And make sure to share with popular community and/or neighborhood social media pages. These pages often reach a huge number of people in your community. Also, many of these pages are set up to share happenings and resources to make the community a better place to be, so sharing about Scouting here makes a lot of sense!

Please be sure to take advantage of this week’s Blitz Marketing templates and images available at www.gocubscouts.com/volunteer-leader-info (scroll to the bottom under Blitz Week Resources).

Now that you've held initial and possibly more joining opportunities, many of you have applications and membership fees in hand. Now is the time to turn those to Dan Beard Council so your new recruits can be officially registered in the Boy Scouts of America. If online applications were submitted, login to my.scouting.org and 'accept' the applications (mush be done by a unit key 3 member).

Double check your applications to make sure they were filled out completely. Common errors include parent OR unit leader signatures, missing date of birth (adult partners for K and 1st graders also need a date of birth) and unit number are often mistakenly missed.

You will want them to be registered for a few reasons.

Your Pack's Join Scout Night took place. You've submitted your new Cub Scout applications and now you need to prepare for your Parent Orientation.

In addition to the completed youth applications at your JSNs, you should have collected Family Talent Surveys from each parent or guardian as well (pro-tip, collect one from all the adults in the household).

Review the surveys to find out what skills, interests, hobbies and vocations the parents of your new Scouts have. These are a gold mine of resources that will be available to you, if you just ask! The best are the parents to check the boxes (often multiple boxes) next to #5 willing to help the pack behind the scenes support or #6 willing to help the pack by assisting to present the program (den leader, assisting on team to help the den, etc).

You should also know by now what leadership or committee vacancies you have. Review the Family Talent Surveys as well as talk with new parents about how they would like to assist and help the pack. Also, become familiar with some of the great resources available at BSA's Cub Scout homepage www.scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/. Scroll down to Resources for Leaders to find links to help you with any of the pack volunteer position descriptions and other helpful tools to help you sell a position. These tools and resources are prepared for you to help you sell a position and make it look easy.

For example, if you need a new Tiger Den Leader, after reviewing your Family Talent Surveys, narrow your prospect down to the best person and set a meeting with them over a cup of coffee to chat and commit to help support them along the way. Also, assign them a mentor (experienced den leader). I also recommend showing them the Tiger Den Leader Overview video (5-minutes) along with links to help them get the job done, much more easily.

As we approach the end of September, the majority of Packs have already held at least 2 chances to signup. Some signups have been more successful than others. Packs need to shift from a full focus on recruiting (even if the turnout was light) to getting dens up and running. Take advantage of the "Bring a Friend" cards provided in your JSN Materials envelopes you picked up in July.

Have your den leaders pass out the "Bring a Friend" cards at a den meeting (1 sheet of 4 cards per Scout) with the challenge to bring at least 1 new friend to the next den meeting.

Have them invite friends, classmates, neighbors, etc to the next meeting.

Make sure you den leaders have some youth applications in hand so they can give to any new recruits as they arrive.

Also, although we may not know exactly what Halloween will look like this year, come up with ways to advertise your next Pack meeting or activity. Maybe set up a mock campsite in your front yard for neighborhood trick or treaters to see with an extra yard sign with details about your next den/pack meeting or activity.

Be creative and never stop inviting new families to join the Scouting program.

Cub Scout Pack 107 in Westwood has been working hard, especially using social media to advertise an upcoming Join Scout Night. Many of the Scouts attend schools in Cincinnati Public which is currently all in a virtual setting (no in-person).

They came up with a way to generate positive attention and to show Scouting is alive and well in their town. These signs were placed in every Scout's yard as a recognition for each Cub Scout's hard work, persistence and living up to the Scout Oath and Law. The sign also directs people to their Pack's public Facebook page that they use for advertising and recruitment. Many of the Scouts also got their picture taken with the sign and their parents posted it on social media with an invitation to join their family on the Scouting adventure!

Great job, Pack 107!

Dan Beard Council is hosting a NEW and unique twist on our annual Halloween event- the Boo-Thru at Camp Friedlander. This exciting, safe and socially-distant event is one spooky mile of family-friendly, drive-thru Halloween fun and everyone is welcome to attend, so share with your friends. Reserve your time-slot now as they are limited. www.danbeard.org/boo-thru