A Year of Scouting

 

Pack 33 provides Cub Scouting to children ages 6–11 (first through fifth grades) who typically attend school and live in Takoma Park, but we have many members from DC and Silver Spring. Pack 33 is well-known for its inclusiveness and commitment to the children, families, and community within our geographical area.

 

Throughout the Scouting year—September through June—we teach leadership and life skills to our Scouts and offer many opportunities for community engagement through an annual program of activities and service projects, e.g., collecting non-perishable food for Manna Food Bank, conservation efforts such as the semi-annual clean-up of our local watershed with the Friends of Sligo Creek, semi-annual campouts that foster fellowship and family-oriented outdoor recreation, annual community events such as the Fourth of July Parade, and Scouting-specific events like the annual Pinewood Derby and end-of-the-year picnic.

 

All Scouts have the opportunity to attend sleep-away, summer camp where they use all the skills they learned during the Scouting year, gain new skills, meet new friends, and deepen existing friendships. Go to our website and check out the calendar for more insight about our schedule of events throughout the year, available from http://pack33.takomaparkscouts.org 

 

Organization

 

Pack 33 is made up of five subunits called dens that are organized by school grade and correspond to a Cub Scout rank, i.e., Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and Arrow of Light, respectively. As a pack, we meet once a month as a full assembly of all Scouts and their families. Often times we combine our pack meetings with other activities. The dens routinely meet twice a month to work on advancements and have fun, and Pack 33 follows that model closely. Both pack and den meetings are about an hour long.

 

All den meetings, and many of our pack meetings, take place at the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church (TPPC), 310 Tulip Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912. TPPC has a significant role in Pack33; it’s what the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) refers to as our chartered organization. Pack 33 owes its 79-year history in Takoma Park to the stewardship and support of TPPC. We are a subordinate organization and youth program of TPPC, which is charted by the BSA to deliver the Cub Scouting program.

 

Rank in Cub Scouts and Parental Involvement

 

Your son would be a either a Tiger, Bear, Wolf, Webelos or Arrow of Light Scout, which means he would be working on requirements to achieve this rank by the end of May. The Cub Scouting curriculum is intended to provide age-appropriate activities with some executed with their parent partner, some with the den, and some with the pack. In the Bear year, the boys are given more autonomy and take on more responsibility, with parental involvement scaled back since they will eventually join a boy-led Boy Scout troop that will provide leadership opportunities as they mature. Right after the Bear year is a year-and-a-half of Webelos, which is designed to enable this transition.

 

Den leaders depend on parental involvement, and often need help with the following:

·         Planning and following through with den meeting activities;

·         Maintaining order at den meetings; and

·         Participating in pack meetings and other activities.

 

I have found that each den has a core group of parents whose involvement ranges from buying supplies to leading den meetings. A few will step up to direct activities at our semi-annual campouts and other outings, too. Some will register as adult leaders and step into Den Leader and Assistant Den Leader roles, which is the best case scenario for the boys. As the proverb goes, it takes a village, and never have I seen this demonstrated better than in Cub Scouting. In Scouting another mantra is Every boy deserves a trained leader. Taking on a leadership role helps Pack 33 deliver a higher-quality program, and we’d be happy for you to consider it.

 

As far as time commitment, den meetings typically run an hour each, plus a little time for pre-meeting and post-meeting communications and getting to and from the site. Pack meetings often run about an hour, but some are shorter, especially when bundled in with another activity like our annual Splash Pool Outing. The pack leaders also meet once a month for planning and reflection, and parents are invited to attend. Those meetings can run up to 90-minutes. Finally, there are some requirements that your Scout will work on at home, and the rigor is up to you. In Cub Scouting, our motto is “Do Your Best.” If you plan for 3 - 5 hours per month outside of den and pack meetings, then that may be a good benchmark.

 

Registration & DUES 

 

Your boy needs to be Registered with Pack 33 and with BSA.  Additionally, the dues paid for each Scout support a year of scouting. Annual dues cover almost all of the activities for the year, including Fall and Spring campouts (Summer campout is not included).  Annual dues are $150 per scout, or $135 per scout for families with more than one cub scout in Pack 33.  Discounts also apply for children of registered leaders in Pack 33.

Pack 33 makes a commitment to allow any Scout to participate regardless of their family’s financial means.  Please contact the cubmaster - cubmaster@takomaparkscouts.org - if you would like to request a subsidy for dues. Also, the Pack Campership Fund enables every Scout to attend summer camp through subsidies. Contributions to the Fund are voluntary and always appreciated.

To register for the Pack, BSA, and take care of dues payment (we accept checks and PayPal), please visit this page & follow the steps: http://bit.ly/Pack33Registration

 

Uniform

 

Wearing the uniform is one of the seven methods of Cub Scouting, and creates an identity as a Scout. With the uniform and a Bear Scout Handbook in hand, your child will be ready to begin their journey down the Scouting path. The handbook, uniform, and various insignia can be purchased from the Scout Shop, 9190 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814, or online from http://www.scoutstuff.org/

 

I have attached a spreadsheet with the associated costs, and a uniform sizing chart for online shopping. I hope this helps.

 

Yours in Scouting,

Victoria Eisenberg

Pack Cubmaster 

Here are some photos taken of our Webelos at Camp Ross: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pack33