On-the-ground mission statement

[qwazse]

Perhaps the Venturing mission statement should be reworded to emphasize the youth-led and determined nature of the program. Otherwise, how is the current statement any different than many other youth programs in other organizations?

 

Nike's point is an interesting one. The mission statement is intentionally vague, I think, so as to not discourage COs looking for a national program that fits their vision for their youth. It's certainly not designed to attract youth or parents, but who here read MacDonald's mission statement before buying a meal?

 

So, we wind up pitching the program through informal sound bites that capture the experience of our crews.

 

I haven't tried "The Seinfeld of Scouting" on anyone yet.

 

One of our VOA officers used the line "Girls, guns, and fun.". At least when she was pitching to Boy Scouts!

 

what have you used? What gets the message across ...

[SeattlePioneer]

When recruiting Cub Scouts in person at schools, emphasizing BB gun shooting, archery, rockets and Pinewood Derby gets the attention of a large majority of boys.

 

When talking with parents at recruiting nights, emphasizing the family nature of the Cub Scout program, fun for all and character development are usually good sales methods.

[BadenP]

Qwasze

 

Are you even involved in Venturing? Your posts say no. Venturing's problem is not the mission statement it is scouters who haven't got a clue what the program is all about, and think it is just another troop program for older boys. Personally the mission statement was created by National who at the time really did not truly understand the real purpose or focus of the program. The mission statement should really come from the Venturers themselves who have been directly involved with a successful crew. I'll tell you what teenagers could care less about a mission statement when they join a crew, what they do care about is the quality and fun involved in a crews program. That message gets spread by word of mouth rapidly, as our own crew proves. We have gotten so large that we are soon going to have to split into two crews to accomodate all the new teens we are attracting each year.

 

It is not the mission statement that we need to focus on rather it is the type and quality of programs that crews offer that need some fine tuning.

[OldGreyEagle]

One posible quick Mission Statement could be "Venturing-its what YOU make of it" and I'll tell you why

 

If you join a Drum and Bugle corp, you will not be surprised to be drumming or bugling

 

if you join Football, you will be wearing shoulder pads at some point

 

If you join a Dance Academy, you will be on your toes (if its ballet)

 

if you join a Pilates class, you will be doing, well, pilated

 

Kids programs are pretty self-evident in what they are about. Band Camp, Computer Camp, etc. Tells you what the focus is. Venturing is not that way. Venturing is the One program where it can be about what the youth want to do. And that takes some getting used to, by the youth at the very least. Ask a group of youth what they want to do and you may get bumps on a log for a very long time. They may never have actually been asked that by adults before. Once they understand you are for real, they have great ideas but it takes awhile to get them to believe you are serious. You can have a Venuring Crew that does a lot of climbing and as the Crew population changes perhaps it does more white water, or becomes service oriented. All it takes is a good strong nucleus of kids and adults who want to make it happen.

 

The Venturing OAth is

 

As a Venturer, I promise to do my duty to God and help strengthen America, to help others, and to seek truth, fairness, and adventure in our world.

 

We found adventure taking a ferry from Hoboken to the World Trade Center, going to the Museum of Modern Art and standing outside the "Ghostbuster Library". And the subway back under the Hudson.

 

We found advenure at the "Etiquette Dinner" where the staff of the Gourment Resturant operated by the Community College Culinary Arts dept explained proper manners to the Crew. Kids who knew they werent supposed to have elbows on the table, but dont want to ask mom about how to eat in public when its not mickey Dees anymore. After all, these kids are going to proms, older siblings weddings, they want to know and we helped them learn. Possibly the best thing we did was teach the young ladies how to change a tire. Not something commonly seen, but the girls had some friends get stranged because they had a flat and not a clue about how to change it. The guys showed how it was done, with some coaching, and we went over how the various jacks work and where to find them. I think the guys learned as much as the ladies actually because they wanted to know. Its Venturing, its supposed to be hard to explain(This message has been edited by oldgreyeagle)

[BadenP]

 

Venturing is not hard to explain OGE, it is just hard for some scouters to get since it is not run like a pack or troop with all its members in the same dress, and all doing set requirements from a handbook. That kind of activity would be sure a way to repel any teen 14-20 years old. Venturing is about concentrating one or several specialties, incorporating things like ethics and leadership training into the mix, but allowing the flexibility to explore what the world has to offer without having to meet a presubscribed set of requirements in a handbook. It teaches independence, self reliance,participation, and personal responsibility within a group setting in developing a program that meets the interests of all the members. The Venturing Leaders Guide gives them a very good framework and resources to accomplish those goals.

 

Venturing is that point in scouting where we stop treating the teens as children and start treating them as the adults they are becoming.

[qwazse]

Are you even involved in Venturing? Your posts say no.

 

You know, BP, it's that sort of ad hominem rhetoric that leads folks to peg you as unnecessarily argumentative.

 

The mission statement should really come from the Venturers themselves

 

My OP in this thread, next to last line: direct quote from such a person.

 

who have been directly involved with a successful crew.

 

Define successful: prodigious numbers of youth in the same unit, or a half dozen youth who manage have unique adventure for a few consecutive years before going their separate ways?

 

Venturing is that point in scouting where we stop treating the teens as children and start treating them as the adults they are becoming.

 

Good statement! So, is that a youth's quote? Or yours? Because if it's a youth's, I'll probably cite it. But if it's yours then, by your assertion, I wont be genuine if I use it.

 

[emb021]

"The mission statement should really come from the Venturers themselves."

 

I'd say yes and no.

 

It depends on what the mission statement is for. (or maybe that should be who its for).

 

There is a Vision and there is a Mission Statement.

 

A Vision is what the group is striving to become.

 

The Mission is what the group does. (does what? Implement that Vision).

 

For me, this Vision/Mission for the overall Venturing program needs to be a sort of top-level, all-encompassing. And it may not necessarily be about from the Venturers.

 

This is true of many organizations which have lofty vision/missions that may not seem to matter much to those at the lowest levels.

 

What the Venturers should be focusing on, that "on-the-ground mission statement" is their CREW'S Vision & Mission. Which should be expressed in the materials they use to market their crew, and bring people to join them.

 

 

[qwazse]

Thanks emb,I've read other material you've written on mission and vision, and I like the distinction between global and local scope.

 

The reason I asked this is that a new advisor invited me and some others to his first open-house/informational meeting, and if asked to speak, rather than going on about my on-the-ground vision of venturing, I'd like to be able to say some thing like "here's how some other youth described this program ...". [insert comments ripped,from this's thread here]

 

So if you have some fodder, I'm at the trough.

[5scoutmom]

Our Venture crew is a shooting sports crew. Many of our boys also like to cook.

 

The boys came up with this slogan: "Good friends, good food, good deeds, good shot!"

 

This isn't really a formal mission statement but it certainly serves to convey what the focus of the crew is.