Venturings Place

[Stosh]

Basement, don't just wait, go ask them what they want to do, then help them make it happen.

 

Stosh

[qwazse]

BD - Piggybacking on what Stosh said, you have some specific experiences that can add to the life of your crew.

 

First, your recent experience on the AT and that whole discussion about outdoor ethics could be a meeting topic.

 

Second, let your daughter know that you'll be going on the hike in the near future and would like the crew to come along. (The challenge there is finding a female chaperon who's willing to do the miles.) But, they'll need a meeting or two to collect gear and prep.

 

Hopefully if you're available for one thing, another half-dozen parents will be available for different activities. That "spreads the love", and pretty soon the youth catch on that they can call you for hikes, Ms. so-and-do for whitewater, etc ...

[emb021]

"How many councils do you think are prepared to understand and support non-camping Crews? I know what the model looks like on paper, but I also see the reality on the ground and most professionals aren't geared for arts and hobbies, sports or religion."

 

Who cares about the professionals.

 

Its important that the volunteer membership supporting Venturing understands this and can support it. For instance, in many councils you have a religious committee. Such a committee could work to support youth ministries crews. That's what I am looking to see happen in my council.

 

And am trying to get some interest in getting a HacKid Conference in my area, and get Venturers involved. May lead to some STEM-based crews starting.

 

 

[Basementdweller]

Q....the wife who is one of the crew advisors did a bunch of miles this weekend. we did 8 thanksgiving day and saturday did 10 more....I love hiking with the leaves off the trees.

 

No problem with the female advisor......she kayaks, rapels, hike, backpacks, shoots and camps.

 

 

No hiking or backpacking for the next week while the idiots are in the woods with their shotguns.

[qwazse]

Sounds like your crew is at the tough spot of trying to define themselves. But, they have good people who'll help them when they are ready. I'd tell them they should say they are a general interest crew. When they get sick of calling themselves that, they can make the effort to be something different.

 

Bottom line: a crew is a group of kids who shape themselves. If every other crew in your area is some troop's venture patrol, then they probably should break the mold and be a little independent.

 

Have your crew's officers completed ILSC (used to be called VLSC)? It's a good training tool that sets a standard for them follow.

 

[Basementdweller]

It is irrelevant, the crew does not have enough paying members to recharter this coming year. We just need youth to recruit youth.

 

I think the youth in the crew want the adults to do all the planning and they just show up to an event.

[Stosh]

Basement,

 

That works for Cubs, not Venturers.

 

I'm seriously thinking about a Flash Mob Venturing Crew. Announce a date, time and place and let the kids figure out how to work out the details. Have plenty of BSA registration forms when you show up.

 

If no one shows, the adults go and have fun by themselves. If the kids show up, even better.

 

Eventually the kids will figure out how to make it work.

 

Stosh

[Jay K]

I love the Flash Mob idea. Let us know how it works!

[qwazse]

the crew does not have enough paying members to recharter this coming year. We just need youth to recruit youth.

 

How many do you need? You have four adults all of whom could be multiples of other units and paying their registration through them. If you need two of them to be CC and COR, you can do that. You have your daughter (who I assume would pay) is there one other youth. Boys who are multiple in another unit may be paying there, so that's no problem just ask your SE to waive that requirement. (I've seen troops move 5 boys primarily to their crew, but I hate the shell game. It gets back to your "what's the point?" question at the beginning.) Then you need someone to fork over the $20 rechartering fee. Done.

 

 

But you're right, it's the principle of the thing. You don't want names on paper, you want a movement of kids. The crew advisor needs to hold an emergency meeting with the topic "Crew ___: Glorious or Bogus?". The kids need to decide if they want it to persist another year. If so they must choose one activity (e.g. host a ski day, have a blood drive, join jb's flash mob) that they want to do in the next three months, promote it, and make it happen.

 

If they don't want to. Fold. You might be stuck waiting for another the next class of youth to come along and re-instate the crew.

[Basementdweller]

I don't know what the magic number is......I believe 6 but I don't know for sure the COR attempted to recharter and let us know we didn't have enough youth.

 

 

My daughter is only 9 and is the mascot for lack of a better label. The other advisers daughters are 10, 11 and 8. This is mainly Troop members sisters.

 

She backpacks, hikes and rapels with the best of them. She is more adventurous than scout son.

[qwazse]

Got it. So you really may have some older kids who lack vision. That's why the advisor should give them one last challenge. If the youth say they'll step up, go ask the SE for an exemption. If not, suspend the crew and focus on providing one serious outdoor GS troop for those little sisters. (The term we use 'round here is VIT: venturers in training.)

 

We've seen the same thing in troops where the 14+ year olds seem to disappear. Sometimes they don't realize how they are depriving younger boys of the blessings they had when they crossed over, and they'll come round. Sometimes they just don't care -- they've changed their priorities and aren't looking back. In the first case a gentle wake-up call gets them on track. In the second case you resign yourself to starting from scratch with a troop full of youngn's.

[John-in-KC]

5 youth is the chartering number for any Scouting program, unless chartered to an LDS Ward.

 

For LDS, the chartering number of youth is 3.

[John-in-KC]

What I do not see in this thread is "What do the area youth want?"

 

If the HS theater group wants to do Venturing ... then a Crew focused on the outdoors is utterly out of place.

 

Get into the HS. There's an interest survey National can supply. Figure out what the youth want, then tailor the offering to them.

 

They'll show more interest if they are the ones making the most basic decision of "why are we here?"

[Basementdweller]

John.....why in the world would any high school related group want to do venturing????

 

They already have organized activities.

 

 

 

[qwazse]

Sticking with the theater example, a HS group may not:

Be directed solely by youth.

Have a group discussion as to the next play they'll put on.

Travel to visit theaters of movie shoots in the area.

Examine ethical controversies regarding issues in the entertainment industry.

Plan overnights on the stage of a historic theater.

Run a program that helps grade-school kids plan and implement skits.

Organize a special dramatic service for a religious group.

 

A venturing crew could do all of those things.

 

Of course, crews do mold themselves to their advisors. If the crew advisor is an avid kayaker and hiker, it's not going to easily loose its outdoor focus.