By Ed Pierce
Joining the Cub Scouts will open a world of adventure, make
new friends, gain a sense of confidence and is an opportunity to learn new
skills in an environment designed to help them succeed for boys in kindergarten
through fifth grade.
In Windham, Cub Scout Pack 805 is always welcoming new scouts
and new parents that hopefully turn into new pack volunteers. On Monday, Sept.
13, Pack 805 will conduct a registration night at Donnabeth Lippman Park at 6
p.m. and pack leaders are hoping for a great turnout of boys looking to take
the first step to become Cub Scouts. 
Windham Cub Scout Pack 805 will conduct a registration
night at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13 at Donnabeth Lippman
Park in Windham. COURTESY PHOTO
“Scouting teaches kids positive character traits, helps foster
relationships, and to be part of the community,” said Windham Pack 805 Den
Leader Casey Melanson. “It helps them take their best self, work on
self-growth, and try new things. The scout motto is ‘Do Your Best’ and that’s
what the kids learn.”
Melanson said that Cub Scout Pack 805 dens meet one night a
week for about an hour. The whole Pack gets together once a month, usually for
special meetings, like for Trunk or Treat in Windham, a holiday party, or for
the Blue and Gold Banquet or other special events.
Joining the Cub Scouts is almost a rite of passage for boys in
Windham.
“Our pack is a great group of scouts and parents. We care about each other, push each other, and just all around have fun,” Melanson said. “We want our scouts to learn what is means to be part of something important, what is means to help their community, make new friends, build relationships, and most importantly grow as a young man.”
According to Melanson, Pack 805 currently has about three
dozen scouts who work on several community projects each year.
“We have assisted in celebrating the grand opening of a
retirement home, picking up trash after Summerfest, and we will usually host a
toy drive for a family for Christmas,” Melanson said. “We also participate in
Scouting for Food each November to collect needed goods for the Windham Food
Pantry.”
Pack 805’s dues are $100 per scout for the year, half of which
is due at sign up and the other in December.
Of that $100, most of it covers national registrations, insurance, and
other expenses. The rest stays with the
pack to help toward achievements by local members.
“During the year, the pack does fundraisers to help with the
cost of awards and to pay for some of our activities, like camping and
overnights at EVO,” Melanson said. “We do pizza sales, popcorn sales, and
bottle drives. Our last bottle drive
raised over $1,200.”
According to Melanson, Cub Scout uniforms consist of a shirt,
a rank neckerchief, and a rank slide. Pants and rank hats are optional. Scouts
are encouraged to have a belt (not necessarily a scout belt) to be able to
display their beltloop achievements.
“There is also a handbook for each rank that the scout will
need to be able to learn, perform, and complete each achievement,” Melanson
said. “Prices for these items start at
around $6 and go up from there. There is a Scout Shop right in South Portland
by the Jetport that carries everything that a budding scout would need.”
She said that Cub Scout activities emphasize having fun and
learning useful life skills.
“Cub Scouts can do anything they put their minds to. We have
gone winter camping, hiking, ice fishing, and built lean-tos in the winter
woods,” Melanson said. “We also have our annual Pinewood Derby where the boys
design and build their own cars and then compete against one another. As a pack we have had beach outings,
cookouts, movie nights, and EVO Rock Gym overnights.”
Serving as Pack 805’s Den Leader, Melanson said that she
became involved with the Cub Scouts when her son joined as a Tiger in first
grade. He’s now in sixth grade and will be crossing over to participating in
the Boy Scouts this fall, she said.
“I was just a scout mom, but soon became part of and then
Chair for the Fundraising Committee. I
am also now the Den leader for this year’s second-graders, the Wolves,”
Melanson said.
Over the summer, members of Cub Scout Pack 805 worked on
completing their achievements so that the scouts could move up in rank.
These included First Aid, safety, teamwork, nutrition, and
other topics, Melanson said.
For Pack 805’s registration night on Sept. 13, the
registration table will be staffed by Scout leaders who can answer any
questions that parents of boys interested in participating may have.
“If someone has a new potential scout who is interested, they
may come with the parent,” Melanson said. “If someone is interested in joining
but is unable to make the registration event, they can reach out to us through
Facebook or email.”
For more information about Cub Scout Pack 805, visit their Pack 805 Windham Maine Facebook page or send an email to scoutpack805me@gmail.com <
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