Cub Scouting in Small Units

I recently visited with a friend who works with BSA. I was telling him about the annual plan I had put together for combining our wolf and bear dens (see my post on annual planning) . His comment was: "Oh, like the Year A and Year B plans." He then told me about the BSA materials available that work through all the requirements for boys to get their rank advancements while being combined in dens. These are really good references with ideas that can be used if you are combining 2 dens together or all dens including Webelos together. How have a been a Cub Scout leader for 15 years and never heard of this? This plan is designed to be used by either small units that need to combine dens because they don't have enough boys, or by larger units that need to combine dens because they don't have enough leaders. The PDF versions of these materials can be found here for Year A and Year B.

I also recently heard David Beck (current LDS General Young Men's President) talk about 'Real Growth through Scouting.' The LDS Church would like to welcome boys who are not LDS into our LDS scout units. Brother Beck emphasized that this is not to be used as a proselytizing tool, but only as a chance to bless the lives of all boys-whether they are LDS members or not. So if your unit is small, look for those other boys in your neighborhoods who could benefit from the Boy Scout Program. Welcome them into your units, encouraging these boys to do their best at doing what they believe is their duty to God.