-Mike Walton (settummanque)
Kevin McClelland stated earlier that
>Unfortunately, inspiring members of the lodge to join me in cheerful service has
not been an easy task, and in a lot of ways I've failed. In a lodge of 3000 people, 12
were in attendance for this years service weekend.<
Nah...you didn't fail, Kevin. Those 12 Arrowmen are twelve more than what you would have
had without your leadership. The most important thing is that
service is done for others, and you've led that effort in getting that done!
Settummanque!
-JacK Clement
I am a Cubmaster of a small unit in
Milwaukee, WI.. We participate in 2 neighborhood cleanups a year sponsored by our
chartered organization. I feel it is essential that boys should learn to give back to
thier community. I limit our participation to about 2 hours and the scouts do work hard.
Our chartered organization always has lunch for everyone.
-Kevin
McClelland, Leader, just barely (I'm 18)
Currently I am the Service chairman for Nentico Lodge 12, the Baltimore Area Council's OA
Lodge. It is my job to organize and carry out service projects at Broad Creek Scout Camp
with lodge members help. Unfortunately, inspiring members of the lodge to join me in
cheerful service has not been an easy task, and in a lot of ways I've failed. In a lodge
of 3000 people, 12 were in attendance for this years service weekend. I haven't been able
to truly fulfill the duties of my job. But, those who were in attendance had an excellent
time, and got a lot of QUALITY work done, which is part of my mission. It has been an
inspiration to me to see those scouts and scouters dedicated enough to provide service at
countless lodge events. Now to answer the questions.
For younger scouts, turn
the various service projects into some kind of game, or let them work in half hour
increments. In an hour, they'll spend half the time working, and half the time playing.
For older scouts, teach them how to do
new things. The most successful projects we've worked on with older scouts were the ones
where they got to learn some kind of new skill (i.e. hanging drywall, building things,
etc.). Make sure your older scouts get to work together, splitting them up to oversee
groups of younger scouts will only frustrate them, and QUALITY work won't get done.
A small unit should concentrate on one
or two large projects. A larger unit might want to do a couple of large projects, and
several smaller ones as well.
We try to do several service projects
each year completely focused on aiding the chartered organization. When they have their
annual blood drive, we provide scouts to watch the kids, and give out refreshments. When
they need their trails mulched or their plants weeded around, we plan some Saturday
service.
The most important thing I've learned
through scouting is that service is more than just a project here and there, it's a
lifestyle. Good luck.