Question about mandatory parent volunteering for Scouts and other groups

[sassenach]

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Would you be kind enough to send me your team's website? Our USA Swimming team, of course, has the same problem, however, we have a potential solution for the bodies needed. Our high school team offered, as a fundraiser, to work a session of the latest meet for a donation ($30 per session) . Only 16 families took that option. However, if the USA team had a buyout option that allowed them to hire the high school team, it could work. $400 per family per year would allow them to hire a lot of high school timers. And the high school team would be able to afford to rent pool time.

 

Back to the OP, I'm not sure Scouts allows charging extra to families that don't volunteer.

 

 

I'll pm it to you. It's not a USA team, just a local summer league. We have to sign up for 6 slots. When we do, we sign a credit card slip that authorizes them to charge $75 per no-show. Or we can buy out for $400. They mean business. Part of it is that our league is a unique beast. We have 10 teams and we do 8 duel meets a season. Each meet requires 50+ volunteers to pull off.

[itsheresomewhere]

Personally, I hate mandatory volunteering. Now I have no problem doing what I can for the activity. DS was in one activity that really burned my chaps for it. I was already his "shadow" for the stuff yet that wasn't good enough. I was expected to still volunteer for other stuff. My favorite was when they insisted that since I was already there, I should be a leader for another class. When we do an activity that needs volunteers, I offer to do anything that I can do from home. Make phone calls, send emails, print/design flyers, etc.

One thing that can help is to try to have a succession plan for the big volunteer commitments. For example, if one of the positions is Volunteer Coordinator, it's great to recruit an assistant Volunteer Coordinator who helps out and shadows the Volunteer Coordinator, with the understanding that next year, the assistant becomes the head Volunteer Coordinator. It's a lot less scary to be the "assistant", knowing that someone can train you, and there is an end in sight once you do sign up.

[Mom0012]

Hi again,

 

I am the treasurer of a Cub Scout pack at my son's elementary school. Over the year since I began volunteering, I have become the webmaster, the camp card coordinator, and the advancement chair due to attrition of other volunteers.

 

During the first year of our new little pack leadership, we've gone from 10 volunteers to 5. We have 65 Scouts, plus siblings, from about 50 families. So, 90% of the families don't do squat. I'm frustrated and burned out.

 

Before I volunteer for next year's leadership (assuming they straighten out the tax mess I unknowingly inherited as treasurer), I am trying to get the Cubmaster and Committee Chair to consider requiring Scout parents to contribute X amount of volunteer hours to the pack as a condition of signing up their Scout.

 

Clearly 90% of the parents think it's fine to drop and run and let the other 5 of us do it all. I'm tired. Asking them individually to help with various events this year has been met with virtually no response.

 

I've seen that other groups on the web (American Heritage Girls, some Scout troops, etc) do require parents to contribute time in return for the privilege of enrolling their Scout. I'd like to hear from leaders in packs/troops/groups that have this policy how it has worked for them. Has it been helpful? Are there problems I might not anticipate? Does it work?

 

I'm still trying to fix my situation instead of quitting and running away. Overall, I think Scouts has been good for my son, and I'd like to continue with the pack at our school.

 

Thanks,

 

GA Cub Mom

 

I think requiring everyone to contribute makes sense. Or, you could say you need volunteers for certain positions, and there will be no troop meetings until they are filled. Sometimes people just need a little push.

 

My dd is in AHG, and I have no problems with volunteering at all. I do think they take it to the other extreme, though, by requiring parents to attend all meetings. We have a ton of parents on the room, and most of the time I am just bored to death and my help is not needed. I miss the drop off days of Girl Scouts. I always helped out by being cookie mom and in any other way I could, but I didn't feel like a hostage.

[Danestress]

 

 

Okay. That's a choice you've made and that's fine by me. When I sign my kid's up for something, I do not view it as signing myself up for it too.

 

I think the idea, though, is to create a rule that parent must commit to a certain number of hours of volunteering, so you would know going in that this would be expected.

 

Activities can really tap parents out in terms of time and money. But just as I would not say, "I can't pay for this activity because we have so many activities as a family to pay for, so you all pay and I will get a free ride," I would not expect to coast through the year with no time commitment and expect other parents to always pick up the slack.

 

We do, as a family, what we have financial, energy, and time to handle. I am never going to be the uber volunteer that runs the organization. But I also am not going to just drop my kid off and assume the other parents have so much more free time. We are all busy. If I can't committ an evening here or there, we just don't do the activity, which is precisely why we dropped scouting.

[DawnM]

I find scouting to be one of the least expensive activities out there. One season of football, lacrosse, or tennis would cost 3 to 4 times the amount of an entire year of scouting.

 

It does take a lot of time. Many of our weekends have been full this year with campouts or activities. Part of the surge this year is because my oldest is going to Philmont in July and they are doing a lot of extra camping/hiking to prepare.

 

Dawn

 

 

And personally, I think scouts is really expensive. And it tends to take over the entire family's life. I can easily see why a family might forget it's a volunteer program.

[Mom0012]

I think the idea, though, is to create a rule that parent must commit to a certain number of hours of volunteering, so you would know going in that this would be expected.

 

Activities can really tap parents out in terms of time and money. But just as I would not say, "I can't pay for this activity because we have so many activities as a family to pay for, so you all pay and I will get a free ride," I would not expect to coast through the year with no time commitment and expect other parents to always pick up the slack.

 

We do, as a family, what we have financial, energy, and time to handle. I am never going to be the uber volunteer that runs the organization. But I also am not going to just drop my kid off and assume the other parents have so much more free time. We are all busy. If I can't committ an evening here or there, we just don't do the activity, which is precisely why we dropped scouting.

In my mind, ideally, every parent would not need to volunteer in every activity their child participates in. If each parent helped out in one or two activities, then things would even out. For example, if I am the cookie mom for Girl Scouts and my husband attends all campouts and is always there for the Boy Scouts, it would be nice if I could just drop my dd off at AHG. Then maybe there would be another mom who would be heavily involved in AHG, but do nothing for Girl Scouts. This is the way I think things should work, but it doesn't because too many people try to slide by without contributing anything.

[Murphy101]

Ha. I know plenty of families that don't want to pay either.

 

I do appreciate knowing BEFORE I sign up what they are going to be demanding. It's a great help in determining ahead of time what we should or shouldn't do.

[TravelingChris]

I was always volunteering but never as much as the OP does. Most activities that had the kids in had one of us parents as a volunteer. So in Boy Scouts, that was dh though I would do some light helping like helping set up chairs at the Blue and Gold dinner. Soccer was usually dh but sometimes me. Swimming was usually me but sometimes him and sometimes an older sibling. Dice is usually me but again sometimes him (snack shop).

