Monday, November 29, 2010

New Venture CREW ANNOUNCEMENT!! - Email Sent Nov 23, 2010


{Emailed on November 23, 2010}

Good Evening Scouts and Parents-

As you may know, I have been helping youth grow and learn as a scout leader since June 2003 (when I founded Cub Scout Pack 16)

In the past couple of months, I have been asked by a few youth and parents if I would be willing to start a Venture Crew.

As the Akela District Program Chair, I looked into this. I discovered that there are currently less than 6 active registered Venturing Crews within a 10 mile radius of IHM Church, available to join. – ( ie: St Mary’s Episcopal Church,(High Point - East), First Baptist Church (High Point- Downtown) and Adams Farm Community Church (Jamestown).

After a number of conversations and meetings with current Venture Crew Advisors at the District and Council level, visits to Venture Crew meetings and extensive education and research into the concepts of Venturing, I have decided to officially start a Venture Crew –

If you are receiving this email, then you are either currently eligible or will very soon be eligible to join our Venturing Crew!

One of the main tenets of the Venturing Crew division of the BSA is to promote activities, outings and events and educational opportunities not fully available to older individuals at the troop level.

Statistics have shown that once a scout reaches the age of 13- 14, or have achieved the rank of First Class/Star rank Boy Scouts), or Silver/Gold rank (Girl Scouts), the following occurs to a substantial percentage:

ü  Become too busy with sports, school and social activities to attend the weekly troop meetings.
ü  It is no longer ‘cool’ to wear a Boy Scout or Girl Scout uniform.
ü  Youth are looking for more interaction with the opposite sex.
ü  Are looking to learn and experience at higher levels than younger scouts.
ü  Want, require and demand more independence from adults.
ü  No longer want to always be looking after younger, more inexperienced youth. Many older scouts do not even want a “leadership/babysitting” position.
ü  Are looking for true youth leadership. (Although troops are expected to be “youth-led”, no troop is really this way. A scout leader, by definition, leads the troop (younger scouts need this direction) often to the detriment of the older scouts.) Venture Crew Adults are “shadow” advisors.
Unless another option (Venturing program) is available, the scout will slowly disappear from the scouting  trail. (Opt-out).
One benefit of Venture Crews help older scouts stay involved with their current troops. One of the precepts of Venturing is to be an available resource to help with training, leadership and presentations within troops and Cub Scout Packs. This helps to maintain engagement with younger scouts.

A few brief FAQs on a Venture Crew -

·         Is a Venture Crew connected with an existing troop? NO.  A Venture Crew is a separately organized/chartered unit (NOT a part of a current Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop).

·         Who may join a Venture Crew? The latest BSA eligibility requirements state that a teen must be a minimum of 13 ½ years old or graduated from 8th grade to join a Venture Crew.

·         What is the maximum age? Unlike a Girl Scout or Boy Scout Troop, the maximum age is 20.

·         Can both boys and girls join? YES. A Venture Crew can be very successful as a COED unit.

·         Who organizes and runs a Venture CREW? The young adult members in a CREW make all the decisions and runs all activities (with the advice and counseling of the adults in the CREW)

·         Can a current Boy or Girl Scout stay a part of their current troop? Absolutely. In fact most Venture Crews strongly advise continued membership and participation.

·         Can a scout working towards his/her top rank (ie: Eagle) as a Venturer? Absolutely. (ie: If a scout so desires, the scout can qualify for Eagle, through his Venturing Crew or through his troop (at the scout’s option). At the same time, since the BSA merit badge program is NOT a troop program, but, a district level program) the scout can continue to work on and achieve as many merit badges as a particular scout may want.

·         What outings, events and activities can a Venturing Crew participate in? ANYTHING! The Sky is the limit (literally – Venture Crews have been known to jump out of planes {tandem-jump})
 
·         How often do Venturing crews meet? A typical Crew will meet no more than twice per month. With a maximum of “2-4 “ Super-Events” per year. 

Please join us for our first informational/organization meeting on Friday, December 10th  @ 7 PM. Invite any and all friends (males, females, etc.. A youth does not have to be a current or former scout to join a Venturing CREW (Actually, only a small percentage of Venturers are current or former scouts…)

I will be sending out a more detailed email this coming week…

Contact me for more info…
I look forward to helping your young adults!

Thanks!

fr

Geno Iorio
336-549-2993

ASM – Troop 26
Program Committee Chair – Akela District
Crew Advisor – Venture Crew