GLSW Buddy Badge

Using the ‘GLSW Buddy’ badge to recruit young people is an easy and popular way to increase numbers in your group or unit.

Youth recruitment (especially in Beavers and Cubs) is easy. Run a fun, active and challenging programme in your weekly section meeting and young people will bring their friends along. But now there is even more incentive for young people and adults alike to introduce their friends to Scouting, the ‘GLSW Buddy’ badge!

Why use the badge?

It’s free
Young people like earning badges
More young people means more potential adult support for your group or unit
More adult support can mean more young people in your group or unit

Recruit the whole family!

Adult recruitment isn’t rocket science, just common sense. Some tips from our experience:

Make parents/visitors feel welcome when they come into the Group
Ask if they have been involved in Scouting or Guiding before?
Make sure they know you’re volunteers. Many think Leaders get paid.
If you are struggling, explain what help you need and what it really involves
Say please!
Tell them what they will get out of Scouting as an adult (see ‘What’s in it for me?’)
Ask about hobbies and what they do for a living; is it something we can use?
Ask them to commit to the parent rota.
If you haven’t got a parent rota, start one! (see the Development page for some useful templates)
Make sure they are happy and comfortable with what they are doing
And don’t forget to say thank you!

Parents/guardians – useful things to have around…

Would you like somebody to make the drinks at the end of the meeting?
Would you like a membership or ‘subs’ Secretary? Somebody who collects ‘subs’ or camp money on your behalf, rather than a Leader trying to do it all at the beginning of a meeting
What about having somebody who completes all the record cards for you?

A large percentage of what we do as Leaders can easily be delegated to a parent. However, as a rule people are more willing to take on a specific task, so breaking a job down into a number of smaller tasks will make it easier getting volunteers. But remember; don’t throw them in at the deep end…

What’s in it for me?

Many Groups still attempt to recruit additional adults using the ‘Titanic’ system i.e. “HELP, we’re sinking”. Hardly surprisingly, this negative plea for help usually falls on deaf ears. So focus on the positive aspects of Scouting as a hobby for adults: Scouting is… fun and a great sense of achievement, outdoor activities and fun, meeting new people, making new friends, more fun, gaining new knowledge and skills, personal development and challenge, and yet more fun!

More about the badge

Production of these special badges has been financed through the GLSW Development Project and the charitable grants that fund the project. To keep administration to a minimum, please order this badge when ordering others from your local Badge Secretary. But, we would appreciate it if you could only order when they are required i.e. when new members have actually been recruited so that we are able to monitor the uptake and usage of this new badge initiative.

This new GLSW badge can now be gained by young people and adults in ALL sections from Beaver Scouts to the Scout Network. The requirements for the badge are as follows:

Bring a new member along to join your Group/Unit
Introduce them to the Leaders and other members of your section
Help them to become familiar with Scouting, its traditions and history (appropriate to section)
Help them through the membership badge: Law and Promise etc.

Over a period of several weeks, once the above is completed, the new member is invested and the friend receives the Buddy Badge. The badge is awarded only to the person who introduced the new member to the Group/Unit. The new member can then in turn earn a Buddy badge when they introduce a new member to the Group/Unit.

This badge can only be awarded for the introduction of totally new members, not as a reward for acting as a ‘buddy’ to a young person coming up from the section below.

Questions and answers

If a person brings more than one friend on separate occasions or at the same time do they get more than one GLSW Buddy badge?: Yes. One badge for every new member introduced and invested into the Group/Unit.
Can this badge be moved onto the new uniform when going up into the next section?: No. Earn more by bringing new friends into your new section.
Where is it worn?: Lower right forearm, towards the cuff.
Where do we get the badge from?: Your District Badge Secretaries (including Hewitts and 4th Ewell District shop) will have stock of the badge by the end of May.
Is it the same badge for each section?: Yes. All sections earn the same badge for the introduction and investiture of a new member.
If a leader introduces a new adult to the movement, can that leader gain a buddy badge too?: Yes. This badge is available for both young members and adult members.
How big is it?: About 50mm corner to corner (the same size as a challenge badge).
How much will it cost?: The badge is being funded by the Development Project, so there is no charge. So what have you got to lose!

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