Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of
America for young men and women who are 14 (and have completed
the eighth grade) through 20 years of age.
Venturing's purposed is to provide positive experiences to
help young people mature and to prepare them to become
responsible and caring adults.
Venturing is based on a unique and dynamic relationship
between youth, adult leaders, and organizations in their
communities. Local community organizations establish a Venturing
Crew by matching their people and program resources to the
interests of young people in the community. The result is a
program of exciting and meaningful activities that helps youth
pursue their special interest, to grow, to develop leadership
skills, and to become good citizens.
Venturing crews can specialize in a variety of avocation or
hobby interests. Venturing programs are developed around six
experience areas of emphasis.
Advancement and Award Requirements at the US Scouting Project
| Citizenship |
Develop a Better
Understanding of America's Social Economic, and
governmental systems. |
Encourage a pride in our
American Heritage. |
| Leadership |
Develop leadership skills.
|
Prepare for giving
leadership and to fulfill responsibilities to American
society and to the peoples of the world |
| Fitness |
Improve mental, emotional,
and physical fitness and an appreciation for sports.
|
Develop ethical
decision-making skills. |
| Social |
Instill stable personal
values firmly based on religious concepts. |
Develop skill in dealing
with all people and encourage a sense of family and
community responsibility. |
| Outdoor |
Develop a degree of
self-reliance based on courage, initiative, and
resourcefulness. |
Understand and appreciate
the wise use of resources and the protection of our
environment. |
| Service |
Encourage the skill and
desire to help others. |
Gain a keen respect for
the basic rights of others. |
Young adults involved in Venturing will:
- Engage in a program of activities centered on avocation
interest, life skills, service learning, character
development, citizenship, and leadership experiences
designed to encourage the development of the whole person.
- Experience positive leadership from adult and youth
leaders and be given opportunities to take on leadership
roles.
- Have a chance to learn and grow in a supportive, caring
and fun environment.
The aims of the Boy Scouts of America are to build character,
develop citizenship and foster personal fitness. The Venturing
methods listed below have been carefully designed to achieve the
aims of the Boy Scouts of America and meet the needs of young
adults.
- Adult Association. The youth officers lead
the crew. The officers and activity chairs work closely with
adult Advisors and other adult leaders in a spirit of
partnership. The adults serve in a "shadow" leader capacity.
- Leadership. All Venturers are given
opportunities to learn and apply proven leadership skills. A
Venturing crew is led by elected crew officers. The
Venturing Leadership Skills Course is designed for all
Venturers and helps teach in an active way to effectively
lead.
- Recognition. Recognition comes through the
Venturing advancement program and through the
acknowledgement of a youth's competence and ability by peers
and adults.
- Ideals. Venturers are expected to know and
live by the Venturing Oath and Code. They promise to be
faithful in religious duties, treasure their American
heritage, to help others and to seek truth and fairness.
- Group Activities. Venturing activities are
interdependent group experiences in which success is
dependent on the cooperation of all. Learning by "doing" in
a group setting provides opportunities for developing new
skills.
- High Adventure. Venturing's emphasis on
high adventure helps provide; team-building opportunities,
new meaningful experiences, practical leadership
application, and life-long memories to young adults.
- Teaching Others. All of the Venturing
Awards require Venturers to teach what they have learned to
others. When they teach others often, Venturers are better
able to retain the skill or knowledge they taught, they gain
confidence in their ability to speak and relate to others
and they acquire skills that can benefit them for the rest
of their lives as a hobby or occupation
The program of every Venturing crew evolves around a special
avocation or hobby interest of the youth members and adult
leaders. Youth members have the interest and the adult leaders
provide the resources and expertise. There are hundreds of
different specialties that a Venturing crew may pursue.
Venturing crews, depending on their special interest, will be
part of a specialty cluster. These specialty clusters include:
Outdoor, Sports, Arts/Hobbies, Youth Ministry, Sea Scouting
An important goal of Venturing is to help young adults be
responsible and caring persons, both now and in the future.
Venturing uses `ethical controversies' to help young adults
develop the ability to make responsible choices that reflect
their concern for what is a risk and how will it effect others
involved. Because an ethical controversy is problem-solving
situation, leaders expect young adults to employ empathy,
invention, and selection when they think through their position
and work toward a solution of an ethical controversy.
What a Venturing crew does is limited only by the imagination
and involvement of the adult and youth leaders and members of
the crew - sail the Caribbean, produce a play, climb a mountain,
teach disabled people to swim or attend the Olympics. All these
adventures and many more are being done today by Venturing crews
and ships across the country. All that is needed are concerned
adults who are willing to share a little bit of themselves with
today's youth - tomorrow's leaders.
Finding a venturing crew is easy to do. Just follow these
steps:
1. Contact the local Boy Scout Service Center and ask about
units meeting in your area.2. Contact the Crew President
for those units you are interested in meeting and find out
where and when they meet. They will surely invite you to the
next meeting or outing!
3. Shop around. Not all crews are focused on the same
sort of activities, so find the one that meets your needs
and has people you would like to hang out with.
4. HAVE FUN!
Research has revealed these major points:
- High school students have many vocational and
social/cultural interests.
- Teenagers want a broader experience that provides
practical "hands-on" experience and is tailored to their
cultural backgrounds.
- Teenagers want to belong to a group that provides a
"safe haven" from which to address the youth development
issues that affect them. These issues include
experimentation; moving from dependence to interdependence;
social relationships; psychological changes and sexual
maturity; and a re-evaluation of values.
The Venturing division is designing literature, audiovisuals,
training, activities, and awards to support Venturing crews and
ships.
Literature and audiovisuals: A variety of books,
pamphlets, and videos are being developed to assist with
organization, program, leadership, and activities. In
particular, the Venturing Leader Manual will support Leadership
and planning.
Training: Basic and advanced leader training sessions
along with crew leader workshops, quarterly Advisor meetings,
and program conferences will be available to improve and enrich
Venturing crew programs. A week long high adventure skills
course for Venturing Advisors is available.
Activities: Programs that enhance youth participation,
such as the National Leadership Conference, will be available to
all Venturing crews and youth and adult members.
Advancement Awards [Ranks]: A variety of awards
[ranks] are available to Venturers who accomplish specific
advancement achievements. These awards include:
- Venturing Bronze Awards
- Venturing Gold Award
- Venturing Silver Award
- Venturing Ranger Award
- Sea Scouting Quartermaster Award
Recognition Awards: Those awards that are designed to
provide recognition for youth and adults include:
- Venturing Leadership Award
- Venturing Advisor Award of Merit
Uniforms: The BSA will offer the traditional
spruce-green uniform shirt for Venturers. It is recommended that
crews adopt a charcoal gray casual pant and/or backpacking-style
short for their uniform. However, each crew may determine what,
if any, specific uniform pants or shorts they will wear based on
crew activities.
BSA Councils: The Venturing crew and ships are
supported by local BSA councils that provide staff and volunteer
support, operate service centers and camps, and conduct training
and activities.
Liability Insurance. The Boy Scouts of America has
liability insurance that covers leaders and organizations to
which Venturing crews and ships are chartered. Accident and
medical coverage are not included but are available through
local BSA Councils at a modest cost.
Chickasaw Council B.S.A. Troop and Crew 335
Questions? Comments? Feel free to
contact us!
