We meet on Tuesdays throughout the school year (typically 2x per month as a den & 1x per month as a Pack). We meet in classrooms/gym/outside at our sponsor, Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Huntersville, NC. We often meet offsite as well when weather is nice.

To participate in Scouting, dues are paid on an Annual basis and cover the entire year ahead (aligned with the school year).

Annual Dues include the following:

• Pack 42 dues of $150. This covers:

  • Costs for your scout to attend 2 campouts (reserving the camp grounds, meals, etc).

  • Costs for all awards, belt loops, hankerchief & slide for uniform.

  • 1 Pinewood derby car kit for the scout.

  • Contributes to pack-wide expenses such as annual registration of pack and volunteer leaders, maintaining equipment and gear, funding service projects and marketing efforts, etc.

  • *Note: These dues can be offset from our annual Fundraisers.

• Scouting America Membership Annual dues of $150. This:

  • Goes directly to Scouting America and Mecklenburg County Council to fund year-round campgrounds operations/upkeep, comprehensive liability and medical insurance for both youth and adults while engaged in Scouting activities, and pays for various county-wide scouting activities put on by the county Council.

  • This membership is good for one calendar year.

• Uniforms - these can be purchased New from the Scout Shop or used from older scouts. Lion scouts (kindergarten) don’t need a uniform.

Please know that we think Scouting should be accessible to everyone, so if dues are a hardship please reach out directly to pack leadership to discuss privately and we can definitely make it work.

We do at least 2 formal camp-outs per year: 1 in the Fall and 1 in the Spring. We also have an annual “Super Trip” to a fun destination (such as sleeping a night on an aircraft carrier or battle ship!). We also partake in the annual Scout night at the Charlotte Knights where we catch a baseball game and sleep out on the field afterwards.

Our Mecklenburg County Council has some amazing camp sites! Belk Scout Camp is a 286-acre property located in Midland, NC. It is known for its modern amenities with an air-conditioned dining hall, health lodge, Cub World with platform tents, archery ranges, BMX track, state-of-the-art climbing tower, swimming pool and a fishing pond. Belk Scout Camp serves thousands of weekend campers, the Order of the Arrow and is home to many district events.

We are fortunate to also have Mecklenburg Scout Reservation in the North Carolina mountains. This 1,200 acre reservation known as Camp Grimes is where thousands of Scouts enjoy weekend and week-long summer camp adventure. On the reservation we have a 90-acre lake and waterfront area where Scouts can enjoy aquatic activities including: canoing, rowing, sailing, fishing, water skiing, swimming, and motor boating. We have a new dining hall with a Scoutmaster lounge, trading post, climbing wall and plenty of shelter space.

Our standard "Class A" uniform consists of the official Scouting America uniform shirt (navy blue for Tigers through Bears, tan for Webelos/AOL, and a special t-shirt for Lions) paired with a rank-specific neckerchief, slide, and cap. While an official navy web belt is optional, it is recommended as a place for scouts to display the adventure loops they earn.

Required patches include the Council Shoulder Patch (CSP), Unit Numerals, and the World Crest Emblem.

To help keep costs down, our pack does not require official scout pants; scouts are welcome to wear any plain navy blue pants, shorts, or clean blue jeans. We also highly encourage families to look for previously owned uniforms from older scouts in our pack, local thrift stores, or online community groups before buying new!

Cub Scouts is entirely reliant on parent/guardian volunteers! We need parents to help out and be willing to step in to make it a fantastic year full of successful and fun events. Each den needs one or two of the parents/guardians to step up to be “Den Leader” which means you help keep scout den meetings on track and help lead some of their weekly “scout adventures”. Don’t worry, all the details on what to do are provided in the curriculum for each adventure, and just a tiny bit of pre-planning is needed. Other parents who are not in a leadership position are expected to stay during den/pack meetings and help out. Many hands make light work!

We’re a high energy pack of scouts! If you’re looking for activities for your child that involve getting outdoors, exploring nature, making new friends, learning new skills, doing good deeds, and having a ton of fun, then we think our pack is a great place for you! We consider ourselves a relatively active pack in that we will have at least 3 camp-out activities per year (1x in Spring and Fall plus a “super trip” to a more unique location such as a night on USS Yorktown aircraft carrier!) as well as a variety of other local pack-wide hikes and fun outings and activities.

Key logistical details associated with Pack 42 vs. other local packs include: (1) we typically meet on Tuesday evenings (6:30pm-7:30pm); and (2) we typically meet at Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Huntersville. If the night/time or location are not good for you, then you may want to explore another pack.

No! Scouts are not required to attend any specific school or church, etc. While Hopewell Presbyterian Church happens to be our gracious sponsor (providing facilities and other support), scouts are not required to be members of this church or any church for that matter.

We understand that no scout will make every meeting or event, and that’s totally OK! We are a flexible Pack and know life is busy for everyone. If certain events are missed, scouts can also usually finish an adventure at home.

We think Cub Scouts is a great place to start for those less experienced in outdoorsy stuff like camping, hiking, fishing, rock climbing, etc. Nearly all of our events and activities are beginner-friendly (e.g., meals provided and restrooms accessible during camp-outs) and other parents and pack leaders are more than happy to help you get going!

Yes! Starting in 2018 cub scouts became open to both boys and girls. Pack 42 would love to have more girls join us!

Yes, scouts can join any point in the year, but we do encourage scouts to join at the beginning of the year (~September) so you’re starting at the same time as all the other scouts in your den.

Please feel free to reach out to our cubmaster (head volunteer helping run our pack’s program), Ben Ripson. Ben is Lucas' dad and was a scout growing up (eventually made Eagle Scout). Shoot him an email at cubmaster@hopewellpack42.com and he will get in touch via email response or can setup a phone call!