Moorestown Cub Scout Pack 61 started years ago but still lives by its traditions.
“We are a family pack,” said Cubmaster Lauren Carney. “Every event we have, every meeting is a family meeting, and so we always open it to the families to be involved.”
The pack meets once a month at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church and is divided into dens. The dens are based on grades K through five and each grade has its own. The program also hosts a variety of activities that include service projects, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) activities, the Pinewood Derby and building rockets.
“It’s fun for the kids, but it’s also a confidence builder for them to see what they have built and then see it work, like actually physically see it work,” Carney noted of the rocket activity. “It’s a good learning experience to see something from the beginning to the end of its conception, but also then they can think about real rockets (and) apply it to something more real life.
“It just gets their minds going and thinking.”
When the pack began, members took bus trips to Philadelphia, the Statue of Liberty and Washington, D.C., among other places. Dens also took yearly hikes through Moorestown, ending at town hall with the police chief. The Scouts made crafts for the church Christmas bazaar and camped at the YMCA in Medford.
Individual dens also performed service in their neighborhoods. Today, the pack continues those activities but has also changed with the times.
“One of the things that I am witnessing and seeing … as parents, we’re able to learn about new things, but at the same time, I see these boys … become very service-oriented in their mindset,” Carney explained.
“… These boys are growing up and they’re surrounded by their peers that are thinking in the same way. It’s the value of just being kind, helpful and service oriented.”
Scout parent Samantha Amato-Rotkowitz’s twins recently joined the pack, and the experience has been a good one, she says.
“ … The troop is with kids from all over the town, so they’re there with kids that are in a different grade, they’re there with kids that might be in a different lower elementary school for them, so it’s nice to widen their circle a little bit,” she reflected.
… “It’s just kind of (about) showing them what else is available,” Amato-Rotkowitz added. “It’s a big world out there and it’s great to be curious and interested, and how can we support and expose our kids to more of those things?”
For more information on Moorestown Cub Scout Pack 61, visit https://beascout.scouting.org and search Pack 4061.
