In Pack 82, we have three meetings per month on Monday nights at 7pm at the

Kensington Youth Hut.  (See the map at the bottom of this page.)

The three meetings are as follows:

-  Pack Meetings, where the entire Pack and parents meet as a group (2nd Monday of the month);

-  Den Meetings (3rd Monday of the month) with individual dens having

separate, age appropriate meetings (for Tigers, parent attendance is mandatory, for all

other dens, parent attendance is appreciated, but not required);

-  Parent Meetings (1st Monday of the month) where adult leaders (Den Leaders and the Pack Committee) meet with parents to plan activities and insure that everything in the Pack is flowing smoothly.

As a pack, we currently don’t charge anything to join, however, Boy Scouts of  America

(BSA) does have annual dues based on the scout’s den level and whether or not you

would like to receive Boy’s Life, the national Cub Scout Magazine.  If the cost of the

BSA dues is a hardship for your family, please let us know, as we do not want anyone to

miss out on scouting for financial reasons.  In addition to the annual dues paid when you

sign up, you are encourage, but not required to make donations to Friends of Scouting

which are matched by corporate contributions.   We also do one fundraiser per year

which provides the pack funds to do activities like camp outs, overnight trips, and other

outings.

The one thing you absolutely need to get for your scout is the Handbook for your son’s

den level.  They are called Tigercub Handbook, Wolf Handbook, Bear Handbook etc.

These books contain the entire program of things we will be doing in den meetings and

all of the activities that your scout will need to do to earn the badge for their den level.

At Pack 82 we are very relaxed about uniforms when compared to many other scouting

units.  With that said, many of the scouts really like wearing the uniforms and displaying

the badges they earn.  When you join, your scout will be given a neckerchief and den

clasp by the pack.  From there, many scouts decide to get either the blue uniform shirt

(for Tigers through Bears) or the beige uniform shirt (for Webelos).  These shirts can be

purchased from any of the Scout Stores (the closest one is in Pleasant Hill) or online at

Scoutstuff.org.  There are also a few patches that need to be purchased along with the

uniform shirt.  To see what you need, check out the Den Handbook, or look online for

Cub Scout Uniform guidelines.  Some scouts also opt to get the cap and uniform pants or

shorts.  What you decide to purchase is up to you and your son—the key here is for the

experience to be fun and unique for them and for them to be able to proudly display their

achievements in scouting.

The first thing you should know about our Pack is that we try to put the “outing” in

Scouting.  This means that we will have 1 or 2 campouts per school year, plus several

additional outings that might include things like an overnight trip to the USS Hornet, ice

skating, skiing, and trips to local museums.  In addition, the individual dens might do a

couple of short trips to local attractions.  A schedule of all outings and meetings will be

provided at the beginning of the year and will also be available online for you to refer to

throughout the year.

We expect all Pack 82 parents to be involved in the Pack.  Although some organizations

have strict volunteer time requirements, so far we have not had to implement such a

system.  That does not, however, mean that a handful of committed parents do everything

while everyone else drops their scouts and leaves.  What we are able to do as a pack is

directly related to how well the work of the pack is distributed among ALL parents.

There are many volunteer jobs available in the Pack.  At the first Parent’s Meeting, we

will discuss all of the positions that are available and get volunteers for all of the

positions.  In addition, we need parents to volunteer to bring snacks to meetings, to

volunteer their expertise for Pack and Den demonstrations, and to take up leadership

positions such as Den Leader, Assistant Den Leader, Treasurer, Committee Chair,

Assistant Cubmaster, and eventually Cubmaster.  Since most of us are only involved in

Cub Scouts for a few years at most, it is critical that you as a new parent get involved so

that the Pack will continue to be a fun and exciting place for years to come.

We are now requiring all new parents to take the “Fast Start” training which is available

online at cubscouts.org.   This online training takes 30-45 minutes and gives a great

overview of scouting and all of the things scout parents and leaders need to know.  If you

interested in becoming a den leader, there is den level specific training available online as

well.  Additionally, BSA requires that we have leaders in our Pack who are trained in

specific aspects of scouting.  Toward this end, we encourage you to sign up for some of

these additional training sessions and get training like BALOO and Swim Safe Training

and as an incentive, Pack 82 will even pay your tuition into the classes!

There are many, many resources online with great information about scouting (there is an

appendix at the end of this packet with links to some of the ones we’ve found especially

useful.)  There are also training books that can be purchased from ScoutStuff.org or at the

Scouting Store.  In addition, there is Cub Scout Roundtable the second Wednesday of

each month where scout parents and leaders get together at Camp Herms in El Cerrito

and share ideas for making scouting the best it can be for our sons.  Finally, each January,

our regional scout Council (the Mount Diablo Silverado Council) has Pow Wow, a day

long training event for parents and leaders which not only provides training and ideas for

our dens and the pack, but is a heck of a lot of fun!  We currently require all den leaders

to attend Pow Wow, and encourage all parents to go out and enjoy the fun.  Details on

Roundtable and Pow Wow are available on the Mount Diablo Silverado Council website

and in Smoke Signals, the monthly Council newsletter which you can download online.