Venturing Crew News
Our District Crew meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Sunday, at 1919 South 10th Street, Council Bluffs, (Click here for map) along with other activities. Meetings usually start at 7:00 and last around a half hour with an activity to follow. Your welcome to join us at any time! For more detail on schedule of events go to our District Crew Calendar (Click here for Calendar). Hope to see you there!
Venturing Central Region Guide to safe Scouting
BSA Appropriate Activities Venturing Information
Mid America Council Project C.O.P.E. 
For more information Click Here!
What is Venturing? Click Here!
Members Area
What Is Venturing?: 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’s purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people to mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults. Venturing crews can specialize in a variety of avocation or hobby interests. Venturing is based on a unique and dynamic relationship between youth, adult leaders, and organizations in their communities. Local community organizations may 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.
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.
Nature of Leadership Program: The Venturing leadership educational and development program is called “The Nature of Leadership” (NOL). The NOL program is based on nature and is intended to be taught in an outdoor natural setting. NOL is broken down into 3 phases of development and are offered to further teach youth advanced leadership skills, that creates a:
“LEADERSHIP FRATERNITY”
Phase one: Venturing Leaders Skill Course (VLSC). A weekend course that teaches 4 basic leadership skills.
Vision
Communication
Organization
Synergism
Phase two: Kodiak. A week long course to be taught while on a High Adventure Trek, that teaches 5 leadership skills called Commissions, it reinforces what was taught in VLSC.
Effective Team
Values/Vision
Communication
Decision Making
Planning
Phase three: Kodiak X. A weekend course that teaches the final two Commissions and reinforces what was taught in Kodiak.
Evaluation Performance
Mentoring
Trailblazer District will support all of its Venturing youth by providing a solid base of leadership opportunities. Here they will learn invaluable life skills, both, personally and professionally, as they walk down their Venturing trail. By serving on the District Events Staff, made up solely of Venturing Crews, they will be given the opportunity for hands on skills in:
1) Learning, teaching and giving presentations to other youth in Churches, Schools, Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, other Crews, Girl Scouts Troops, and so on.
2) Venturing Crews will learn how to plan and manage events and programs from Boy Scout Camporee’s (spring, fall, and winter), First Aid Meets, Scout Shows, Bible School, Junior Leader Training, Dinners, Fundraisers, High Adventure Outings, Webelos lock in, Membership, Scouting for Food, theater productions, and so on.
3) Ventures will run the events they plan by filling the rolls of Program director, Registration director, Patch and tee shirts director, Scenarios director, Kitchen director, Camp Fire director, Security director, Awards director, Camp site judging, Store director, Equipment director, Church director, Photo director, Public relations director, Finance director, and so on, depending on the needs of the event.
4) Ventures will be given opportunities to grow in almost any profession that interest them through the Trailblazer District Venturing Program.
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.
Venturing Oath
As a Venturer,
I promise to do my duty to God
and help strengthen America,
to help others, and
to seek truth, fairness,
and adventure
in our world.
Venturing Code
As a Venturer, I believe that America's strength lies in our trust in God and in the courage, strength and traditions of our people. I will, therefore be faithful in my religious duties and will maintain a personal sense of honor in my own life. I will treasure my American heritage and will do all I can to preserve and enrich it. I will recognize the dignity and worth of all humanity and will use fair play and goodwill in my daily life. I will acquire the Venturing attitude that seeks truth in all things and adventure on the frontiers of our changing world.