 

So we were always doing things for our kids' activities and still are with the last one. However, I was very grateful for the other volunteers in Scouts when my dh was tdy for months. Fortunately by that time, ds was in Boy Scouts, not cub and they need less volunteers.

[Danestress]

Ha. I know plenty of families that don't want to pay either.

 

I do appreciate knowing BEFORE I sign up what they are going to be demanding. It's a great help in determining ahead of time what we should or shouldn't do.

 

Yes, definitely you should know before hand. I agree with that. And if I were taking in a big leadership role I would really want volunteer commitments secured beforehand anyway. I have learned not to take on leadership roles first and then discover that other parents planned on just dropping their kids off and not helping with anything. This is particularly important with cub scouts and swimming which, in my experience, are very parent intensive. And it does always seem that the kids who cause the most trouble are the ones whose parents are never around to address it.

 

I hated cub scouts. This whole discussion is bringing it all back!!!

[Serenade]

I thought cub scouts required a parent to be present at any meeting or event? Our Pack does not allow parents to drop off kids, period. So there are always parents around who are pulled in to help in a group breakout or what not. In Webelos, parents are requested to lead or help lead one pin session. Most do. As far as Pack activities go (as opposed to Den or Patrol activities), I would personally prefer fewer than to have so many that volunteerism needs are high. I think it's fine (and not necessarily a bad thing) to cut these Pack activities if there are not enough volunteers. And I don't think it should be laden with guilt, either. Fine, nobody could volunteer, we won't do that this year.

 

I do think the scouting program in general should be careful about requiring participation. I consider Scouts a service organization, and as such, the program serves some kids whose parents can never or will never help out. And that should be OK. While my boys were/are in cub scouts, we've probably been average volunteers. We've lead a couple of pin sessions, help otherwise where we can, and we always participate in fund raising (for us, a cake auction, no popcorn), but we've never taken on a specialty position in the pack. If this had been required of us, we would have had to drop out. We've been lucky in that many of our leaders consider their boy scout participation an act of service to the community, and not just something for their particular kid. We hope to return this favor to the community as our boys grow and become more independent.

[Impish]

One of the reasons we haven't put Tazzie or Princess into Scouts is our experience when Diva was in.

 

Wolf had an unpredictable work schedule, I don't drive, Tazzie as a toddler, Princess was a baby at the time.

 

Wolf wasn't always home when it was time for her to go, but thankfully it was close enough for me to walk her, come home, and he was always home by the time the mtg was over.

 

I got more than one call, an hr before the mtg started, demanding I volunteer that night to help run the mtg. I simply couldn't. I couldn't help run a mtg, take care of a toddler and nursing baby, plus the mtg wasn't over til past Tazzie's bedtime, so add in what would've been a cranky toddler monster and a baby who's feeding sched WOULD have had me needing to feed her part way through. I was lectured and made to feel like dirt b/c I couldn't manage to drop and run w/out any notice.

 

Now, I'm even LESS likely to volunteer. The lack of driving is still an issue, as is a toddler in the house, and another baby on the way, but the biggest issue is my RSD. I simply cannot commit to being ANYWHERE that requires me to be fully functioning on any given day/time. Evenings are a pretty rock solid guarantee that my pain levels are up. Wolf can and has volunteered for things w/the kids, but you'd be surprised at the times that I've gotten very pointed comments that the MOM should be involved, vs the Dad, esp when it's an all girl activity.

 

Something behind the scenes, that isn't on a tight schedule, that doesn't take 2 hands to complete, that I can manage...but as others have mentioned, so much volunteer sign up is so darn vague, there's no way to figure out what it entails...and I won't blindly sign up for something and then have to bail when I find out it's not possible for me.

[Murphy101]

Which does bring the second point for US.

 

I rarely enroll my younger than 10 years kids in anything. I did that with my older ones and honestly thought it was a waste most of the time. The parents tend to end up doing more and being more exhausted from it than the kids!

[fairfarmhand]

When I was a swim team manager, we discussed having a buyout option. However, the truth is we couldn't come up with a fee that would be high enough for perpetual slackers. Sure we could have a buyout and get money, but we still needs bodies to run the meets.

 

One idea I've thought of is serious tracking of volunteer commitments, with the requirement that if a parent does not volunteer or provide a volunteer for his/her duties, the child cannot sign up again. We did not follow through with that idea because it punishes the child.

 

During each meet we would have to find parents who had not signed up and had not done any work previously and put them to work.

From a reluctant volunteer perspective...

 

The more you can break things down to manageable specific bites, the more people are likely to volunteer.

 

To someone who has not done it before and doesn't have much experience with project management, "Organize the Pinewood Derby" sound incredibly daunting - personally, I'll stare at you like a deer in the headlights if asked that. But if you ask me to show up for a few hours the day before to help set up, I will. And someone who might be willing to step into a leadership role is more likely to sign up if they can see that they already have a group of people willing to help, especially if those people have committed to specific jobs.

 

I'm also unlikely to sign up for a nebulous committee with unspecified time commitment to help organize the Blue and Gold dinner, but I will sign up to show up 2 hours early and cook spaghetti.

 

Have some sort of point/hour system with a certain number of participation points needed, and then assign points based on expected time contribution (adjusted appropriately if actual contribution ends up being significantly higher). Someone who volunteers to organize the Blue and Gold dinner might fulfil their entire requirement, while the person who cooks the spaghetti might have to do some other similar small job at several events.

 

Have parents list their occupation, talents, certifications, interests, and so forth. Maybe have a checklist of interests. Then match them up with things that need doing. I am not a good person to organize the Pinewood Derby. I am a good person to serve as camp nurse at day camp.

 

Break things down in such a way that there are things that introverts, people with disabilities, people who work 60 hours weeks, people who are seriously struggling financially, and other challenges will feel that they can help with.

 

If you have a buy-out amount, can it be used to hire people (esp. a teen or young adult - someone who will work for low-cost and needs resume-building) to serve in those roles, or would that be against the rules/too much of a pain?

:iagree: Also, include jobs that people can do at home or any time. Like website stuff, phone calls, collecting supplies for activities, etc.

But people burn out due to all of the people who insist that it isn't in them to volunteer. Everyone can do something-collect fundraiser forms and money, make sure they match, fill our the forms for the troop; help register girls into Troopmaster; run the website; go shopping for a camping trip. Many hands make light work. I have done *all* of the things above and much more over the last few years. If every parent took just one job or one piece of a job, then it would make things much easier.

