Erie Canal District Leatherstocking Council

28/10/2026

Erie Canal District Popcorn Kernels, the ordering window for Take Orders (Flyer Sales) has been open since this past Sunday morning!

Orders are due by this Friday (10/30) at Noon!

Thank you Team Popcorn!🍿

Calling ALL Leatherstocking Council Popcorn Kernels, this week is Take Order (Flyer Sales) Popcorn orders week!

If you haven’t done so yet, please don’t forget to turn in your unit’s Popcorn Take Order by this Friday, (10/30), at Noon!

ALL Prize Orders are due on 10/30 too!

Thank you Team Popcorn!🍿

Questions? Please email Erie Canal District Executive, Rebekah Dickerson, at [email protected]

27/10/2026

Want to keep your new Cub Scouts coming back?

Packs that keep new families aren’t doing anything fancy. They just get the basics right, every time. Scouting America studied high-performing packs and boiled it down to three steps:

1️⃣ Make it personal
Reach out to every new family within 48 hours with a quick call or text. Tell them when and where the next meeting is. A registration email can get lost in spam, but a real person saying “we’re excited you’re here!” goes a long way.

2️⃣ Make it fun
Kids join to have fun, see friends, and try new things. Get outside, play games, go on hikes, and make advancement hands-on. And please, don’t lecture. It doesn’t work on kids!

3️⃣ Make it easy
Give families a printed calendar for the whole year. Pick one main way to communicate. Share all the costs up front: registration, dues, uniforms, and activities. Invite parents to help with small, one-time jobs instead of big leadership roles.

Small things, done every time, keep families in Scouting.

👇 Learn more with the full article at the link in the comments!

27/10/2026

Make sure you got your Snow Gear. Blizzard Camp Registration is now open!

25/10/2026

24/10/2026

Want your new Cub Scout families to come back? Make it fun, and get them outside early!

Scouting America reviewed the packs with the highest retention across several councils, including Greater St. Louis Area, Green Mountain, and Coastal Georgia, to see what keeps first-year families involved. One clear lesson: if a new Scout’s first few weeks feel like more school, families leave before they see what Scouting really offers.

The top packs get every new family outdoors within the first month and make every meeting feel like an activity, not a lecture. Here’s how to do the same:

🔥 Plan a fall campout or big outdoor event in September or October, and personally invite every new family.
🌲 Show early that Scouting means adventure: hikes, outdoor games, cookouts, and s’mores.
🎯 Talk less and do more. Build advancement into games and hands-on activities.
☀️ Hold meetings outside whenever you can.
🙋 Ask parents for small, one-time help, like running a station, helping at a hike, or cooking at a campout.

The bottom line: families stay when they feel connected early, have fun right away, and face fewer barriers.

👉 Read the full article and find outdoor resources for your pack using the link in the comments section.

22/10/2026

Roundtable tonight! Be there or be... square! 🤣

22/10/2026

⚜️ SCOUTS BSA TEST LAB — HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF SCOUTING!

🏅 Want to be among the first Scouts to try out potential new merit badges?

The Scouts BSA Test Lab gives Scouts the opportunity to explore, test, and provide feedback on potential new merit badges before they become official!

🔬 Here's how it works:

✅ Explore potential new merit badges.

✅ Work with a registered adult to complete the requirements.

✅ Share your feedback by completing a survey.

✅ Receive a certificate for your participation!

🌟 Your feedback can help shape future merit badges and create exciting new opportunities for Scouts across the country!

🔗 Learn more and explore the Test Lab:
https://www.scouting.org/skills/merit-badges/test-lab/

⚜️ Be part of the future of Scouting!

20/10/2026

19/10/2026

Great reflection by former Chief Scout, UK

On my first night at Scouts, I took one look around the room and was sure I didn’t belong.

Everywhere I looked there were big, confident boys in neatly pressed shirts, covered in badges and awards. And then there was me. A tiny, skinny sq**rt who somehow felt even smaller than he looked.

Every part of me wanted to shrink into the corner. These lads clearly had it all figured out, and I clearly didn’t.

Then the scoutmaster set the whole troop a challenge. Cook a sausage using a single match.

Every one of us got the same match. The badges didn’t help anyone, and neither did the pressed shirts. It came down to who was willing to get stuck in and have a go. I loved it. Something in me came alive that night, and I was hooked.

I only understood this years later. What I lacked in size and confidence, I slowly made up for with guts and a refusal to quit. And in the end that mattered far more than looking the part on day one.

Life puts us in rooms like that all the time. A new job, or a group of people who all seem to know exactly what they’re doing. We size everyone up, decide we’re the smallest one there, and start shrinking before anything has even begun.

Most of those people are just as unsure as we are. Some of them have just learned to hide it better.

It’s worth remembering when we’re the ones setting the challenge too, whether that’s running a team or organising a weekend away with mates. Give everyone the same shot, and don’t decide in advance who’s going to shine. The quiet one in the corner might surprise you all.

Where have you shrunk back because you didn’t think you looked the part? And who around you could do with a fair shot?

19/10/2026

Scouting America is hosting a National Day of Service on November 14, inviting Scouts, families, volunteers, and leaders to improve their communities through projects such as food drives, park and trail cleanups, and neighborly help. The goal is to recognize the value of service, bring more families into it, and encourage a commitment that lasts beyond that day.

To mark the event, Scouting America Outfitters is releasing the Impact365 National Day of Service Emblem, sold at Scout Shop locations or online. Scouts can wear it to show they took part. Those who keep serving can later earn an accompanying Device Pin, which ties the November 14 event to the Impact365 message that service should continue all year.

Learn more using the link in the comments.