Venturing is for young men and young women ages 14 to 20. It includes challenging high-adventure activities, sports, and hobbies for teenagers that teach them leadership skills, provide opportunities to teach others, and give them an opportunity to learn and grow in a supporting, caring, and fun environment.
Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.
Venturing is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth, adult leaders, and organizations in their communities. Local community organizations establish a Venturing crew by matching their people and program resources to the interests of young people in the community. The result is a program of exciting and meaningful activities that helps youth pursue their special interests, to grow, to develop leadership skills, and to 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, youth
ministries, 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
The aims of the Boy Scouts of America are to build character, develop citizenship and foster personal fitness. The Venturing methods listed below have been carefully designed to achieve the aims of the Boy Scouts of America and meet the needs of young adults.
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 in an active way to effectively lead.
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, to help others and to seek truth and fairness.
High Adventure. Venturing's emphasis on high adventure helps provide; team-building opportunities, new meaningful experiences, practical leadership application, and life-long 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 they 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 of an ethical controversy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q Does joining Venturing require previous Scouting background?
Any young person ages 14 to 20 can join Venturing. No previous Scouting background is required.
Q Is a uniform required?
A uniform is not required in Venturing. Many Venturing crews create their own T-shirts or other way of identifying themselves as a group.
Q Does a male Venturer working on his Boy Scout advancement have to be registered as a Boy Scout?
No, he can register only as a Venturer, if preferred.
Q Can crews be all male, all female, or coed?
Yes, it is up to the chartered organization. However, one of the aspects of Venturing that makes it popular with young people is that it is coed.
Q Can a girl in the Venturing program earn Boy Scout advancement such as merit badges and the Eagle Scout Award?
No. Girls are able to earn only Venturing advancement.
Q Why would a parent want a son or daughter to join Venturing?
A recent survey concluded that 96 percent of Venturers made new friends, 93 percent had opportunities to go places and do things they had never experienced, 91 percent said Venturing activities helped develop more self-confidence.