 

As a leader it may be helpful to have sheets with details about each activity. Spring Campout would have a sheet detailing what needs to be done. The person who volunteers gets the sheet at the volunteer meeting. If noone volunteers, leader says, "okay. I guess we can't do that this year." wad up the paper and toss it in the trash

[KarenNC]

In my mind, ideally, every parent would not need to volunteer in every activity their child participates in. If each parent helped out in one or two activities, then things would even out. For example, if I am the cookie mom for Girl Scouts and my husband attends all campouts and is always there for the Boy Scouts, it would be nice if I could just drop my dd off at AHG. Then maybe there would be another mom who would be heavily involved in AHG, but do nothing for Girl Scouts. This is the way I think things should work, but it doesn't because too many people try to slide by without contributing anything.

 

Unfortunately, I think this would work only if all the volunteer-run groups in which one was involved included only (or even primarily) the same people so that the volunteering was mutually beneficial---along the lines of my volunteering for a committee at church related to administration and doing behind the scenes work for the religious education classes for young children while letting someone else run the youth group in which my child participates. I'm still supporting the same organization that is providing services to my child. That volunteer effort, however, doesn't at all benefit the families running my daughter's Scout troop or our homeschool group, since the groups don't really overlap. That means I do something for all of the groups, though I will only take a leadership role in one at a time. I learned that lesson the year I was on the board for the homeschool group, organized field trips, led the Girl Scout troop, and had a high time commitment volunteer position with the church as well as helped out at our aikido dojo during seminars. It wasn't sustainable (or sane).

[Jennifer3141]

We are in the process of forming a brand new GS troop. GS has strict guidleines about the volunteer/student ratio. I sent out an email this morning to the Daisy Moms that we hadn't hit that magic number and the immediate decision now is do we limit Daisys or does another Mom step up? Two Moms popped up and want to rotate it. I think that's awesome.

 

Our CS troop moved to committees. Someone else said it but it is so much easier getting parents to be on a committee of three for the Raingutter Regatta when one person could do it just fine. We have monthly pack meetings and when we need something done, the CM tosses out that he needs a committee of three, four, whatever (it cracks me up because the number is usually random) and out of the very active group of 12 or so parents sitting there, we always get it done. Honestly, the worst abusers of not helping are the scholarship kids and we're going to address that next year by requiring parent participation. Funny enough but if you don't pay anything, sell anything, or don't participate in any way, your kid doesn't actually seem to get anything out of the activity other than some very cheap babysitting.

 

And my 4H group has 100% parent participation. That just seems to be the way 4H works. Parents of livestock kids want to know what to do, how much it is going to cost, whatever and they hang around. (I also made it parent friendly by having a corner set up for them with parent type snacks like blue cheese, crackers, etc.) I also make it clear to everyone who joins us that babies are welcome but that it's not my job to babysit any of their kids. The kids come to get projects done and run the meetings. We are a kid led group. It's $10 a year for 4H. People seem to have a better grasp that such a small fee means much more active parent participation is necessary. I think sometimes people look at the cost of scouting (including the uniform!) and think it somehow magically means they get a little free childcare. :glare:

[FaithManor]

We are in the process of forming a brand new GS troop. GS has strict guidleines about the volunteer/student ratio. I sent out an email this morning to the Daisy Moms that we hadn't hit that magic number and the immediate decision now is do we limit Daisys or does another Mom step up? Two Moms popped up and want to rotate it. I think that's awesome.

 

Our CS troop moved to committees. Someone else said it but it is so much easier getting parents to be on a committee of three for the Raingutter Regatta when one person could do it just fine. We have monthly pack meetings and when we need something done, the CM tosses out that he needs a committee of three, four, whatever (it cracks me up because the number is usually random) and out of the very active group of 12 or so parents sitting there, we always get it done. Honestly, the worst abusers of not helping are the scholarship kids and we're going to address that next year by requiring parent participation. Funny enough but if you don't pay anything, sell anything, or don't participate in any way, your kid doesn't actually seem to get anything out of the activity other than some very cheap babysitting.

 

And my 4H group has 100% parent participation. That just seems to be the way 4H works. Parents of livestock kids want to know what to do, how much it is going to cost, whatever and they hang around. (I also made it parent friendly by having a corner set up for them with parent type snacks like blue cheese, crackers, etc.) I also make it clear to everyone who joins us that babies are welcome but that it's not my job to babysit any of their kids. The kids come to get projects done and run the meetings. We are a kid led group. It's $10 a year for 4H. People seem to have a better grasp that such a small fee means much more active parent participation is necessary. I think sometimes people look at the cost of scouting (including the uniform!) and think it somehow magically means they get a little free childcare. :glare:

 

Your post is spot on.

 

I do think that something about 4-H does make it easier to generally get parents involved. Also, what you said about scholarships is so true. Normally our 4-H projects, by virtue of being very technical, science projects, cost about $10.00 each with the kids using a LOT of our science equipment. We don't mind them using our stuff. It would be crazy to tell them to buy beakers, flasks, glass tubing, copper etching supplies, a forge, whatever in order to participate when we have it all anyway. But, the consumables, and in particular certain elements and chemicals, are expensive to replace. So, thus...about $10.00 each. We used to try to offer two "scholarships" per year that families having a tough financial time could apply for and they would be exempt from the $10.00 project fee. (We do approximately 8 of these kinds of projects per year - so this money would be in addition to the $10.00 annual 4-H membership fee, but payable to dh and I for the supplies.) However, what happened was that nearly always, the two families awarded this would NOT help, would drop off younger children and treat us like free babysitting, would show up to meetings WAY late and expect us to start over for their child, etc. It was if, "Since I don't have to pay, I don't have to be responsible," was the mindset. So, we eliminated the scholarship. Every once in a while, when we personally know a family is struggling, when they try to pay for a project and especially if they have more than one child enrolled in the club, we'll slip the money back to them without anyone noticing and say, "It's on us this week." However, this kind of impromptu thing has never been a license to abuse our goodwill.

 

I don't know why this is. If my kid were awarded a scholarship for an extra-curricular, you can be certain we'd be pitching in and being responsible. I guess for some individuals, if they do not have to pay, then they do not consider it worth their attention. It's a shame.

 

I only occasionally had this problem when I gave scholarships for piano lessons. So, maybe it's that parents don't value the science. Sure, it's fun to take part and do all of the geeky, nerdy, "explosive" stuff :D , but if they have to attend meetings, help their kid get the work done, or refrain from using us as free-babysitting, then it's just not worth their effort or something. I really don't quite get it.

 

That said. We do love our club and we've currently got an AWESOME group of kids and parents to work with...when it comes to community volunteerism, I have to say that for us, 4-H is the BOM!

 

Faith

[Swimtaxi234]

I am going to send you a PM with a detailed letter explaining what parents are expected to do (volunteer and/or be fined).

