Venturing is a
youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young
men and women who
are 14 (and have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years of
age. Venturing provides experiences
to help young people mature and to prepare them to become
responsible and caring adults.
The result is a program of exciting and meaningful activities
that helps youth pursue their special
interests, grow, develop leadership skills, and become good
citizens. Venturing crews can specialize in
a variety of avocation or hobby interests.
Goals
Young adults
involved in Venturing will:
Learn to
make ethical choices over their lifetimes by instilling the
values in the Venturing Oath
and Code.
Experience
a program that is fun and full of challenge and adventure.
Become a
skilled training and program resource for Cub Scouts, Boy
Scouts, and other groups.
Acquire
skills in the areas of high adventure, sports, arts and
hobbies, religious life, or Sea
Scouting.
Experience
positive leadership from adult and youth leaders and be
given opportunities to take
on leadership roles.
Have a
chance to learn and grow in a supportive, caring, and fun
environment.
Methods
Leadership.
All Venturers are given opportunities to learn and apply
proven leadership skills. A
Venturing crew is led by elected crew officers. The
Venturing Leadership Skills Course is
designed for all Venturers and helps teach them in an active
way to lead effectively.
Group
Activities.
Venturing activities are interdependent group experiences in
which success is
dependent on the cooperation of all. Learning by "doing" in
a group setting provides
opportunities for developing new skills.
Adult
Association.
The youth officers lead the crew. The officers and activity
chairs work closely
with adult Advisors and other adult leaders in a spirit of
partnership. The adults serve in a
"shadow" leader capacity.
Recognition. Recognition
comes through the Venturing advancement program and through
the
acknowledgement of a youth's competence and ability by peers
and adults.
The Ideals.
Venturers are expected to know and live by the Venturing
Oath and Code. They
promise to be faithful in religious duties, treasure their
American heritage, help others, and seek
truth and fairness.
High
Adventure.
Venturing's emphasis on high adventure helps provide
team-building
opportunities, new meaningful experiences, practical
leadership application, and lifelong
memories to young adults.
Teaching
Others.
All of the Venturing awards require Venturers to teach what
they have learned
to others. When they teach others often, Venturers are
better able to retain the skill or knowledge
taught, they gain confidence in their ability to speak and
relate to others, and they acquire skills
that can benefit them for the rest of their lives as a hobby
or occupation.
Ethics in
Action
An important
goal of Venturing is to help young adults be responsible and
caring persons, both now
and in the future. Venturing uses "ethical controversies" to
help young adults develop the ability to make
responsible choices that reflect their concern for what is a
risk and how it will affect others involved.
Because an ethical controversy is a problem-solving situation,
leaders expect young adults to employ
empathy, invention, and selection when they think through their
position and work toward a solution.
