2023 Summer Meeting Ideas

The Cadet season and school year are coming to a close. Now might be the time to consider options for summer Cadet activities. We encourage you to find ways to connect with your Cadets and club this summer.

Here are just a few ideas:

Service Projects (Church and Community)
Find service projects that your cadets can work on this summer. Maybe you’ve seen a need in your church family or church neighborhood. Check with your deacons to find out about doing chores for shut-ins, community gardening, or other ways your club can help your church and community.

Cadet Cookout (Fundraiser?)
Summertime is a great time to have a cookout with your cadets, whether or not you incorporate badgework (Camp Cooking, Dutch Oven Cooking, etc.) or not. A cookout can even be scaled up into a fundraising event.

Chuck Wagon Derby
Miss your Snow Derby this year? Adapt Snow Derby activities to use a “chuck wagon” rather than a toboggan, and you can have a derby during the summer.

Model Car Derby
You may have had your model car derby already this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t race again. Gravity works outside, too, so think about having an outdoor derby this summer.

Rocket Launch Party
This can be part of the Model Rocketry merit badge, but it doesn’t have to be. Be sure to have plenty of rockets and engines on hand, and get new batteries for your launcher.

Fishing
Take your club or cadre fishing – incorporating the Fishing badge is up to you. You can make it into a tournament, with prizes for the largest or most fish caught.

Gun Range/Sporting Clays
For the right cadre, a trip to the gun range or a round on a sporting clay course can be a great time. The Marksmanship or Clay Target Shooting badges are easily incorporated, too. Are you in the West Michigan area? Join us for our Annual Cadet Sporting Clay Shoot in August!

Sporting Events (Or Similar)
Your summertime activities with cadets don’t need to be limited to badge-related activities. Take your cadre or club to a ball game, or bowling, or to the roller rink, or go-karting, or… you get the idea(s).

Canoeing/Geocaching/Archery/Etc.
ANY great summertime activity that gets your Cadets outdoors and active could be an option for your club this summer. There are plenty of badges that focus on all sorts of outdoor interests. As always, the important thing is cultivating relationships with the boys to help them grow more Christlike in all areas of life.

Summer Campout/CADET INTERNATIONAL CAMPOREE
This classic Cadet activity can be combined with a little (or a lot) of badgework (Camping, Axemanship, Camp Cooking, Fire Building, First Aid, Knots & Lashing, Map Reading) and other outdoor activities (Hiking, Canoeing, Geocaching, etc.). By the way,  encourage your cadets to attend the Cadet International Camporee!