[catz]

I hate stuff like this. I'm super picky about what I'll volunteer for because so often a few parents end up with EVERYTHING. We are involved in a couple things that have gotten smart about it. They have a requirement that each family volunteer a minimum of 10 (or some) hours over the course a year. Some families go above that, some families end up doing behind the scenes stuff, or making phone calls, or e-mails, picking up supplies, etc. They invented many ways people can help. I totally agree that EVERYONE is busy and has their own issues. If you have some reasonable minimum, it might weed out some families just looking for a cheap babysitter.

[AMJ]

•Personally recruit. Personally asking a person to fill a role is so much more effective than sending out a mass email. People have a much harder time saying no to your face than just ignoring an email.

 

 

So very true! I am probably approaching 10 times the requirement of 30 service hours per school year of our private school (per family, not per student) simply because I really love the librarian and can't say No to her. The number of hours I've put in include other stuff (I chaperone on ALL of my kids' field trips because I've seen how careless some parent "chaperones" are), but the vast bulk was helping out our overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated librarian. And I did all this knowing we are bailing out of the school at the end of the year. The librarian is retiring and will be gone, too, though, so at least I don't feel like I'm abandoning her.

 

As Sassenach said, ask 'em to their face, and tell them without help various events simply won't occur. It's harder to say No to someone's face, especially when being told that with out someone to work events the events would have to be cancelled.

[AMJ]

 

 

One way is to give them an ultimatum - no volunteers, no Scout program. And, if your Pack folds due to no volunteers, you can always start a new one with the stipulation that all parents be involved, and have them sign up immediately for an activity.

 

Gather all the parents at an information meeting and have a list of activities and their dates. Tell them that without their help, no activities. You say, "Who can organize the Pinewood Derby in March? It involves xyz..... No one, ok. Let's cross that off the list. What about roller skating in April?..." And keep going down the list. When you get to the end, thank those who stepped up, and let the others know that if they change their minds to let you know which activity they are willing to take over.

 

It is a very tough thing to do. You will have to be ruthless.

 

Sorry! Remembered a bit faulty when typing, and realized jen3kids gets credit for the "volunteer or we drop events" suggestion.

[Seasider]

We were in a group once that had a parent requirement of "3" for each family.

 

Jobs were rated as 1, 2 or 3. Thus, a parent could do one level 3 task, one level 2 AND one level 1 task, or three level 1 tasks during the year.

 

This planning on the part of the adult leadership, with foresight in regard to the year's activities. It also required that as each member enrolled/reenrolled, a conversation took place between the parent and the designated volunteer coordinator. Certainly you want to have room for the kids to do planning, and not everything can be anticipated, but the big pegs are usually pretty predictable.

 

Of course there were several little level 1 type things that took place during the year, but the VC knew who to call upon. And the parents were less intimidated because even the least able to be involved (like several in this thread) understood that a level one thing would be something that would fit into their ability to do it - like sending cookies or picking up craft supplies as part of a regular shopping trip, etc.

 

 

[Jennifer3141]

Your post is spot on.

That said. We do love our club and we've currently got an AWESOME group of kids and parents to work with...when it comes to community volunteerism, I have to say that for us, 4-H is the BOM!

 

Faith

 

 

 

I did the, "Students as Partners" training through MSU last night Faith and I have to tell you - if they offer this in your area RUN to it. It is one of the most dynamic ways of incorporating kids into 4H I could ever even imagine. We are going to start requiring it as part of the annual 4H leader check in next fall for our county. It was that good. It could revolutionize the way we involve kids in 4H forever. And it was incredibly interesting comparing organizations like GS, CS, and even school systems to the new 4H programming.

[KarenNC]

 

How do you resolve the conflict when you have parents whose children are involved in nothing outside of scouts insisting on holding campouts on dates they know the other Eagle/Life scouts can't attend? I've suggested that either dates be picked to avoid high school graduation, prom, psat, the high school musical (req'd for musicians), and the cancer walk (req'd for NHS students) or the campout be held close enough that they can get there afterwards, not 300 plus miles away as this little group is insisting on.

 

 

This seems entirely not in line with the spirit of Scouting. How many of the group are affected by these dates? From the tone of your post, it's more than 1 or 2 kids. I understood part of the purpose of Scouting as part of a troop is to learn to work as a group with consideration for all members of the group. I don't know how knowingly setting up campouts on the 5 out of 52 weekends per year (from your list) that some Scouts in the troop can't attend counts as "loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, [or] kind" to one's fellow troop members, especially if the campouts are required as part of earning advancements.

 

Who's the leader? I don't know much about Boy Scouts, but in Girl Scouts I believe that a leader has to attend all the campouts. If you are the leader, only be available to do these on dates you know don't conflict for most kids or give a list of places you are willing to do (as in close by) on other dates. I know it's hard to set up dates that work for everyone, but hopefully some sort of reasonable compromise can be reached.

[Jennifer3141]

 

This seems entirely not in line with the spirit of Scouting. How many of the group are affected by these dates? From the tone of your post, it's more than 1 or 2 kids. I understood part of the purpose of Scouting as part of a troop is to learn to work as a group with consideration for all members of the group. I don't know how knowingly setting up campouts on the 5 out of 52 weekends per year (from your list) that some Scouts in the troop can't attend counts as "loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, [or] kind" to one's fellow troop members, especially if the campouts are required as part of earning advancements.

 

Who's the leader? I don't know much about Boy Scouts, but in Girl Scouts I believe that a leader has to attend all the campouts. If you are the leader, only be available to do these on dates you know don't conflict for most kids or give a list of places you are willing to do (as in close by) on other dates. I know it's hard to set up dates that work for everyone, but hopefully some sort of reasonable compromise can be reached.

 

 

I totally agree with you, Karen. And from my short time in CS already, I've seen the dynamics play out in a pack like this. And it doesn't go well for the pack.

 

If I were the parent of a young man in HS who was in NHS and scouting, tough cookies BSA. NHS takes precedence. Yes, kids are in a ton of stuff nowadays and I think there is finally some push back on it all, but there are areas where Scouts hasn't learned to roll with it and for 9 out of 10 times, it's the Scouts program that loses. Those are the undynamic packs around here. They just kind of rot in the their own lack of consideration for the children involved. and then eventually, they collapse.

[Jenn121]

I run an AHG troop. We require parents to volunteer. We do not require that parents stay for the meetings unless the girl is a Pathfinder(K). There are so many places to volunteer that do not require staying on meeting nights.

 

We have job descriptions in our troop handbook so parents a clear on what is expected. We have a points system in place. Each family must complete 3 points worth of volunteering and each position is given a points value. Troop Coordinator and any position that requires meeting attendance and is year long is 3 points. Events committee or equipment manager is 1 or 2 depending on the size of the event.

 

It is hard. I sent the following email out to my parents today.

