About Us
Our Cub Scout Pack was established / Charted in 1961. Our charter organization is the Minooka Lions Club.
The Pack
A PACK is made up of a group of DENS. The pack includes the boys in the dens, but also their familes and leaders. The pack meets once a month for a "Pack Night Meeting", with Cub Scouts, leaders, parents and other family members attending. The Pack meeting is the culmination of the month's den meetings and activities. The boys are recoginzed with awards and achievements they have earned.
There are some other Pack sponsored activities. They include community projects (e.g. Scouting for Food - Food Drive), outdoor activities (e.g. field trips, hikes), fund raising activities (e.g. Popcorn sales, Cake Bake Auction) and fun competitions (e.g. Pinewood car derby, Cubanapolis).
The Cubmaster is an adult volunteer who serves as the master of ceremonies at Pack meetings and Activities. Pack leadership positions my be held by either men or women.
The Pack Commitee is a group of adult volunteers who plan the Pack Program and individual activities as well as managing record keeping, finance, leadership and scout recruitment and registration. They meet monthly and the meetings are open to any interested parent. Please help out.
The Den
A Cub Scout Pack is divided into smaller groups of boys called dens, they meeting weekly under the direction of a Den Leader. The Den Leaders are trained adult volunteer.
The den allows boys to get to know each other better and engage in activities that would be difficult in a larger group. The den also provided leadership opportunities for the boys as they elect "denners" or help to teach each other.
Den meetings activities are planned around a month theme and can include working on advancement requirements, games, handicrafts, hikes, practing songs, skits and stunts in preparation for the next pack meeting. The Den Leaders may ask for special help from parents (helping with a meeting, sharing a special skill or just providing a snack for the boys).
Dens are organized by ranks. Ranks are organized by grade and age.
- Tiger Cubs - First Grade or 7 years old. The program is designed to have a parent or adult share all the experiences with their scout.
- Wolf - Second Grade
- Bear - Third Grade
- Webelos 1 & 2 - Fourth and Fifth Grade
Advancement
The Cub Scout Program has two basic features: Rank Advancement and the Academic and Sports Program.
The first badge all Cub Scouts earn, regardless of age is the Bobcat Badge. Part of the requirements for this badge is learning the Cub Scout Promise and Law of the Pack, and the Motto. After earning this badge, they proceed to work on advancement specific to their age level.
Tiger Cub Scouts work on Achivements and electives, they recieve instant recogination at Den meetings with Tiger Track Beads.
Wolf and Bear Cub Scouts work toward the Wolf and Bear Bages, they also recieve addition recognition for electives with a Gold and one or more Silver Arrow Points.
The Webelos Program is a two year program. The scouts earn Webelos Activity Badge in twenty different areas. They work toward the Webelos badge while in forth grade, and after completing that badge, they work toward the Arrow of Light in the fifth grade. Additional recognition includes Compass Point Emblem and Metal Compass Points.
As a Cub Scout or Webelos Scout, you can also earn the Cub Scout World Conservation Award and a Leave No Trace Awareness Patch.
Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts can also earn a series of Religious Emblems awarded by a number of religious organizations. The age and rank requirements vary. They may also earn a series of Cub Scout Academic and Sports belt loops and pins.
The Larger Organization
A group of Packs (and Boy Scout Troops) in a geographic area forms a Council. We are part of the Rainbow Council based in Morris Illinois. Our council is divided into two districts. Ishkote (south of I-80) and Waapi Lenaswa (north of I-80). The name Ishkote is Ojibwa (Algonquin) for "Fire", Waapi means White and Lenaswa means Buffalo – the words are from the Miami Indians.
Other Councils in the Chicago area include: Chicago Area Council, Desplaines Valley, Northest Illinois, Northwest Suburban, Three Fires and Blackhawk
The Council plans and organizes activities and events for the Packs and Troops. These include events such as: Outdoor activities including Cub Scout Olympics, Fossil Hunts, Fishing Derbies; Camping including Cub Scout Day Camps, Camporees, winter camping; and Scout nights at sporting events (Chicago Wolves Hockey, Chicago White Sox Baseball, Joliet Slammers Baseball, Harlem Globetrotters Baseketball. Our Pack Committee will discuss the events and see if they fit with our activities calendar, if they do, we will officially attend as a pack. These activities are open to all scouts/familes of the District/Council, however, there may be some age specific events.
Pack & Den Leaders
All the leaders are volunteers who have children in the pack. They donate their time, knowledge, experience and skills to help the pack function.
The cub scout leaders plan weekly Den Meetings trying to pass off requirements for belt loops, academics and sports pins, patches, and arrow point electives. Some wolf requirements will be worked on, but we will focus mainly on belt loops, academics and sports pins, and patches.
The leaders are required to take training from the Boy Scouts of America
- Youth Protection : New leaders are required to take Youth Protection Training within 30 days of registering and before volunteer service with youth begins. Youth Protection Training must be completed every two years to remain current.
- This is Scouting: A detailed overview of the history, organization and purpose of Cub Scouting
- Leader Position-Specific Training: The main course necessary to be considered “trained” for their Scouting position (ie Cub Master, Den Leader, etc).
- Additional training modules are available
Den Leaders typically invest 2 hours a week to prepare for a meeting, process paperwork (tracking advancements), making phone calls, sending emails, gathering supplies and planning activities. That doesn't include the time set aside for the actual meeting.
If you or your son cannot attend a meeting or will be late, please reach out to your Den Leader and let them know. A simple text, email or quick phone call goes a long way towards letting them know you appericate their time.