Considering Converting the Troop to a venture Crew

[Thomas54]

 

We are a starving troop. No Webelos for three years running. Our charter's pack continues to feed the troop across town. They are now over 90 scouts we are about 20 Scouts.

 

We now have very old and tall scouts. Nearly all our scouts are in high school. Next year all but one will be in high school. The short guys in the troop are the scoutmasters. This year the webelos parents said the age gap was too big. I am thinking "OK, well it won't get better with time."

 

In the committee meetings and among the scoutmasters we have discussed converting the troop to a venturing crew. Some discussions with our own sons but we have not brought out to the troop as a whole.

 

The idea is that at least we could pick up a few girls either siblings or friends and bring some new blood into the troop. Also we have always looked more like a venturing crew with far away trips and few backyard/local campouts. The change could take the internal pressure off meeting as often and planning an outing every month month. Both the meetings and the outing get harder with high school and with all the scouts in high school i predict that participation will drop.

 

The lack of new webelos has also meant fewer adults. We had to cancel a backpacking trip this month as a results of the not enough trained adults to go.

 

We have not approached the charter yet and I recognize that they may prefer we stay a boy scout troop. I doubt that they will feel that strongly about this conversion but it is an unknown.

 

Thoughts on converting a boy scout troop to a venturing crew?

 

 

 

 

 

[qwazse]

Do you have sisters, girlfriends, and buddies (non-scouts) who want to be part of the program?

Are your 18-20 y.o. ASM's comfortable with being "youth" again?

Do you have several female adult leaders (moms or 21+ older sisters) willing to support you? (That not-enough-adults-for-an-outing can still occur if you don't.)

 

In other words: is there a need? And, are your boys and their families up to meeting it?

[ScoutNut]

I agree with Q.

 

Is there a desire on the part of the YOUTH for a Venturing Crew?

 

If you have to cancel outings now due to lack of adult volunteers, it will not get any better if you also need to have female volunteers available.

 

You can not just "convert" from a Boy Scout Troop to a Venturing Crew. They are two completely separate, and different, kinds of BSA units. Like with any new unit you will need to find a Chartering Organization. This can be your current CO, or a different one. You can not take the Troop number to a Crew. Again, separately chartered units.

 

Consider that if not all of the boys want to join a Crew, they might want to stay in the Troop, and try to keep it running, join another Troop, or quit Scouting altogether. Your Crew could end up significantly smaller than your Troop is now, especially if the boys can not convince any females to join.

[qwazse]

both-and is possible. For example, our CO's troop, pack, and crew have the same unit #.

All of the boys in your troop can simultaneously be registered in any number of crews.

So your troop doesn't have to disappear overnight. The same committee can verve both troop and crew, although separate committees for each is more common.

 

Anyway, this does give you options -- of you have the leadership to support it.

[Thomas54]

 

 

Thanks

 

We have the femake adult support on campout. Two adventurist females who good campers.

 

The only thing with the ourings is that the same 2-3 adults on on every outing. The though is that four-five major outings a year are esier to work around schedules than 10-12 outings. Same for the youths. Marching Band and varsity sports are schedule killers.

 

In January we would not re-charter as a boy scout troop and would recharter as a new Venturing crew.

 

 

 

[qwazse]

It's sad to hear a good troop fade away, but if you and the CO are set on this tack, talk to the DE to make it happen.

 

Some pointers:

Get your adults to Venturing Leader Specific Training ASAP. If your COR comes along, it would be a great help.

Make a plan for recruiting 8th graders as they turn 14 next year. Involve your boys in that plan. Don't expect any help from the DE on this, but be thankful if it comes.

Brainstorm with your boys on some fellowship activities that don't involve overnights. E.g., for Halloween, our crew likes to gather around a backyard campfire after Trick-or-treating.

Make a plan for fundraising. New uniforms, even if the youth design their own from t-shirts, are a new expense. You might want to underwrite the cost of Powderhorn, or other leadership courses for select youth. Most age-appropriate activities are more expensive and youth this age have to start saving for college as well.

[JWKnoll]

High school age youth have a lot of demands on them and not much control over their own schedule, which is mostly driven by coaches, teachers, parents, jobs, etc. Venturing can alleviate some of these issues because there is not the rigid expectation of attendance at weekly meetings and monthly outings. Still, you will need to have a relatively big crew to get reasonable participation level at most activities, as many will have schedule conflicts.

 

First I would recommend you seek out experienced crew advisors in your district or council and get some feedback and advice from them. Review the Venturing Leader Manual, take the adult leader training, and go to roundtable. That should help you develop and refine your vision.

 

Discuss your vision with the boys and see if most can agree it is workable. Things to consider are:

- frequency of meetings and activities

- primary activity focus, secondary activities, trips/super-activities

- single sex vs co-ed

- Crew organization and Youth Leadership

- Uniform (yes/no, what)

- Recognition/Advancement Program

 

You should also discuss with your CO, particularly in terms of adult leaders. If you think it is tough getting Webelos to join a Troop, I would say it is harder to get high school kids to join a crew. By then most have settled in on their interests and are committed to various activities. And you're less likely to even see parents- many youth will drive themselves to the meetings. You obviously will need some adults for the crew committee and advisors so you'll need to seek out those that would be interested in your crew's activity focus. Your CO should help here. You also have possibilities with your current troop's adult members.

 

If you plan a co-ed crew, you will need co-ed adult leadership. I would recommend at minimum of 3 associate advisors of each sex. You cannot be successful depending on the same couple people for every event. However, since most of the planning and execution should be done by the Venturers, the burden on adults is lighter. That makes it more likely that parents or other adults would want to participate in some of the activities.