 

 

"Troop 158 is a volunteer run program. The leaders receive no discounts or additional financial benefits for volunteering. We do it because we love our girls and yours. We want them to get the best possible AHG program and this program would not exist without the dedication of it's volunteers.

 

That being said we have some leadership positions that must be filled for next year. I have attached a list of needs and the job descriptions from the Troop handbook. These descriptions are not exhaustive but give you an idea of what the responsibilities are.

 

We must fill as many of these positions as possible. When we have empty positions the responsibilities of these positions do not disappear. They fall on the other leaders. This can become overwhelming when multiple positions are empty.

 

Please review the attachments and pray about where you can use your abilities and gifts to the benefit of the Troop, through them you will enhance both your daughters' AHG experience and the experience of her troop mates."

[GeorgiaGirl160]

Yes, I agree that the boys show great committment. I did stop the negativity from certain leaders by pointing out that scouts who volunteer to work cub camp and who are den chiefs really can't be said to be 'uninterested' solely because they can't make campouts that are scheduled on their regional varsity sports playoff weekend, on the psat, on graduation...

 

I'm the OP. I totally agree with this.

 

In our own Cub Scout pack, I have to add that I'm very sad that "commitment" as a leader seems to mean dropping everything, anytime, anywhere, to do everything that the other parents say they don't have time to do.

 

As a naive Tiger Cub momma last year, I naively agreed to the outgoing Cubmaster's request that I be treasurer this year. I was told that this would include "a few hours a month".

 

In practice, this is what has actually been expected of me by the new Cubmaster and the new Commitee Chair:

 

1. Every event includes a table where I am to take payments and answer questions for the next upcoming event. This has meant that I spend all events (Pinewood, etc.) at a little table in the back where I cannot participate with my son, which is why I got involved in the first place. It has not been lost on me that CM and CC do get to participate with their sons.

 

2. When other parents do not step up during the year to lead various committees (Camp Cards, etc.), I get the role by default because money is involved. Future treasurers take note. No camp card coordinator? OP will do it! She has to give the Council a check anyway!

 

3. When other leaders do not do the jobs they volunteered for, like our camp coordinator, I get to "help", whether I want to or not. Ex. When our camp coordinator could not get his act together to give parents medical forms, maps, etc., guess who they ask while they're handing me a check?

 

4. As treasurer, I have become the official record keeper. I'm the one who knows who paid their dues, t shirt fee, etc., so it has been assumed that I am the membership record keeper, distributor of the t shirts, etc.

 

5. I'm also now the advancement chair because the original AC moved to Colorado mid-year. I got that one because, wait for it, it involves money!

 

6. I also have to make sure I understand how our pack taxes need to be done, and all the ways in which we can mess up our non-profit status: individual Scout accounts, how we advertise camp cards, etc. Is all that research appreciated?

 

Nooooo.... In fact, when I realized that our pack hadn't filed taxes or been included in our PTA charter org's taxes for nine years, and brought it to both groups' attention, the PTA told me to go away and the pack CC told me (nicely) to keep my mouth shut and not discuss the matter with the PTA any further because he was getting complaints from the BSA Council that I was jeopardizing the charter for the upcoming year.

 

In other words, I was pressured to shut up about the fac that our taxes haven't been filed properly (or at all) for nine years because we might lose our charter if we offend the loony school PTA, the pack will be disbanded, and it will all be my fault.

 

No pressure.

 

I just quit as treasurer for the upcoming year. As of one month from today, I am blessedly done. I think I'm more excited about school being out for summer than my kids are.

 

I also quit as advancment chair, camp card coordinator, and from the pack committee. Stick a fork in me, I'm done. I'm keeping my mouth shut for the rest of the school year so my son can continue to enjoy being in the pack. I will volunteer for something much simpler next year, like blowing up balloons at the Blue & Gold.

 

If I could speak to my CC and CM without being pressured to shut up, I would say:

 

1. Don't ask current volunteers to add more major roles to the one they already have. Treasurer should be enough. They should go to the 40 parents who aren't doing anything at all to recruit an advancement chair, camp card coordinator, etc.

 

2. Stop telling me you can't do what you promised and you now expect me to do it at the last minute because you "have a job". I "have a job" too.

 

When I had kids, I chose to greatly downgrade my career to part time work so that I could do more with my kids and my husband. I did not take that pay cut so I could juggle half a dozen major volunteer commitments at church, school, and Scouts so that other families with two incomes could tell me they don't have time to do anything because they "have a job". I feel like I'm just enabling some of the double-income no volunteer families at our pack and school to have it both ways at my expense, and I've come to resent it.

 

CC and CM have a lot of grand ideas about the pack, but they don't do much. I and two of the other moms end up with all the jobs CC and CM don't want, while they enjoy giving their sons the Scout experience they had as kids.

 

And CC has got to stop emailing and calling me for deadlines, costs, and other info easily Googled from our regional Council. I am not his private assistant.

 

3. Never ask a volunteer to break the law. When I told my CC and CM that I had found a huge problem in that our taxes had not been filed for nine years and the PTA refused to accept our info to include in their 990 form, the CM said absolutely nothing. The CC tells me that we "won't get caught" because "we're nice people who help kids" and "there isn't much money involved anyway".

 

I don't do my taxes according to the likelihood of getting caught. I just do them right. If I can't be honest on the pack taxes and file them like they are supposed to be because of political issues between BSA and PTA over chartering, then I just have to quit. And I have.

 

I am tremendously disappointed to have been put in an ethical mess with my own pack. My friend asked if these were the people I wanted teaching my son about character. I'm honestly not sure. I've lost a lot of respect for BSA and my local pack over this.

 

Thanks for letting me vent. Hopefully any future treasurers out there will learn from my mistakes.

 

GA Cub Mom

[GeorgiaGirl160]

To Jenn121,

 

Thank you for looking out for your current leaders. I wish my CM or CC would even consider sending an email like that to the 90% of our pack parents who do absolutely nothing. When I see leaders like you, that's where I feel confident volunteering my time.

 

Ga Cub Mom

[2squared]

This is probably taking things in a little different direction, but does anyone feel the scope of some of these organizations is just too big? I love 4-H. I have no problem volunteering for 4-H. We joined 4-H for a couple years, but we quit because it was just too much. My kids' projects weren't a problem nor were the meetings, county fair, or volunteering at the county fair. Those are the activities that I expected to do. It was all the extra things we had to do - service projects, community volunteering, fundraising, snacks for meetings, etc. I can't even remember all the extras. The extras took up a lot of time and money, and I just didn't expect them I guess.

