May 2016
June BBQ
VOA Weekend Feedback
New Training Codes
Recruiting Techniques
Youth Training Opportunities
Venturing Resources
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Venturing Fest 2016
Northeast Region VOA
Northeast Region VOA
Next Month's VOA Meeting - 2016 VOA BBQ
Come to the VOA BBQ
Tuesday June 7th | 6:00 PM 
 
Many of the crews that were with us at Camp Hart are planning to attend. RSVP to mrosenberg14@comcast.net by June 1 so we can get enough (but not too much) food.  If you'd like to bring a side dish or a snack, that would be most welcome. 

Slides from the VOA weekend which will be displayed indoors after we eat. This will also be a great time to meet the 2016-2017 VOA Officers, and discuss ideas and plans with other crews from around council.

VOA Weekend Feedback

If you attended VOA Weekend in April, you were sent an email with a link to a survey regarding your experience at the event. The new officers would love to hear your feed back as they begin planning next year's VOA event.
 
New Venturing Training Codes Added
Scouting U has created three new training codes to support the youth training requirements of the Venturing program. The new codes were chosen to be in sequence with the existing code of P35 for Introduction to Leadership Skills for Crews.

Councils can now enter these training codes into the youth training record to track the completion of these modules. The new codes, effective as of 3/18/2016, are:
  • P36 Venturing Goal Setting/Time Management
  • P37 Venturing Project Management
  • P38 Venturing Mentoring
Recruiting Techniques for your Crew!

Summer is here and that means older crew members will soon be off to college. Now is time for recruiting! Recruiting sounds like a lot of work but it doesn't have to be. Recruiting for Venturing is a youth led adventure, just like the program itself. Youth-led means another opportunity for fun while accomplishing a goal.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking about recruiting while having fun doing so. If you have any fun recruiting ideas of your own, please let us know at news@colvoa.org and we will share some of them in a future Dispatch.

  1. Head to the local Community Fair or Carnival and hold a sign-up booth that features objects that highlight your crew's activities.  Does your crew canoe?  Bring a paddle or a canoe!  Or put up a tent and bring a Dutch oven with fake fire.  What other interesting, attention grabbing display can you create that would give a good feeling of what it's like to be part of the crew?  Try this instead of a table.   Note: you can always put your sign-up sheet on a clipboard!
  2. Ask to do a short commercial on your crew over the video morning announcements at school.  Wear your crew shirt and bring a cool, school-approved prop to help demonstrate some crazy adventure you decide to share over the announcements.  Don't forget to follow that up with information on how they can join in on your next upcoming gathering!
  3. Organize a crew open house night that includes social activities (ice breakers) and exciting props that highlight potential group outings.  The open house should include a brief explanation of crew structure, but please spend the majority of the time doing something fun, a social that gets people mingling and interested in being part of the group.
  4. Ask for fliers to be made up and printed by your District Executive.  Then flier the town/school/your friends with your stack of papers.
  5. Post/share/tweet/snap that flier on all of your social media outlets. 
  6. Use social media!!  Create a crew #hashtag and use it when sharing pictures.  Also, create a Crew account with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.  Snap stories that can be replayed, helping to be able to give the same set of information more than once.
  7. Go to places where the Venturing age group congregates (the movies, bowling alley, climbing gym, mall) and set up a display that draws people over to touch or play with the items on hand.  Ask your most friendly and inviting people to be part of this!  Be sure to collect people's contact information (phone number and email address).
  8. Form a relationship with the Troops in the area and establish a line of communication.  Offer to pair up and work together on service tasks; provide an opportunity for Scouts to bridge from the troop(s) to the crew when they are in need of new experiences.
  9. Make business cards to pass out.  What teen doesn't think being given a business card is neat?!?  Card could contain officer's information, online information and location/time of meetings.  Think of it as a way for the individual to find your crew again.
  10. Hold a social gathering that functions as an open house, but at a location that would draw people naturally.  Like a bowling alley or carnival.  Alternatively, you could hold the gathering at a park as a summertime picnic.
  11. Consider creating a theme for an open house- like dressing up for a Halloween mascaraed ball, or have people bring a can of silly string to be used in the obstacle challenge. 
Follow up with the people that leave their contact information at your recruitment events!  If people show up and were interested enough to leave you their contact information, then they are definitely owed a follow up email/phone call.  Be as prompt as possible - if more than a week goes by, their excitement will wane.  Extend a friendly "thank you!" the day after the event and remind them of when the next gathering/activity is so they can join in.  The sooner they start, the better!

And last, but possibly the most fun: challenge or dare others (friends, co-workers, people you have just met) to show up to your next gathering or activity.  Create a contest among crew members and give an award/prize to the person who recruits the most new members.


National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT)
National Youth Leadership Training is an exciting, action-packed program designed for councils to provide youth members with leadership skills and experience they can use in their crews and other situations demanding leadership of self and others.

National Youth Leadership Training incorporates the latest leadership ideas and presents fresh, vital, and meaningful training for today's Venturers.

The National Youth Leadership Training centers around the concepts of what a leader must BE, what a leader must KNOW, and what a leader must DO. The key elements are then taught with a clear focus on HOW TO.  The skills come alive during the week as the patrol goes on a Quest for the Meaning of Leadership.

Cradle of Liberty Council is offering four National Youth Leadership Training courses in 2016.

For more information click here. 
Venturing Resources Available

Venturing recruiting materials like fliers, pamphlets, and recruitment guides, are now available for recruitment! We would love to help your crew have the best recruitment possible; please reach out to your District Executive for help procuring these materials.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read this issue of The Venturing Dispatch newsletter and being a part of Venturing in the Cradle of Liberty Council. If you have news or information you'd like to see published in The Venturing Dispatch, please send all of your information including contact name and email address to news@colvoa.org.

Sincerely,
The Cradle of Liberty Venturing Officers Association