Pack 137's
PUBLIC SITE
Home Page
2019-20 Calendar
New Parent's Guide
What Does it Cost?
FAQ


 
Cub Scout Pack 137
(Christmas, Florida)
 
ScoutLander Contact Our Pack Member Login
  
 

So What Does Cub Scouts Cost?


There are a few levels of monetary costs for Cub Scouts, plus some time investment.
1) National & Council dues ($48 /year) and Boy's Life Magazine ($12/year)
2) Pack dues ($100 annually or You and your scout's fundraising time - a few hours, 2-3 times a year) 
3) Uniform, T-shirts, patches, and books  ($50-$140 per scout)
4) Some Event fees (depending on the event but the good theme weekends are $22 a person, for family members too, but usually worth it) 
5) Camping and outdoor gear costs.  ($100 to $1,000 per family)    
6) Your time - the most important investment. 

1)  National and Council dues:  The BSA dues (just to be a member) are now $48 a year.  Boys Life Magazine ($12 a year) is also strongly recommended.  Its bi-monthly and geared toward the boys, but perhaps not until they are the 3rd or 4th grade due to the reading level of most of it.   Many scouts collect this iconic magazine during their scouting tenure.

2)  Pack Dues:  Pack 137 is very proud not to charge pack dues directly, which most scout units do.  We, instead, ask our families to cover our pack costs through store-front and booth-type fundraising, which is also a good learning experience for our young scouts and ties directly with one of the twelve points of the Scout Law.  "A Scout is Thrifty - A Scout works to pay is way and help others..." See our Parent Guide for more information on the Scouting basics
Our Pack of about 35-40 scouts budgets about $4000 a year, so without fundraising, dues are $100 a year.  That $100 is much better earned by 10 hours of fundraising time per scout per year.  Our fundraising includes 1) popcorn sales in the fall,  2) Cracker Christmas craft sales in Dec, and 3) Camp Card Sales in the spring. 

3)  Uniform, T-shirt, Patches, & books:  Our minimum "Class A" uniform is the blue shirt for grade K - 3 and the then khaki scout shirt for 4th and 5th grade. New with patches costs about $45 at the scout stores.  We do have some smaller blue donation shirts from 3rd graders graduating to Webelos, so just ask and we may be able to fit you for a cheaper $10 donation fee.   
• The scouts will also need our pack t-shirt or two, which we get for youth/adults at a bargain for $5/$6 each.  
• Then there is the official rank advancement book for each grade at $13 each per year and very much a scouting tradition.  They are very good guide books for their age group but not a requirement until they reach 4th grade.  

4)  Other/Optional Event feesPack 137 is planning many events over the year, but some of them will have some out of pocket costs that we just can't cover with our fundraising. 
• Cub Halloween in late October - don't miss - awesome (usually $22 a person)  
• Our long range goal for the Charleston SC Aircraft Carrier Camping ($100 a person - 2 nights with meals plus travel costs)

5)  Camping and outdoor gear costs:  In Cub Scouts we do family camping and hikes.  Overnight events are not required for advancement until the 4th and 5th grade ranks, but getting outdoors overnight is at the core of scouting and as a parent your required to be with your scout at all events.  If you're not familiar with camping, don't worry, you're in very experienced and frugal company.  Bare minimum is a tent and camp chairs, which you can do for 4 people for less than $100 but you'll eventually and happily spend more. 

6)  Most Importantly, we need you and your time:  Every leader you meet is a parent of a scout in the pack.  We're all volunteer and only a Cub Scout leader for a few years before we graduate with our scouts to Boy Scouts, so we need you.  With a super cool khaki shirt and several hours a week, you can be the oh-so un-cool parent your kid secretly looks up to.  Think about what your leadership example, especially in front of their friends, means to them in a few years when they're becoming an adults themselves