 

My kids are very active in sports as well. My dh & I drive, coach, and help with fundraising. The fundraising is limited to working at one tournament each season for each sport. We aren't organizing snacks, volunteering in the community, or doing anything beyond the scope of our sport. Maybe it helps that the sports schedules are rather rigid - practice and games are at set times on set days. Our 4-H schedule was all over the board - different days, different times of day, different lengths of time. It was really difficult for us to participate. We had to change our lives to accommodate 4-H whereas the sports schedules fit into our lives. Ironically sports probably take more overall time from us, but something about the 4-H format was very frustrating.

[Jennifer3141]

GeorgiaGirl, I almost don't know what to say. What a HORRIBLE experience!!! I'm sorry for you and everyone in your family. What a dumb way to run a pack...

 

You're a better person than I because the second I figured out the tax thing, I'd have run away from that hot mess at the speed of sound. :laugh:

[FriedClams]

I just finished up my year as a Cubmaster, so I feel your pain in trying to get more parents to volunteer. I would suggest you follow BSA recommendations - use the talent survey . We gave them out and collect them at registration. "Thanks for your check, can I please get that parent form from you, too? Thanks!"

 

Use your committee and Charter Rep. That's why they're there. Leaders should lead their dens, the committee should organize and staff events.

 

I agree that specific is the way to go. I wouldn't ask parents if they could help... I'd say, "Dr. X, I would really appreciate it if you could do the First Aid pin for the Webelos. Would the 15th or the 22nd work better for your schedule? Here's a printout of the requirements. Please let me know if you need anything." And I'd email a follow up. I never had a parent flake on me and I got a TON of requirements done this way.

 

For large events - get a committee member to chair and get their own volunteers. "The Christmas Party is scheduled for December 8th - and we need people to set up, organize food, and decorate."

 

Also - PLAN AHEAD. So many events are a hassle because we're all so busy that we forget that the Pinewood Derby is coming... or Arrow of Light... or whatever. Plan the year ahead (as BSA recommends) and then work the calendar two months out. Often the slack has to be picked up because the date wasn't advertised enough (and just "on a calendar" isn't advertising).

 

Make the events as simple as possible. For pack meetings we went from (the old CM) "free" snacks, drinks, without any adults serving... $$$$$ and labor intensive - to pizza and drinks (me as CM) which people paid $1 a slice and $0.50 a drink for. We always barely broke even so it cost the Pack nothing - which was my goal - and it was so easy. Can you combine the Pinewood Derby with a Pack Meeting? What can you do to make things easy, cheap, and fun. This year we moved our PD to an afternoon event so we could cut out a meal. With snacks (brought by dens) and drinks - it was cheap and fun. Boys don't care about flash. They want a snack and to play. They're pretty easy . :-)

 

I think the overall key for all of us in scouting - keep it simple, make it fun. My question before an event is always, "Is this event going to be fun for an 8 year old boy?" Are we making a fuss for nothing? Fun, dirt, advancement, recognition - that's what makes it fun for boys so focusing on that makes it much easier.

[Jennifer3141]

Kayaking, thank you for your post. It's really interesting reading about the perspective of a new CM.

 

And I agree with Heigh. I think you get out of some of these organizations what you put in. And some of the groups aren't going to work for everyone. With 4H, it's easy to forget that different areas run things very differently. For examply, my county is 50% fair animals and 50% other groups. My kids did an ASL 4H group and an archery 4H group this winter and DS starts 4H golf in a couple of weeks. Archery was 10 weeks. Golf is 6 weeks. We also have a microfarming little 4H group and we've been tossing around the idea of joining the junior master gardening 4H group. But for the fun class type 4H groups, you go for the length of the class and then you're done. I love those classes!

[MarinesWife]

There are so many great suggestions in this thread!! I'm going to take notes and pass them on to our new Committee Chairs and AHG Troop Coordinator (we are moving!).

 

Over the years I tried different things: points system, committee sign ups, signing up to run an event, or do one thing ....

 

Truly the best thing that has worked is just having mandatory volunteers. We have done that for three years in our AHG troop and while I tried the signing up to run an event, nothing worked better than this past year when I had a HUGE list of "real" positions and had people sign up for them.

 

We attempted to have positions that were done outside the meetings, done in the meetings, simple, harder, committee-like...it doesn't matter. Putting a name on a job is what worked for me.

 

Mandatory volunteers worked.

 

We had people that never came back, we had people quit after a few months .. it's okay. We had to decide it was okay. We do tell new families that they have a month or so to get a feel for the meetings and what we do. We try to find their talents and gifts and help them choose something that they will truly like. I encourage htem to come back to me after 3 months if they hate what they are doing! we will find something new. There is always something to do because I will double up positions so that they help each other, and it is also great in case one gets sick or moves (military troop).

 

Being in Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and AHG .. I see a huge difference in the way I run AHG, or rather the way our Troop Board voted to do so. We are having our end of the year campout for all 3 groups ... The pack and our AHG troop are very similar in size. I have 3 families attending that are in both. Then only 3 other Cub families are attending, but 13 .. THIRTEEN .. other AHG families are attending.

 

Why? I believe it's because we are all working together. We like being together. We know each other. The families not attending are bummed they cannot go. The Cub families don't talk to me about it - it's just different. Not enough volunteers, not enough participation.

[DawnM]

oops, wrong thread

[amyx4]

Our cub scout pack has on average year 80-95 boys. And it's ALWAYS the same parent volunteers every year...

 

I got really fed up a few years ago (we also had about 10+ "jobs" because nobody else was stepping up!)

 

Part of the problem is ME-- I have this tendency that if something isn't getting done, I do it... And I had to stop doing that.

 

We sat down as a committee and figured out the bare minimum the current committee would handle. Everything else we were going to find volunteers for, or it would not get done.

 

At the beginning of the year, we held a parents meeting and laid it all out. These items will NOT happen unless we have a person or group to run it.

 

Adult leaders and co-leaders for needed dens (if no volunteers, we offered/threatened to send them to another pack)

Pinewood derby

Popcorn

Tshirt orders

website (hubby has done this for the last 8 years and NEEDS to pass it on!)

raingutter regatta

committee positions

etc...

 

If we didn't get volunteers, it got cancelled. The boys will suffer.

 

It's really sad, but as we pointed out to the families-- there were 60+ families in our pack, yet less than 10 volunteers that run the pack. It should NOT be that way!

 

I have become very talented at saying NO. I just was getting to that point that I hated it, and it was because I was doing it alone.

 

I have done 3 Blue and Gold banquets BY MYSELF. Those are a BIG deal-- and ALOT of work, and I have never even gotten a simple thank you from anybody... so frustrating.

(and I will probably get conned into doing youngest sons- which I will do just to make sure his crossover is special like his brothers got...)

 

[DawnM]

We had a huge issue with this.

 

Long story but there was one family who had divorced parents.  The mom asked for scholarships but the dad did have money and would sometimes come on camping trips.  She was adamant that we not ask the dad for money.

