COVID-19 has had two kinds of impacts on our scouting program: the need for social engagement has become more important than ever, and also, we've made changes to our activities to keep everyone safe.

Scouting is more important than ever

First, since most of our scouts are now participating in full- or part-time distance learning, their opportunities to have normal social engagements with their peers at school has been greatly diminished. This means that the social engagement they can get through Cub Scouts is even more important than ever. Our small den sizes (generally, no more than 8 scouts) makes these ideal opportunities to have safe, socially-distanced, engagement with their peers.

Adapting the activities to make them safer

We're also getting creative on how we can have Pack-wide events that are safe and meet (or exceed) all of the San Francisco Department of Public Health regulations on group meetings. Some of these are virtual events (like our Virtual Campouts) while others use staggered start times to avoid large groups -- like our Socially-distanced Bike Rides along Great Highway.

These, and other changes, are being made to ensure that all of our scouts and scouting families can be kept safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also continuously seeking and incorporating feedback from parents in the pack on how we can keep scouting engaging, educational and safe.

What has not changed: our scouting ideals

The one critical thing about scouts that hasn't changed due to COVID-19 is our desire to help instill in the boys and girls of Pack 345 the life lessons they can learn from scouting. The Scout Law, Motto and Oath are unchanging, and continue to represent the best set of ideals we can instill in young scouts. We are still committed to offering a great scouting program (even if it looks a bit different) with lots of positive peer socialization and outdoor activities.