Recruiting Girls to Venturing

Recap of Venturing• Ages 14-21 – (13 graduated 8th grade)

• COED• Awards not Ranks• Gender Neutral

Why recruit girls?

Scouting is a family programThe mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

• This is what parents want for the children!• This is what grand parents want for the grand

kids!• This is what Venturing Does!

Scouting is a family program• All members of the family can participate– Mom, Dad, brothers, and sisters

• Family means being able to have the family involved in the same Scouting organization.

• Venturing teens help get their younger brothers involved, or keep them involved in cub Scouting & Boy Scouting.

Teen Quote“My older brother had been involved in Scouting, and I used to come on hikes with him and his friends. It seemed like so much fun and I wanted to get more involved. When I started high school I joined my brother’s Venture Crew because it was a way to get involved in Scouting and to spend more time with my brother doing things we both enjoy.”

~Celeste Post, VC 77

Girls bring membership!• Girls tell other girls about what they are doing!

• Not ashamed to join!

• Girls will get boys to join Venturing that would never join Boy Scouting

Girls add new ideas• Girls are involved with different activities than

boys, and have different back grounds

• Girls will have different ideas for trips, community service, or fundraising

• Girls will open doors to businesses owned by Women

A new group to recruit• Girls can often make up 50% of a Venture

Crew or more, so if you’re looking to add number than girls are where you should look

How to Recruit Girls

Recruitment Events• Hikes or fun meetings that girls are invited to• Choose things that your Crew does often and

girls would be interested in– Indoor rock climbing night– Ski day– Holiday party– Include food (everyone loves food)

Presentations in School• Ask your principal if you can hold a

presentation after school for any interested members

• Or just have out a poster after school• Put this in the announcements

Presentations to Troop & Pack Families

• Invite the troop members to have their family (including sisters!) come to a meeting and learn more about the Venture Crew– Can involve both boys and girls in the family this

way

Girls Recruit.

Social Media• Teens use social Media– Female teens more than male teens

• Post cool and fun looking pictures• Insagram used by teens to share pictures of

activities.

• Teen Girls don’t email

“I was on Facebook one day and I saw some pictures that my friends were posting from a ski trip and other outings they had gone on with their Venture Crew. I thought it looked like a lot of fun, and I love to ski, so my friend brought me to the next meeting with her. It was cool finding a group of people with the same interests as me.”

~Kerry McCabe, Venture Crew 77

Venturing offers that Girls Scouts does not

• The ability to choose your own program – From High Adventure -- EVERYTHING -- Hobbies

• Many teen girls feel the GS program is out of touch with who they are!– This is an outlet for girls interested in Service, High

Adventure/Hobbies, and the ideals of scouting in general

Concerns About Girls

Concern: Girls will cause competition for leadership positions

• Having more people to compete with for leadership positions will cause both sexes to work harder as leaders

• Both will give each other insight they might not have had otherwise

Concern: Boys will scare the girls away

• Girls often like hanging out with boys as much as or more than hanging out with girls.

• It will give them a chance to participate in activities that aren’t always available to girls

In fact….• Being around girls in a friendly, Crew setting

can help boy scouts learn how to interact with girls better in their every day lives and how to treat them with respect

Concern: Having a Coed Venture will take boys away from their Troop

• Often it keeps Scouts involved in scouting • Venture Crews don’t do all the same things as

Troops• Same concern about the OA by many

Scoutmasters

Venture Crews actually increase membership within the Council

• Girls can often make up the majority of a Venture Crew

• Get one girl, and you will get many more!

The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

Venturing uniquely fulfills the mission with all youth 14 – 21.

Marketing specifically to girls will bring our mission to more youth, increase membership, than if we don’t.

Questions, go here and the current Area 5 Venturing Cabinet will help you in any way they can!