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 program
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.
• 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!