THOUGHTFUL ITEMS FOR SCOUTERS

Thanks to Scouter Jim from Bountiful, Utah, who prepares this section of Baloo for us each month.  You can reach him at bobwhitejonz@juno.com or through the link to write Baloo on www.usscouts.org.   CD

Roundtable Prayer

CS Roundtable Planning Guide

Help us, Lord, always to remember that in order to have a friend, one must first be a friend to others. Help us become better leaders and friends to Cub Scouts and their families. AMEN

New Buddies

Scouter Jim, Bountiful UT

I have a Scout Leader friend, who has a fun way of recruiting new Cub Scouts to her Den.  She lives in an inner-city area on the west side Salt Lake City, where there are many poor and immigrant families.  While she is holding her Den activities, she literally grabs boys off the street that are walking by during her Den meetings that look like the appropriate age to be Cub Scouts, and she invites them to join the fun and games of her den.

Instantly these sometimes “lost boys” have a place where they belong and have a new group of “Buddies.” This is a great way to “grow” the pack and give some young men, some of which are “at risk,” a safe, new outlet for their energy.  How many Scout Leaders have boys who live in their neighborhoods of Cub Scout age that are not in the program anywhere?  I am guessing the number is too great to count.

September begins a new Scout year and a new chance to grow our Packs.  We don’t want to grow our packs so we can improve our numbers and look good to our peers.  Boy Scouts of America is a service organization.  We want to grow our packs so we can reach more boys and save more lives.

I am going to “borrow some ideas from the Longs Peak Council’s website on recruiting ideas.

·         Cub Scouts and Leaders "sport" your uniform often. Wearing the uniform is like a walking billboard, and can grab the attention of youth and adults. The uniform also serves as a conversation piece. Scouts and leaders should wear their uniforms to school, church, the grocery store, library, sporting events, any place you can think of! The uniform is a great way to show the presence of Cub Scouts in your community and spread the excitement.

·         Encourage Cub Scouts and Adult Scouters to talk about Scouting with their friends. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful and lasting forms of advertising. Kids talking to others about the fun they have is a great way to spread excitement among youth. Use the recruiter patch or another incentive program that rewards your Scouts if they bring a friend to join Cub Scouting. Cub Scout families consistently see the value of Scouting in their own lives and by this they are our best salespeople. Share Scouting's benefits and excitement with other parents. Most families are looking for programs filled with excitement and opportunities for leadership development and positive values.

·         "Show and Tell". Encourage youth to use Cub Scouting as a part of their Show and Tell opportunities in school. Peer to peer recruitment is very successful and this is a great forum for Scouts to share their stories and the excitement of Cub Scouting. Be sure that they are prepared with a story or exciting information. If possible provide stickers or other handouts for the Scouts to distribute at the conclusion of the presentation.

·         Special Events. Plan a special event that you can invite families to attend. Start to plan for your event well before the chosen date so that you have plenty of time to ensure its success. Secure a location and date for your event. Make sure you have a dynamic agenda and activities. In inviting families to join, create and distribute the invitations.

These are just some of the ideas given.  For the full list here is the link:

http://www.longspeakbsa.org/cubscout/recruitideas.shtml

Let all of us go out and share the “Scouting Spirit”
and touch some lives.

Quotations

Quotations contain the wisdom of the ages, and are a great source of inspiration for Cubmaster’s minutes, material for an advancement ceremony or an insightful addition to a Pack Meeting program cover

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? Abraham Lincoln

True friendship consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and value. Ben Jonson

To cement a new friendship, especially between foreigners or persons of a different social world, a spark with which both were secretly charged must fly from person to person, and cut across the accidents of place and time. Cornelia Otis Skinner

One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life. E.M. Forster

A faithful friend is a strong defense: and he that hath found such an one hath found a treasure. Ecclesiastics 6:14

When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it. Edgar Watson Howe

Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. George Washington

True friendship can afford true knowledge. It does not depend on darkness and ignorance. Henry David Thoreau

Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance. Rabindranath Tagore

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. Rachel Carson

The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…. A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words. Rachel Naomi Remen

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new. Ralph Waldo Emerson

The only way to have a friend is to be one. Ralph Waldo Emerson

The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it. Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend. Robert Louis Stevenson

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine. Thomas Jefferson

Sam Houston Area Council

“Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.” – Albert Camus

“A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more.” Anon

“Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.” – Elbert Hubard

“The better part of one's life consists of his friendships.” – Abraham Lincoln

 “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” – Goethe

“My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” – Henry Ford

“A circle is round it has no end, that's how long I want to be your friend.”Anon

Want some more quotes on Friendship??  Check out these -
http://www.friendshipday.org/friendship-day-quotes.html 
They are quotes on the Friendship Day page.

Beauty Tips

Southern NJ Council

The following was written by Audrey Hepburn who was asked to share "beauty tips."

Ø  For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

Ø  For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

Ø  For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

Ø  For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

Ø  For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

Ø  People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Ø  Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of each of your  arms.  As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping  yourself, the other for helping others.

Ø  The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.  The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

Ø  The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows.

A LEADER’S RESOLUTION

Heart of America Council

I shall study my Cub Scouts—
                                                so that I may understand them.

I shall like my Cub Scouts—so that I can help them.

I shall learn—for they have much to teach me.

I shall laugh—for youth grows comfortable with laughter.

I shall give myself freely—                              yet I shall take
                         so that they may acquire the habit of giving.

I shall be a friend—for a friend is needed.

I shall lead—yet I shall beware of pushing.

I shall warn them—when my experience warrants it.

I shall commend—when actions merit it.

I shall no overlook mistakes—yet I shall not blame them.

Lastly, I shall try to be that which I hope they think I am.

A Den's Leader's Discovery

Trapper Trails Council

I was sure they wouldn't ask me;
I knew I couldn't serve.
I didn't know the books or boys;
I didn't have the nerve.
Then my 9 year old said, "Mama,
Won't you take my den this year?
They can't find anybody else,
Though they've looked far and near"
I took my training and waited
for those unknown Cubs to come.
I shook and worried and fretted:
And hoped to protect my home.
They seemed to delight
In breaking every rule.
Then somehow or another each boy
Made a home within my heart.
The Promise and the Living Circle
Is a memory apart.
I found they weren't small devils
Overflowing in my cup,
It's just that an 8 year old needs horns
To hold his HALO up.

What Is A Boy

Greater St. Louis Area Council

A boy is what he does, he does what he can.
What he is going to be, he is now becoming.
He is going to sit right where you are sitting.
And when you are gone,
      he will attend to those things you think are important.
You may adopt all the policies you please,
                     but how they are carried out depends on him.
Even if you make treaties and leagues,
                                                 he will have to manage them.
He is going to sit at your desk in Congress and assume
                             your place on the Supreme Court bench.
He will take over your churches, schools, universities
                                                                      and corporations.
He will assume control of your cities, states and nations.
All your books are going to be judged praised
                                                          and condemned by him.
All your hopes for him and the faith of the nations
                                            and humanities are in his hands.

SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL
PAY SOME ATTENTION TO HIM!!

WHAT CUBS ARE MADE OF../

Heart of America Council

Cub Scouts are made of all of these,

Scarves of gold, patches on sleeves,

Trousers of blue with well-worn knees,

That what Cub Scouts are made of.

They’re partly Indians, of fringe and feather,

And beads and buttons and bits of leather,

With war-paint and freckles mixed together,

That’s what Cub Scouts are made of.

They’re made of a promise, a pledge, a prayer,

Of hands that are willing, of hearts that play fair,

With something inside them that God put there,

And that’s what Cub Scouts are made of.