I have always had great admiration for teachers, but until I took up as a Den Leader, I never understood why I always hear my teacher friends talk about how they spend so much out of pocket.

I spent my June creating my Wolf year outline, matching up meeting dates and activities, outlining materials I would need. Turns out, I needed a lot. Some items I had around the house, others I could find at the dollar store. Others… well, I still had a lot to get. There’s only so much a leader can be expected to spend out of pocket, and as we have a small pack and a very small pack budget, I didn’t feel comfortable asking for funds from them. So I did three things that made a big difference:

1. I put my list on my personal Facebook page and asked friends for used but usable items.
2. I created an Amazon wishlist for my den.
3. I submitted a Thrivent Action Team to help get supplies purchased.

The Facebook post got me the most immediate response. I had friends leaving tubs of random items for me in my office at my animal shelter. Others helped turn my car into a mobile recycling unit with collected shoe boxes and toilet paper rolls.

For my son’s birthday, I asked that in lieu of gifts, an item from our list be donated. I shared the Amazon wishlist and received quite a bit. (As a note, his birthday each year collects items for a different charity; we just happened to use Cub Scouts as one of them this year.)

The third you can only do if you are already a Thrivent Financial member, which I am. If your project is approved, you’ll get a $250 visa gift card and can request T-shirts. I got T-shirts so the boys can have “dirty activity” shirts for wearing to den meetings, which will be great when we do the Cubs Who Care painting with a blindfold on later this year.

Remember that it is not all on you to provide everything your den needs. Ask the other parents to help contribute, but be specific in your asks if you want your needs to be met.