Venturers at District Events

[CNYScouter]

I am not sure where to stand on this.

 

I do agree with Eamonn that perhaps it is better for Crews/Ship not to participate in Boy Scout activities such as District Camp-o-rees, especially with a good number of Crew/Ship members still involved with a Troop.

 

One thing I have found is that my council nor any of our neighboring councils have any type of Venturing only events. Our council has tried to hold these in the past we just couldnt get any Crews to attend.

It looks like with will have to travel at least 4 or 5 hours just to attend the closest Sea Scout or Venturing event.

We do plan on doing some of these but the distance will make it difficult to attend more than a few each year.

 

Right now recruitment in the ship is 2 to 1 in favor of the young ladies.

So far my son is the only registered Scout to sign up so very few ship members have ever attended a event like this.

 

So what does everyone think about Crews/Ships at District events?

What about serving as staff at these?

 

I have just found out that there will be a council wide camp-o-ree next May.

I would like to suggest the ship go to this and run an activity.

Does the same feelings hold true for council events?

 

 

 

[John-in-KC]

My own son, since he's been a Venturer, has:

 

- Staffed 3 years at Cub Day Camp

- Staffed once at District Camporee

- Attended 3 VOA Council-wide all night lockins

- Attended one Council-wide sorta LT (4 days 3 nights) camp at our main reservation.

 

From my experience, a keyperson volunteer who is willing to get a District/Council Venturing Officers Association up and running goes to the crux of the matter. The maturity level of the youth just isn't quite enough to go someplace and hope someone else shows up. They want encouragement. They want, even in business, a bit of fun.

 

The idea, to me, is to show the Scouts there is still Scouting fun after they think they've gotten all the benefit they are going to get from a Troop.

[OldGreyEagle]

When the Crew got started, the members said they wanted to have local events, so we, the adult support, said what do you want to do? From that came the 2002 Crew Rendezvous for Venturers. It wasnt sponsored by Council, it was sponsored by the Crew. That was in May, then that August another COuncil Crew sponsored a Cardboard Boat Regatta (yes, cardboard floats, you can look it up). From these events a COuncil Venturing Youth Committee sprang up with the Crew member most responsible for organizing the Rendezvous as the president. A few years later she was the Northeast Regional Venturing President and today, after graduation she is a DE in the COuncil. Talk about being careful for what you wish...

 

If you want District/Council activities, dont wait, sponsor them yourselves. They don't HAVE to be like Camporees or anything else like the Boy Scout events you have seen, its Venturing, write your own book start new traditions, Do all the events at night, have swing/line dancing classes. Have session on how to apply to collge or apply for money. Do what the youth will do, and watch, there may be something to this program at that.

[trailfinder52@yahoo.com]

Our Council asks Venturers to help with the council camporee. A Venturer designed an activity for Cub Scouts, and it was successful, and she earned many kudos for that. Council was pleased. One crew helped out with this year's Klondike Derby and few years ago another crew set up a game at a Klondike and both were successful and the District people were pleased. But I see what Eamonn is talking about because so many of the male Venturers are also in a troop there is a conflict between the crews and troops. But even with the success rate for the Venturing crews that participate in District or Council Camporees or other activities, Venturing does need to do something of their own. Our Council VOA is supposed to be like a forum but not all the crews in our council even know that VOA Exists and some crews have an anti-council attitude and so even if they did know that VOA existed they probably do not attend.