 

They ended up leaving our scout troop owing us over $300.  

 

Because of them, we have new policies in place.......no campouts/outings without paying up front and no 100% scholarships, 50% only.

 

 

We learned, through sad experience, to NEVER give full scholarships to Scout things. The boy and his parents figured that his just showing up was good enough. Our CO gives half scholarship to camp the FIRST year and only to a Colorado camp. That's worked well. One year we covered all of one boy's expenses--never got a thank you. When it came time for the boy to schlep pop in the heat and I pointed out that he wasn't exactly working hard, his response was, "Oh, I'll just get a scholarship again!" Nope, speshul snowflake you won't! And your mom was bragging at WalMart the over that day HER boys won't have to pay for college, as they're on the tribal rolls...

We had a parent upbraid me years ago because he hadn't gotten the info on "when does the trip to the train show leave????" I pointed out that I didn't know--when did HE plan on the trip leaving? My kid had already been twice, had the merit badge, and besides, we had a swim meet that weekend, 3 hours away in the opposite direction. You know what? He HEARD me! When his kid didn't get to do that train trip that year, the next year, he and his wife put it together and have made every Scout trip since then! His wife does the tour permits and dad is now the troop treasurer. It's what it took--saying that these trips wouldn't happen without the parents. Of his cohort, their ds is the furthest along the Path to Eagle, having just finished a successful stint as SPL.

 

[amyx4]

 I have done 3 Blue and Gold banquets BY MYSELF. Those are a BIG deal-- and ALOT of work, and I have never even gotten a simple thank you from anybody... so frustrating.

 

In our Pack the Webelos that are crossing over and their parents have responsible for planning the entire B&G banquet. The get told the budget and are given last year agenda but then we turn them loose to do the planning. So each B&G might look at different each year but it's a reflection of that den. They make all the decisions, food, decorations, invitations, speakers, etc.

[Haiku]

I think it depends on who you are trying to reach: all boys who are interested in scouting or only those boys whose parents are interested in scouting.

 

I will be honest and say that I wouldn't put my kids in an activity that required I volunteer. I am busy and, also, especially as a homeschooling parent who spends the vast majority of my time with my kids, sometimes I just need a break from them and what they are doing.

 

My family is very involved in hockey, and I do volunteer jobs for the hockey organization (and my dh is on the board, and assistant coaches, and is the house commissioner). Lots of parents don't do anything for hockey. I'm ok with that because my kids are in some activities that I do nothing for. I don't think that my kids should be left out of an activity because it's not the prime thing that *I* am interested in devoting my time to, and, when I had three kids at home, I couldn't volunteer for each and every one of their separate activities. There simply weren't that many hours.

 

I think the reality is that, if you run an activity for kids, you can't expect that every family will be as into it as you are. Your group may need to reduce the scope of what it does to accommodate the volunteer resources it has. Maybe you could create a proposed schedule of events and the volunteer jobs required to make it happen. If people fail to volunteer, they see the consequence of activities getting axed from the schedule.

 

But I, personally, wouldn't refuse membership to a kid just because their parent won't volunteer.

 

My dd was a Girl Scout the year after we adopted her. Things were very tense at home as she was having a hard time adjusting and had attachment issues. The Girl Scout leader was foaming at the mouth the get me involved because I was a homeschooling mom and she figured that I would be all energetic and have these great, creative ideas. Honestly, I viewed Scouts as a way to get my dd out of my hair for a while. When dd was at her Scouting activities, I went and had a latte and cried in my car. Seriously. 

[kewb]

I absolutely abhor Mandateering.  If you make it mandatory it is no longer voluntary.  I have a disabled husband and after taking care of his needs I have nothing left. 

 

However, you can get people to volunteer without it sounding like mandateering by calling it something else.  For example-instead of a blanket volunteer request ask people to do a task.  For example-Will you pick up a case of water to for the next meeting and bring it when you drop off x.  Or -will you please arrive 15 minutes early to help set up the food.  Most people are happy to do an assigned task but are unwilling to commit a block of time to an unknown.

[shawthorne44]

Thank you for starting this thread.  I am eager to be my daughter's Daisy leader, and it looks like I will have to start a troop.  It seems like these good idea to use these ideas at the very start.  

 

I personally think that you shouldn't be in any organization that you aren't willing to contribute to.  

[mathnerd]

In my area, where most families have 2 working parents, they just drop their kids and run at all events. So, on signup day, they are all given a list of activities for which volunteers are needed and the time slots and the dates on which they are needed. They are told that each family needs to spend 4 hours volunteering and they need to sign up for the tasks on the list. They are also asked to give a $100 check which will be destroyed if the family volunteers for 4 hours and which will be cashed to make up for the costs of that famiy not volunteering. Since the time slots are known well in advance, it helps the parents who are busy and who need childcare etc to make advance arrangements (for e.g. if they knew in June, that they needed to volunteer on August 10th from 2-6:00 pm, then they can plan for it).

So, my suggestion to the OP is to take some time to organize the volunteering, schedule it to make it easy (like buying snacks, arranging tables and chairs, cleanup of events etc with dates, time slots etc), make a chart and break it down to really simple taskes with 1-2 hour time lengths and post it for all the parents. Also, ask them to deposit a check for $100 which will be returned or destroyed if they fulfill the volunteering obligation. And it is not fair that 5% of the parents cover for 95% of the parents - so tell them that volunteering in mandatory (call it by other name if you want). This will streamline the process and makes the parents who are willing to give only 2 hours of their time step up and do it. Many people are afraid that if they "volunteer", then they will be stuck with everything. 

[Rebel Yell]

I think it depends on who you are trying to reach: all boys who are interested in scouting or only those boys whose parents are interested in scouting.

 

I will be honest and say that I wouldn't put my kids in an activity that required I volunteer. I am busy and, also, especially as a homeschooling parent who spends the vast majority of my time with my kids, sometimes I just need a break from them and what they are doing.

 

My family is very involved in hockey, and I do volunteer jobs for the hockey organization (and my dh is on the board, and assistant coaches, and is the house commissioner). Lots of parents don't do anything for hockey. I'm ok with that because my kids are in some activities that I do nothing for. I don't think that my kids should be left out of an activity because it's not the prime thing that *I* am interested in devoting my time to, and, when I had three kids at home, I couldn't volunteer for each and every one of their separate activities. There simply weren't that many hours.

 

I think the reality is that, if you run an activity for kids, you can't expect that every family will be as into it as you are. Your group may need to reduce the scope of what it does to accommodate the volunteer resources it has. Maybe you could create a proposed schedule of events and the volunteer jobs required to make it happen. If people fail to volunteer, they see the consequence of activities getting axed from the schedule.