 

If you decide to start a crew, I would recommend you still keep the troop, at least one more year- even if it is not very active. There is so much effort to starting a new troop, it's a shame to fold it up. You're also likely to get more support by proposing creating something new (a crew) than shutting down the troop. You could keep the boys registered in the troop, and dual register them in the crew for no additional fee. This would also make it easy for the boys or troop to participate in Boy Scout events as well as Venturing events.

 

Not every Webelos scout wants to join a troop of 90 boys. Work with your CO and you might be able to rejuvenate the troop with some new boys and their parents as leaders. Ultimately this will help with recruiting into the crew.

 

Social activities are a big part of Venturing. As my daughter says, its not so important what the activity is, as who is participating. Our crew has one business meeting a month, and usually one social get together (ice cream, pizza, Starbucks, etc...). We usually have one activity per month, a major activity every 3/4 months, and a super-activity every year.

 

 

[Kudu]

 

Thomas54 writes:

 

"No Webelos for three years running."

 

Good riddance.

 

Most Cub Scouts drop out before crossing over, and the vast majority of boys who crave adventure never join in the first place.

 

It is easy to turn small Troops around if you know how to recruit six-graders, and how to make good on a promise of "dangerous adventure:"

 

http://inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

http://kudu.net

 

[Thomas54]

 

 

Good summary of ideas JWKnoll.

 

 

[allangr1024]

Are you not just postponing the inevitable? If you don't have new scouts coming into a troop, where are you going to get new venturers to join a venture crew. You are going to have to recruit from the scout troops around.

 

Our crews around our area are hurt when the scout troops around are under sized, just as our scout troops are hurt when the cub dens are under sized. It is a viscous cycle.

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

A Crew should recruit form a much wider circle than close by Boy Scout Troops. The youth targeted should be anyone who promises to do their duty to God and help strengthen America, to help others, and to seek truth, fairness, and adventure in our world

 

That includes a whole bunch of youths other than Boy Scouts. You are looking for those who moved into the area while 10-12 years old and didnt know enough of the area to join a troop or perhaps joined a troop and were put off with the way the Troop was run. You are looking for youth who have no problem saying, I want to do this and then go and make this happen. Whether its Deep Sea Fishing off the New Jersey Coast or going to a Broadway Play or a whole bunch in between.

 

You are presenting a vehicle for the youth to do what it is they want to do whether Backpack (Out Door Crew) Teach Sunday School or prepare a Relious Retreat (Religious Life) or perhaps put on a play (I love Musicals myself in Arts and Hobbies) follow an interest in Sports or even become a Sea Scout Ship

 

Venturing while it could be part of the natural progression from Cub to Boy Scout to Venturer, you don't need to have an scouting experience to be a Venturer.

[moosetracker]

I understand your viewpoint.. Given that you could recruit youth who want adventure but not advancement, no uniforms and also girls who could never join a troop.. You could open yourself to a new pool of people, and still help any boy from the troop obtain Eagle in a Venture patrol (I assume all are first class by now).

 

My only fear is if this competitive troop is as you say, just pulling away scouts from your troop as some sort of victorious thrill game.. (If I am right, you are the one with some guy who was either cub master or Unit Commissioner for the Pack for the sole purpose of recruiting them away from your troop).. Well, if it pleases them to continue to do so.. They could start a Venture Crew also, so that again they could try to pull anyone you hope to recruit..

 

Of course your recruitment pool isn't so easy to find and highjack as a feeder Pack.. But just saying..

[JWKnoll]

First- just a clarification on terminology. There is no such thing as a "Venture Crew" in the BSA. This term was used back in the 80's and 90s before being changed to "Venture Patrol". A Venture Patrol is an optional patrol of older Boy Scouts within a Boy Scout Troop. A Venturing Crew is a separately chartered unit that follows a different program (Venturing), has different methods, leadership organization, membership criteria, advancement program, etc.,etc. Unfortunately the terms are very similar and when used incorrectly can lead to a lot of confusion. The easy way to keep it straight is to remember the word Venture never applies to anything related to Venturing.

 

As pointed out, new Venturing Crew members need not come from troops. Since the age ranges for Boy Scouting and Venturing overlap, there is no concept of "crossing over" as with Webelos to Boy Scouts. In fact, few of our Venturers come from troops.

 

We have occasionally picked up a few Boy Scout drop-outs (also former girl scouts). We do have a few dual-registered Boy Scouts as well as girls currently in GSUSA, and some from both that have aged-out (since Venturers can go to age 21). However, most members are recruited by friends or join via word of mouth. Often parents will inquire about the "green shirts" particularly when they see a co-ed crew participating or staffing some event.

 

We do not actively recruit from troops. We tried this many many years ago and found it usually generated animosity because many troop leaders see Venturing as competition for "their" older scouts.

 

Bottom line: anyone in the age range is eligible to join. No prior scouting membership or experience is required. That represents a large universe of potential members.

 

[qwazse]

Are you not just postponing the inevitable? If you don't have new scouts coming into a troop, where are you going to get new venturers to join a venture crew.

 

As discussed above, not necessarily. But even if it were so, and no new youth were brought into the unit. If a half dozen boys stick together until they are 21, doing four unique adventures every year, I bet you'll have 6 youth grateful to you for "postponing the inevitable."

[Thomas54]

 

At this moment in time the troop appears to be destined for extinction. The Crew looks like something to grab to bring in a few more people (girls) in, take the weight off those holding on and add a new dimension for those still around. Remember there are no new scouts to teach skills to, no new scouts who to get excited about summer camp, no new scouts that need the camping merit badge.

 

If our troop gets any older we will need a retirement plan.