Venturing Program At The 2010 BSA Jamboree

Venturing is a Boy Scouts of America program in which young adults, both boys and girls, from the age of 13 to 21 can participate in activities that give them a positive and satisfying experience – all aimed at making them a more responsible, ethical and caring adult.

Venturing teaches the kids leadership skills, how to pursue their personal interests, grow and become upstanding members of society.

On Tuesday, Josie, one of our customer service representatives, visited the Venturing area at the Jamboree. There, she met up with a very intimidating rock climbing wall and a HUGE rappelling tower.

But Josie didn’t hesitate to give them a shot…

“Climbing on a rock, never done that before, very exciting and scary at the same time. After getting to the top, getting down was the next hard thing.

The next project was the Rappelling Tower. This was just ropes and clips – it was all up to me to make sure I got down safely. Rappelling wasn’t bad, I just could not look down!

Not only does this teach the Scouts balance, technique and the simple fact that rock climbing and rappelling are just plain fun, it teaches them several things that responsible adults need to master, like self-confidence, trust, communication and concentration.”

Way To Go Josie!

Venturing is a great way to give today’s young adults the ability to learn what they need to know for the future, so that they can avoid mistakes and use the experience to blossom into a courteous and responsible adult.

One of the most powerful tools used by the adult leaders in the venturing program is “ethical controversy.” These are controversial scenarios presented to the Venturers which force them to consider all risks involved and how it will affect others as they work toward a solution. This helps the young adults develop problem solving skills, empathy and consideration of others during the problem solving situations.

If you have children and they are interested in Scouting, or if you think they could benefit from Venturing, then this is a tremendous opportunity that you should present to them. There are Venturing organizations all over the country, so there is one close to you that is ready to welcome you into the program. This is truly an opportunity of a lifetime – don’t let it slip by, your children deserve it! If you or someone you know has ever been involved in Venturing, please leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.