Advancement & Review

Invite someone to Scouting

10.
Tell someone who is eligible to join Scouts BSA, or an inactive Scout, about your Scouting activities. Invite this person to an outing, activity, service project, or meeting. Provide information on how to join, or encourage the inactive Scout to become active. Share your efforts with your Scoutmaster or other adult leader.

As an experienced First Class candidate, you are an ambassador for the Scouting movement. Requirement 10 is the first rank requirement that asks you to actively strengthen and grow your troop by sharing your outdoor experiences with a non-Scout or encouraging an inactive Scout to return.

Choosing Who to Approach

The requirement allows you to reach out to either of two individuals:

Option A: A Friend Eligible to Join Scouts BSA

  • A classmate, neighborhood friend, sports teammate, or family member who is at least 11 years old, or has completed the fifth grade, or has earned the Arrow of Light Award (and is under 18).
  • Look for someone who enjoys the outdoors, camping, sports, building things, or learning practical skills.

Option B: An Inactive Scout

  • A registered member of your troop or another unit who has stopped attending weekly meetings, campouts, or troop activities.
  • Reaching out shows genuine brotherhood and patrol loyalty—letting them know that their patrol misses them and wants them back around the campfire.

How to Share Your Scouting Journey

Avoid giving a formal or rehearsed sales pitch. Instead, talk about your real, firsthand adventures:

  • Specific High-Adventure Highlights: Tell them about your favorite campout, cooking over an open fire, canoeing down a river, rock climbing, or sleeping under the stars.
  • Cool Skills Learned: Explain how you learned to use a compass, sharpen a pocketknife, lash a pioneer tower, or build a campfire in the rain.
  • Patrol Comradery: Describe the fun of working as a team with your patrol and meeting new friends.

Extending a Concrete Invitation

A vague invitation (“You should join Scouts sometime”) rarely works. Give them a specific, welcoming opportunity:

  1. Pick a Fun Upcoming Event: Invite them to an exciting troop meeting (such as a knot-tying relay, outdoor cooking demonstration, or pioneering night) or a community service project.
  2. Provide Concrete Details: Give them the exact date, time, meeting location, what to wear, and offer to introduce them to the Senior Patrol Leader and Scoutmaster.
  3. Connect Their Family: Provide contact information for your Scoutmaster or Committee Chair so their parents can ask questions and learn about troop registration.

Reporting Back to Your Scoutmaster

After making your invitation, sit down with your Scoutmaster or another adult leader to discuss your efforts:

  • Who did you speak with, and what did you share?
  • What was their reaction?
  • Did they attend a meeting or express interest in upcoming outings?