Parents' Participation in Troop 357

While it is true that the Scouts do as much of the running of Troop 357 as possible, our success comes equally from the support and commitment of ALL of our parents. For this reason, we require that each Scout's parents (guardians) make a commitment to help with some aspect of the Scouting program. Parents are asked to sign up at the registration night during the first meeting of the school year in September.

Here are some possible ways that you can become involved:

• Becoming a registered leader or troop committee member. This will involve you working directly with the Scouts to help guide their efforts, or serving on advancement boards of review. See the section on the troop committee for more committee positions.
• Accompanying the Scouts on overnight trips (camping).
• Assisting with transportation to meetings, events, campouts, and other outings.
• Volunteering as a merit badge counselor.
• Offering any kind of expertise which would be helpful in the Scouting program.

As parents, you are encouraged to attend the monthly troop committee meetings to keep up with what the troop is doing and to provide your valuable input. Several times a year, we hold Courts of Honor during which we present awards for all the advancement the boys have earned. These are family events, and are appropriate for all family members.

The most important role that a parent can have in Scouting, however, is to be there for your Scout, to encourage him to set goals for himself, and to guide him along the Scouting trail. Understanding how the advancement system, patrol method, and leadership structure work are therefore very important requisites that can best be learned by taking the time to get involved. The Scouts who get the most out of the program, and seem to quickly gain many valuable life skills are those who are encouraged at home by understanding parents. It doesn't take much but the desire to learn in order to get started, and there are always plenty of experienced Scouters available to answer questions and guide new parents into the service of their troop. And whenever questions arise...please ask them. There is truly no such thing as a "dumb question", except perhaps "the one that doesn't get asked."

There have been times in the past when we've been unable to support the events that have been planned by the boys because we could not get enough support from their parents. Sometimes we've had to limit the number of boys on a campout, and other times we've cancelled campouts altogether. Please help us to prevent this from happening again! Please Get Involved!