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Venturing - BSA

Venturing - BSA. A Unique Opportunity for Older Youth. Existing Explorer Program. Effective 1 August 1998, “Exploring” as we knew it went away Career Posts now fall under Learning For Life

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Venturing - BSA

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  1. Venturing - BSA A Unique Opportunity for Older Youth

  2. Existing Explorer Program • Effective 1 August 1998, “Exploring” as we knew it went away • Career Posts now fall under Learning For Life • Non-career Posts were converted to Venturing Crews and now make up the new Venturing Division within BSA

  3. What Is Venturing? • Is a youth development program of the BSA for young men and women who are 14 (and have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years of age • Can be all male, all female or coed • Models the European version where Scouting has been based upon distinct age group divisions for years

  4. What is Venturing • Members are called Venturers • Venturing units are crews (Venture patrol in the troop with a patrol leader) • Venturing adults are advisors • Youth leader is president • Crews can select one of five interest areas

  5. Five Interest Areas • Outdoor • Sports • Arts and Hobbies • Youth Ministry • Sea Scouting

  6. Uniform • Wear the traditional green uniform shirt with green shoulder loops and a Venturing BSA strip over the right pocket • May adopt the official charcoal gray casual pants or backpacking style short • Each crew determines its uniform based on the crew’s activities

  7. Venturing Advancement Program • Bronze Award • Gold Award • Silver Award • Ranger Award • Eagle Award

  8. Bronze Award • Entry level award • Can be earned in each of five different interest areas • Requires both learning skills and teaching them to others

  9. Gold Award • Replaces the old Explorer G.O.L.D. award • Recognizes accomplishment in the six areas - leadership, service, community/family, outdoor, fitness, and citizenship • Requires at least 12 months of active participation • Requires a Board of Review

  10. Silver Award • Provides a path to personal development and requires • proficiency in emergency preparedness • participation in Ethics in Action • completion of Venturing Leadership Skills Course • earn Gold Award and at least one Bronze Award • Requires a Board of Review

  11. Ranger Award • Identifies Venturer as an elite outdoorsman, skilled in a variety of outdoor sports and interests • Must complete eight challenging core requirements and four outdoor interest or sports electives

  12. Ranger Core Requirements • First Aid Wilderness Survival • Emergency Preparedness Communications • Leave No Trace Cooking • Navigation Conservation

  13. Ranger Electives • Backpacking Cave Exploring • Project COPE Cycling/Mountain Biking • Ecology First Aid • Fishing Equestrian • Hunting Lifesaver • Mountaineering Outdoor Living History • Physical Fitness Plants and Wildlife • Scuba Shooting Sports • Watercraft Winter Sports

  14. Eagle Award • Venturers who enter the crew as First Class Scouts or who are dual registered in a troop may continue to work on their Eagle Award until age 18

  15. Venturing Compliments Troop Program • Adds new advancement and leadership opportunities for older boys • Allows flexibility so boys can participate in both programs • Meets the wants and needs of the 14-18 year old boy • Can solve many challenges faced by Scoutmasters

  16. What 14-18 Boys Want • Challenging physical activities with young people their own age • Recognition of their “older” status • Co-ed activities • Independence • A sense of belonging and acceptance from their peer group

  17. What 14-18 Boys Need • Consistent adults that “walk their talk” • Character and ethical education outside the classroom • Positive role models, male and female • Opportunities to become proficient at a variety of skills • Leadership opportunities

  18. Scoutmaster Challenges • Keeping older scouts “engaged” in the troop while trying to attract and retain younger scouts • Competing with older scout interests; sports, band, drama, jobs, girls, cars • Giving leadership/role model opportunities to all older scouts • Giving younger scouts something to anticipate beyond the troop

  19. National BSA Statistics • Average Eagle Scout is 14 years and 9 months old • Average Boy Scout attendance at summer camp is 2.8 years

  20. What Does Venturing Offer? • New advancement opportunities for boys interested in going beyond Eagle • Recognition for those boys who may have dropped out of “traditional” scouting • Activities with boys and girls their age • New leadership training specifically designed for them • An advancement program that requires that they share what they have learned

  21. Venturing’s Teaching Philosophy • Level 1 - You read it • Level 2 - Someone taught it to you • Level 3 - You experienced it • Level 4 - You teach it to someone else Venturing advancement requires Level 4

  22. Venturing’s Growth • Church youth groups that adopt the structure of Venturing to strengthen their youth • Businesses (REI) and clubs (re-enactment units, outdoor) that adopt Venturing to complement their program • Successful troops that adopt Venturing to meet the wants and needs of their older scouts

  23. Venturing’s Growth • Venturing is BSA’s fastest growing youth development program. The figures are since Venturing began in August 1998 • Total Venturers - 180,536 21.5% • Total Crews - 16,286 29.0% • Total non-LDS Venturers - 112,536 • Total female Ventuers - 44,568 (40% of non-LDS • 63.5% of all Venturers are 16 years old or older

  24. Ages of VenturersYear 2000

  25. What Can Our District Do? • Implement a district run Venturing program as outlined in “Here’s Venturing” • Identify churches with existing strong youth groups that may want to use the Venturing program • Work with troops that want to form Venturing crews

  26. What Can Our District Do? • Form high school-based Venturing crews in those areas where there is no single strong troop • Ensure Venturing activities, including those conducted by NCAC, are included in the district’s program calendar

  27. What Can Our District Do? • Include opportunities for Venturing crews to teach at district events (SMF, camporees) • Ensure Venturing advancement, training and leadership awards are recognized • Support the Northern Virginia Venturing Roundtable that has been established to bring program ideas to several districts

  28. Summary • Venturing is an exciting new program designed to keep youth involved in Scouting for as long as possible. • Venturing provides a program that will attract young people who left the more traditional Scouting or who have never experienced Scouting before. • Venturing compliments a religious organization’s existing youth program.

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