FAQ

Meeting Times:

We try our best to minimize conflicts with soccer, baseball, religious observation, and school breaks.

Dens: Grade level groups, usually meet once a month on the weekend during the school year. Please email you den leader with your schedule concerns so they can work with you.

Pack: All the dens combined from all grades- usually meets once per month, often on the weekend, with 1 or 2 Monday evenings per year. We publish our event schedule on this website and via Pack emails and try to minimize conflicts.

One parents/caregiver is required to stay and work with their Lion and Tiger Cubs (Grades K-1) during all activities. Parents/Caregiver are encouraged to stay and work with their older Cubs. Siblings are often able to tag along at most activities as space allows.

Import our Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/b/1?cid=cGFjazE4NXdlbGxlc2xleUBnbWFpbC5jb20 so you can keep up to date with Events and Meetings.

Group Size:

Pack 185 has around 50 active cub scouts, 7 Tigers (1st Grade), 13 Wolfs (2nd Grade), 16 Bears (3rd Grade), 9 Webelos (4th Grade), and we are actively recruiting new Cubs to form a Lion Den (K). We currently have 1 Den per grade.

Handbooks & Uniform:

Each Cub will need to have the handbook and uniform for their rank (details below). The handbook is crucial to have for meetings, to read about advancement, and for Cubs to get excited about adventures. There are two ways to buy these items:

online through the Scout Shop, or
through the New England Scout Shop in Southborough on Rt9. Most folks make the short trip to Southborough. Going to the store itself can be a benefit for sizing, and they have super helpful staff to be sure you get what you need.

Required – all of these together cost about $100 per scout
- Handbook for their rank. These books include all of the information that the Cubs will need to work through their adventures and ranks, and serve as a helpful reference for parents.
  - Lion Kit (K)
  - Tiger Handbook (1st Grade)
  - Wolf Handbook (2nd Grade)
  - Bear Handbook (3rd Grade)
  - Webelos Handbook (4th&5th Grade)
- Shirt w/the following patches:
  - Pack #185 - These come as three separate patches 1-8-5
  - A Den Patch based on their grade
    Den 1 for Tigers (1st), Den 2 for Lions (K), Den 3 for Wolves (2nd), Den 4 for AOL (5th), Den 5 for Bears (3rd), Den 6 for Webelos (4th)
  - Mayflower Council Patch – From the store the patch comes already sowed on.
  - World Crest – From the store the patch comes already sowed on.
  - World Crest Ring – From the store the patch comes already sowed on.

Notes about shirts:

- - Size – The Cubs will wear the same blue shirt K-4th grade. So buy it big in the hopes of lasting longer. Size 'S' is typical
  - Webelos scouts transition to wearing Khaki BSA Shirts in 4th Grade.
  - Patches: I’m aware of three ways to get the patches onto a Scout shirt: (1) sew them on yourself, (2) pay to have the Scout Shop in Southborough sew them on for you – they charge $4 per patch, or (3) buy and use Badge Magic.
- Web belt
- Neckerchief, Slide and Hat based on their grade / den
  - Tiger Cub Neckerchief
  - Tiger Cub Neckerchief Slide
  - Tiger Hat – Write your Cub’s name on the inside - they are taken off often
  - Bear Neckerchief
  - Bear Neckerchief Slide
  - Bear Hat – Write your Cub’s name on the inside - they are taken off often

Optional

Pants/shorts – Pack 185 does not typically wear uniform bottoms. Any shorts or pants will do. For more formal events, try for blue, but not required.
Socks - most don't get official socks.

Patches: These can be tricky. We are aware of three ways to get the patches onto a Scout shirt: (1) sew them on yourself, (2) pay to have the Scout Shop in Southborough sew them on for you – they charge $4 per patch, or (3) buy and use Badge Magic.

Hats - Please write your Cub's name on the inside brim of the hat.
Pants/Shorts/Socks - In our Pack, the official uniform versions of these are optional. For most events any shorts or pants will do. For more formal events, it's nice to try for blue, but not required

Dues:

Dues are charged to provide our Dens and Pack with funds to operate, as well as to provide the Mayflower Council and Scouts BSA with funding for the infrastructure they provide and to support Scouting. Our dues for this year will be $190 per Scout for Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Bears, and Webelos I, and $40 for Webelos II/Arrow of Light. The reason for the difference in charges is that (i) Webelos II crossover into Boy Scouts halfway through the school year, and (ii) they have already paid their national and Council dues for the remainder of calendar year.

The $190 represents (i) national ($72) and council ($36) dues for calendar year 2022, which the Pack will pay to them in December, and (ii) $82 for Pack dues. Pack dues are used to pay for facilities rentals (when we move inside), badges, rockets, patches and other awards, Pinewood Derby cars and trophies, the Blue & Gold Dinner, meeting costs, and Den and Pack incidentals.

You can pay your dues through a Signup Genius link that will be sent

Overall, the Pack tries to operate events on a "pay as you go" system with costs for events (canoeing, fishing, skiing, camping and other overnights, etc.) paid for by those Scouts who attend. This helps us keep fees as low as we can.

Two important notes with respect to dues and fees.

1. Those of you who just registered for Scouting likely just paid about $65 through the online portal. That amount represents the BSA's one-time joining fee and national and council fees for the remainder of current calendar year. As I mentioned above, the $180 dues is for national/council dues for next calendar year (which the Pack must pay in December) and the school year for the Pack.

2. Pack 185 is committed to making sure that youth can participate in Scouting. Please contact us if you have concerns regarding dues or payments for events or need financial support. We want to make sure that your Cub can fully participate in the Pack and in their Den.