lion and Tiger program are specifically designed to get the parents involved. In an ideal world this becomes the proving ground to see what parent would make a great Den Leader.

When recruiting parents, start small with tasks such as bringing a snack to the meeting or helping to run a game at a Pack meeting. Get them to dip their toes in the water, once they are comfortable doing smaller tasks gradually ask for more substantial items.

Another tactic Packs should look at is who in the Pack has a younger brother or sister that might be joining in Kindergarten next year, or is there a family in the neighborhood.

Packs should make their prospect list of who to ask in the Spring to fill the Den Leader positions in the Fall. Ask that person to meet over coffee or a meal, ideally by someone who the prospect respects. Try never to recruit the person over the phone or even by email, the in-person ask always gets the best results. Just like asking families to join Scouting, recruiting Den Leaders needs to be a year-round process. 

Our District and Council volunteers and staff look forward to working together with your Pack to invite as many families as possible to join the Scouting movement this Fall, we all know Scouting is the world’s best youth movement and every family should have the opportunity to join.