 

But I, personally, wouldn't refuse membership to a kid just because their parent won't volunteer.

 

My dd was a Girl Scout the year after we adopted her. Things were very tense at home as she was having a hard time adjusting and had attachment issues. The Girl Scout leader was foaming at the mouth the get me involved because I was a homeschooling mom and she figured that I would be all energetic and have these great, creative ideas. Honestly, I viewed Scouts as a way to get my dd out of my hair for a while. When dd was at her Scouting activities, I went and had a latte and cried in my car. Seriously. 

 

:grouphug:

 

[Ellie]

Thank you for starting this thread.  I am eager to be my daughter's Daisy leader, and it looks like I will have to start a troop.  It seems like these good idea to use these ideas at the very start.  

 

I personally think that you shouldn't be in any organization that you aren't willing to contribute to.  

 

I once started a Camp Fire club, for my younger dd. We did it for two years, and I had, oh, seven or eight children at one time. I had to choose which things I could do based on parent participation. I didn't ask for snacks at our weekly meetings. I didn't really need any help at the meetings, but I could not go on outings alone. We did quite a few of those, because I chose activities based on when parents were available. We did a tour of the NBC studios in Burbank, went to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido (is that where it is??), did a Bluebird camp out (which wasn't really a "camp out" since we slept in cabins), and another overnight "camp out," and went to Balboa Park's Globe Theater, as well as participating in several parades and going to the Del Mar Fair. And they earned *lots* of badges. :-)

 

After two years, when the children would have been moving up to the next level, I told the parents I needed an assistant or there would be no group. And that was the end of the group. And we were all good with that. :-)

[Erin]

The thing to remember with "mandateering" is that it's NOT a huge obligation like a leader is.  It's just doing your share.  

Bring treats, organize a single campout, give a demo on how you made your ______, drive kids to a specific meet, etc.  

 

I agree with PPs--EVERYONE has a full schedule.  Saying that I don't have the time (while suggesting that somehow others do) is just saying that my time is actually more valuable than everyone else's.  That's not fair.  

[Haiku]

I agree with PPs--EVERYONE has a full schedule.  Saying that I don't have the time (while suggesting that somehow others do) is just saying that my time is actually more valuable than everyone else's.  That's not fair.  

 

Actually, it's not at all. It's recognizing that some people have chosen to devote their time to a certain activity and other people have chosen to devote their time to other activities.

 

What's not fair is demanding that everyone be as enthused about running the activity you have chosen to devote your time to as you are.

 

Really, if you don't like having to do the work, stop doing it. If people don't value the activity enough to step in when needed, then the activity has outlived its usefulness.

 

Out of all the activities my kids are involved in, the only ones that matter enough to me to volunteer for are hockey and homeschool group (where we take turns scheduling activities). If all the other things my kids did started demanding volunteer hours from me, we would drop them because they aren't valuable enough to me/us to cram in extra time devoted to them.

[Reefgazer]

In my DS's Cub Scout pack, my DH is Cubmaster and I am the popcorn kernel.  Most parents stay for den and pack meetings, but we have a tough time getting volunteers for camping and other activities.  We just say "if your scout is going to participate in __________ activity, you must volunteer in some way or the scout can't go".  It works.  We haven't lost anyone from the pack because of the policy, but we have had scouts who have declined to go to an event because the parent(s) could not/would not volunteer.  I would stay away from buy-outs, because then only the well-off can afford to pay their way out.  In packs in wealthier communities, this will net you more money, but you still have the problem of a shortage of volunteers.

 

ETA:  There are sign-up websites that you can use for events that don't allow a sign-up unless the parent signs their name into a volunteer slot.

[Erin]

I'm not seeing where bringing KoolAid, or driving a few kids to a single meet, is demanding anyone to be even remotely as enthused as leadership is.  

 

I guess I just can't imagine asking volunteers to keep my kids occupied, and probably even teach them something they'll enjoy, without kicking in a mediocre time-donation on my part.  

 

What's not fair is demanding that everyone be as enthused about running the activity you have chosen to devote your time to as you are.

[Reefgazer]

These are excellent points in regard to breaking down things into smaller tasks and making the job descriptions and time requirements clear.

From a reluctant volunteer perspective...

The more you can break things down to manageable specific bites, the more people are likely to volunteer.

To someone who has not done it before and doesn't have much experience with project management, "Organize the Pinewood Derby" sound incredibly daunting - personally, I'll stare at you like a deer in the headlights if asked that. But if you ask me to show up for a few hours the day before to help set up, I will. And someone who might be willing to step into a leadership role is more likely to sign up if they can see that they already have a group of people willing to help, especially if those people have committed to specific jobs.

I'm also unlikely to sign up for a nebulous committee with unspecified time commitment to help organize the Blue and Gold dinner, but I will sign up to show up 2 hours early and cook spaghetti.

Have some sort of point/hour system with a certain number of participation points needed, and then assign points based on expected time contribution (adjusted appropriately if actual contribution ends up being significantly higher). Someone who volunteers to organize the Blue and Gold dinner might fulfil their entire requirement, while the person who cooks the spaghetti might have to do some other similar small job at several events.

Have parents list their occupation, talents, certifications, interests, and so forth. Maybe have a checklist of interests. Then match them up with things that need doing. I am not a good person to organize the Pinewood Derby. I am a good person to serve as camp nurse at day camp.

Break things down in such a way that there are things that introverts, people with disabilities, people who work 60 hours weeks, people who are seriously struggling financially, and other challenges will feel that they can help with.

If you have a buy-out amount, can it be used to hire people (esp. a teen or young adult - someone who will work for low-cost and needs resume-building) to serve in those roles, or would that be against the rules/too much of a pain?

 

[Haiku]

I guess I just can't imagine asking volunteers to keep my kids occupied, and probably even teach them something they'll enjoy, without kicking in a mediocre time-donation on my part.  

 

I guess I don't see it as tit-for-tat. Someone else runs scouts. I run hockey. If my kid is in scouts but your kid isn't in hockey, that's ok, because your kid may be in the drama troupe that someone else runs while their kids benefit from scouts.

 

And honestly, I don't see sending along a package of Kool-Aid as volunteering. If you need packages of Kool-Aid, list it as a requirement for the activity that parents must send with their kids. Don't ask someone to volunteer to do it.

 

And as we have discussed on another volunteering thread here, I'm not driving other people's kids to organized activities unless I have some sort of liability coverage (as distinct from driving my kids' friends around for purely social purposes).

[Elisabet1]

I think it is reasonable.

 

Plus, when my sons were in scouts, I always wanted to volunteer, but it seemed like a group was running things and I did not know what I could do. I felt so on the outside, that we dropped out. I never had a clue as to what was going on.