Join Pack 2

The short version: email us and come to a meeting. You do not need to register, buy a uniform, or commit to anything before your first visit. Come see whether your Scout has fun. Most families know within one meeting.

Who can join

Any child in kindergarten through fifth grade. Cub Scouting has been open to both boys and girls since 2018, and Pack 2 is a family pack — brothers and sisters are in the same pack, at the same meetings, on the same campouts. Your Scout joins the den for the grade they are entering.

You do not have to live in Holliston, and you do not have to belong to any particular religion or organization.

When to join

Most families start in September, right after our recruitment night at the beginning of the school year. But a Scout can join in any month, and every year a few families come in mid-winter after a friend at school talks about the Pinewood Derby. There is no catching up to do.

What it costs

TODO: annual dues amount per year, which covers TODO: what dues cover, e.g. national registration, Scout Life magazine, awards, and pack activities.

Beyond dues, the real costs are a uniform shirt and the occasional campout fee. Uniforms get handed down constantly within the pack — ask before you buy one new.

Cost should never be the reason a child misses out on Scouting. Reach out to us privately and we will make it work.

What we ask of parents

Cub Scouting is not a drop-off program. An adult from each family comes to pack meetings and camps with their own Scout, and the pack runs entirely on parent volunteers. That said, “volunteering” covers everything from being a den leader to running the timer at the derby for two hours once a year. Nobody is going to hand you a clipboard on your first night.

Every registered adult leader completes Scouting America’s Youth Protection Training and a background check, and our program follows the Guide to Safe Scouting. Two registered adults are present at every activity — no one-on-one contact between an adult and a Scout, ever.

How to actually sign up

1. Email TODO: info@pack2holliston.org. Tell us your Scout’s name and grade.
2. Come to a meeting. We will tell you when and where the next one is.
3. Register online when you are ready. We will send you the link and walk you through it. Registration goes through Scouting America, not through us.
4. Get a uniform shirt. Your den leader will tell you which patches go where, or just bring it to a meeting and someone will help.

Still have questions?

Email us. Genuinely, ask anything — how much time it takes, whether your kid is too shy for this, what happens if you travel a lot, whether you can join late. We would rather answer twelve questions now than have a family talk themselves out of it.