Convert “stand alone” Venturing Crews into Scouts BSA Venturing “Patrols”?

[Eagle94-A1]

Concur with @Eagledad. While it is easier to start a Venturing Crew within a Scouts BSA Troop, in the long term they fold. The initial group of Venturers leave, Scouters get burned out, or the troop starts suffering and all hands are needed to support the troop. 

 

[Cburkhardt]

Barry,  My thoughts start with my regretful view that the stand-alone program will not survive.   These are for the reasons already well-discussed above related to lack of demand, lack of focused volunteer resources to keep it going and a general failure to thrive for multiple factors.  I wish it were different.  Assuming that to be the case, my thoughts focus on repurposing the concept in a way to continue providing an older youth program that can function in a practical way.  Girls in our Troop stay because we offer a rigorous high-adventure program for them that is unavailable any where else in the District of Columbia.  We would simply brand that activity as Venturing and offer the girls the ability to do the advancement program.   The only things we would gain is use of the advancement program and and a rationale for older teen girls to join us (without having previously been active in the Troop).

[Eagledad]

25 minutes ago, Cburkhardt said:

Barry,  My thoughts start with my regretful view that the stand-alone program will not survive.   These are for the reasons already well-discussed above related to lack of demand, lack of focused volunteer resources to keep it going and a general failure to thrive for multiple factors.  I wish it were different.  Assuming that to be the case, my thoughts focus on repurposing the concept in a way to continue providing an older youth program that can function in a practical way.  Girls in our Troop stay because we offer a rigorous high-adventure program for them that is unavailable any where else in the District of Columbia.  We would simply brand that activity as Venturing and offer the girls the ability to do the advancement program.   The only things we would gain is use of the advancement program and and a rationale for older teen girls to join us (without having previously been active in the Troop).

Makes sense. But, just be aware, a new title can create a new expectation. The older scout program success is directly relational on the success of the younger scout program. Not the other way around. Don't let the new addition change the younger scout program. I've seen it many times. All of a sudden the mindset of the younger scout program sees itself as just a stepping stone to the romantic older scout program. Don't let that mindset creep in to the unit culture. Keep the younger scout program as romantic as the older scout program and all will go well.

Barry 

Edited June 8, 2022 by Eagledad

[mashmaster]

10 hours ago, Cburkhardt said:

Barry,  My thoughts start with my regretful view that the stand-alone program will not survive.   These are for the reasons already well-discussed above related to lack of demand, lack of focused volunteer resources to keep it going and a general failure to thrive for multiple factors.  I wish it were different.  Assuming that to be the case, my thoughts focus on repurposing the concept in a way to continue providing an older youth program that can function in a practical way.  Girls in our Troop stay because we offer a rigorous high-adventure program for them that is unavailable any where else in the District of Columbia.  We would simply brand that activity as Venturing and offer the girls the ability to do the advancement program.   The only things we would gain is use of the advancement program and and a rationale for older teen girls to join us (without having previously been active in the Troop).

I know of multiple Ships that have been around for decades.  A stand alone program can survive just like a Troop can survive.  Any unit survives by the ABC method "Always Be Cruiting!"  The units change what they do based on the youth in the program not the adults.   The youth define what the unit does and I have seen our ship evolve over the 5 years I have been there based on the youth.

I have have seen Crews live and die because they followed or didn't follow the ABC's .  There needs to be an evolving continued stream of youth going through their unit. 

 

[Cburkhardt]

My views about non-viability are limited to Venturing only.  Mashmaster, so you know of current, well-run "outdoor adventure" Venturing Crews of long-standing that exist without significant professional or commissioner servicing?  I don't see many of these based on many years of engagement, including the predecessor "outdoor adventure" version of Exploring in the 70s-80s.

 Sea Scouts is in a different 'circumstance and should survive relatively as-is for reasons beyond the scope of this posting (many of which have been previously discussed).  Sea Scouts has smaller numbers but is almost 100% serviced by a passionate stand-alone corps of volunteers from Ship through National.  It is nearly unaffected by the controversies and financial deformations of recent years, but needs to recover numerical strength due to COVID losses.  

[mashmaster]

11 hours ago, Cburkhardt said:

My views about non-viability are limited to Venturing only.  Mashmaster, so you know of current, well-run "outdoor adventure" Venturing Crews of long-standing that exist without significant professional or commissioner servicing?  I don't see many of these based on many years of engagement, including the predecessor "outdoor adventure" version of Exploring in the 70s-80s.

 Sea Scouts is in a different 'circumstance and should survive relatively as-is for reasons beyond the scope of this posting (many of which have been previously discussed).  Sea Scouts has smaller numbers but is almost 100% serviced by a passionate stand-alone corps of volunteers from Ship through National.  It is nearly unaffected by the controversies and financial deformations of recent years, but needs to recover numerical strength due to COVID losses.  

The Crew my son is in is still thriving, and another two crews in our area have been around a long time and are still thriving. None of them have any commisioners or professionals servicing them.