I can totally relate to your situation, Mark. Although my troop is more than 50 years old, it had dwindled to almost nothing, almost dying, before I was placed as the Scout Master. We are still small, but most of the boys are fairly motivated. the trick has been in getting the parents involved more. This has been part education (benefits for the scout), part making the participation enjoyable (we have activities for the parents, joint activities for scouts and parents, and just good company for the parents during camp-outs as we have some good cooking going on). Involving the parents more has been the most difficult part of the job.

We still have some that do nothing, and I am generally the one who must do what is necessary for the scouts in that situation. I have built up a stock of camping gear that I issue to the scout and make them responsible for. It is not cheap, but I will not stand by and see a scout suffer for something that is not their fault. That alone has helped get some parents more involved, out of gratitude if nothing else.

For some of the parents it is necessary to see the tangible benefits of scouting before they really become motivated to get involved. The look on the faces of some at a court of honor when they see their son receive a promotion and some merit badges in front of the rest of the troop is an indicator of how it affects them. When the scout proudly tells their parents of how much work was involved and how much they learned is one of the most motivating things for many parents.

Our cub scout pack folded for about a year, due to the same reasons you mention, but I went out and recruited a cub master, and he went out and recruited more scouts. It is a small pack, but growing.

I like what the program can do for the boys, and I believe in the program. there are times, as in any large organization, that I get frustrated with the larger scouting organization. It seems that the district and council levels, and even higher, lose sight of the real purpose, the boys, and demand more organizational support than they give to the troops. I saw that in the Army as well, with the headquarters demanding more support from the subordinate units than they gave to those units. It is a natural progression, but not a positive one, and it must be fought.

There does seem to be less interest in scouting now, and much more competition for the time of the scouts and their parents. This will never end, and maybe get even more difficult. Most of the scouts we have came to scouting because of a direct relationship with one of our scouts. Other types of recruiting does not seem to work very well. Most of ours required a hard sell to the parents of a prospective scout, along with invitations to visit activities and watch the scouts in action.

Bottom line, I am in it for the boys (and yes I have two of my own in the troop), and most of the my troop I have known since they were very young, so we have established relationships with the parents. All of our parents have a great deal of trust in me and my assistant scout masters. This is a rare thing though. But as the troop gradually grows, more boys are attracted to the troop.

Too long winded, I know. It is a passionate subject for me. I have found that talking to other scout leaders does help. There are many ways of solving any problem, and most of the ways have been tried before by someone you probably know. Talk to them.