Council Level Venture activity ideas

[buffalo2]

Our Council has an ongoing interest in promoting Venturing units and is making an honest effort to really drive the program. They're soliciting input and activity suggestions that will really spark things up, and who better to contribute than this crowd?

Looking for some more ideas:

EcoChallenge, with multiple units contributing events

Think rappelling, archery, obstacle courses

Bike Trail road rally - perhaps a Poker Run if that would be appropriate?

Look for connections with local colleges, any pretext to get the youth on campus and thinking

Intramural sporting competitions; volleyball, flag football

And you negative types can weigh in with what doesn't work too!

Thanks

 

 

 

[ASM7]

Our district is currently looking at a District level Venture Crew, sponsored by a community wide organization rather than individual sponsors like a church. The thinking is that one big venture crew would be more attractive to the older teenagers. The first big event to draw them in is the Council Ski trip. A special package that covers skiing, transportation, food, and a t-shirt at a real bargain. Other high adventure trips are being planned. It's showing promise.

Doug

[DDHII]

It's good to hear that your council is promoting more Venturing units. The best way to keep the unit you have active within the council is to form a Venturing Officer's Association (or a VOA) once a month. This is very similar to a PLC, but this involves every unit within the council and meet once a month to plan activities. Everything you have listed sounds really great, however, BSA has guideleines against any gambling activites such as a poker run. Have you tried contacting your council Learning for Life coordinator? Learning for Life and the Exploring program have the same age groups found in Venturing (ages 14-20) and they are co-ed as well. By bringing these two separate groups together, recruitment makes it easier since individual units have different specialties (such as High Adventure, Youth Ministry, Arts and Hobbies, Sea Scouting, and Sports). The same goes for Exploring units since they also have different specialties so your Venturers can find a common interest. Also, try contacting Alpha Phi Omega fraternaties at your local colleges and universities. APO is a scouting co-ed fraturnity and you can check them out at www.apo.org. Don't forget to invite senior girl scout troops on your Venturing activites, they're within the age group as well. I hope this helps...

 

Dale

[k9gold-scout]

Our council set up a teen leadership council for venturing and it had a good start. Now we have not seen any new events since last year. I know that the program is growing and that recruitment is in double digits, but the council level program has not even updated the website this year. Venturing should have a seperate leader corps like OA to run council events. How about reigon (state) events?

[DDHII]

Regional activites work well. As you may know, Powderhorn activities are held by the Region and you could coordinate your activites based on Powderhorn locations. It's an annual event, held at a different council every time. It's a great way to know who your Venturing Regional President is and what he or she can do for your units to help them succeed.

 

Dale