studdman

dana_renner You bring up some very good points. However, I think the leadership guide is not very well organized. The forms are all over the place, and when you have to make copies of them, they come out gray and cloudy because of the green tinted background. There is no cd that accompanies the handbook either. It reads like a dull textbook and in many places is too general and vague. I believe in the youth run program quite highly, but if National is to be the one to provide us with the literature, then they need to have it be practacle and fool proof. If I had 5 or so years of venturing

We used PVC pipe that was just lage enough for the 1/2" rebar to fit inside. The length was 13". We shaved off the sides of one end enough so that the plug would come on and off easy. We had someone make a 3/4" round metal spike and had a washer welded on so that it could be driven into the ground and once the washer hit the ground, you knew that you were far enough. Then you lift up the spike and insert the 13" pipe. Easy as that. We handed out the flyers and picked up 3-4 more people in a little over a week.

ASM1 Interesting how some people can get the attitude of "I can do it better." Unfortunately I held this attitude when I served as an assistant scoutmaster. Back in September, I was put in charge of the entire scout program. It is a lot of work! Especially since the unit was flat broke and owed debts when I took it over. Youth leadership was lacking because the previous guy micromanaged everything. Now, I literally eat, think and sleep scouting and how I can improve the scouting program. I compare it to the old phrase: "how do you eat an elephant? Answer: one bite at a time." Just be care

One thing about the PVC pipes, make sure you shave off the ends of the pipes, otherwise, you will not be able to get the caps of. We had a fixed belt sander and we took off about an inch down the pipe and just enough so the cap will still fit on it, but loose enough to take it off. Does this make sense? Dry fitting PVC is a nightmare. Those caps will stay in place too well if you don't shave off the sides about an inch down in one end. We just had our first rollout last week. It went very well. Picked up 3 more subscribers for a total of 27. It would be a good idea to have the local paper go

t487scouter Glad to meet a fellow Washingtonian. I am in the bustling metropolis of Ephrata. The flag package we use was meant for outdoor use. The epoxy coated rebar is inserted inside the PVC that goes in around 12-13 inches. That helps give the PVC pole that the flag is mounted to some strength and stability. True, having a 7 foot flagpole can be hard to manage, but we have found that they fit inside most minivans. Using trucks is the ideal method. The flags come in increments of 10 inside a tube. This makes it good for storage and keeps the dust out. Another fundraiser that I thought

Thanks Backpacker! I was considering doing a program like that, for that is the direction we are going with our new crew. I feel that the spirit of scouting is to help the boys become better men, leaders, citizens, and stewards of the earth. Creating a high adventure program around that is what, I feel anyway, is the purpose of venturing. I am going to take what you suggested and apply it fully in my crew. My boys really want a good, quality program. Setting goals to meet will help them in their academic abilities as well as at their place of employment. I think it is hard to make a one s

OneHour The problem I have is that I am forbidden to have personal Scout accounts. Since we are an LDS troop, having those kind of things are against church policy. So, the motivation of selling is limited. I tried really hard to have personal scout accounts, but the Bishop read from the handbook concerning that matter. That troop you know, how exactly do they run their fundraiser? As for the PVC, we have a good method of installation. We pound in a wide stake and that opens the hole. Then we insert the PVC and cap it. We prefer to place them where there is no grass and where ha

I can't imagine how frustrated you may be by only getting 4 subs. How large is your community? Here are some more fundraising Ideas: Having a Car Wash and or a rummage sale is good way to make a thousand dollars. A few years ago we did two fundraisers in back to back weekends. One weekend we did a rummage sale and made $1200. To get the merchandise, we went around to yard sales and offered to take what they didn't sell. We also placed and ad in the paper asking for donations for things to put in the sale. We got an Army/Navy store to donate a bunch of clothes, backpacks, mess kits,

I can't imagine how frustrated you may be by only getting 4 subs. How large is your community? Here are some more fundraising Ideas: Having a Car Wash and or a rummage sale is good way to make a thousand dollars. A few years ago we did two fundraisers in back to back weekends. One weekend we did a rummage sale and made $1200. To get the merchandise, we went around to yard sales and offered to take what they didn't sell. We also placed and ad in the paper asking for donations for things to put in the sale. We got an Army/Navy store to donate a bunch of clothes, backpacks, mess kits,

We do the following Holidays: President's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Patriot Day (9/11), $ Veterans Day. I have searched many sites for good flags. They all offer this very same flag package. I found this site to be the cheapest. We purchased 60 flags and they gave us a discount. https://www.colonialflag.com/article.php?article_id=6 Don't go through the headache of pounding those stakes into the ground. It takes too much time. For another flag fundraiser, I knew of a guy who was in the scouting program in Seattle. They went to businesses

I can understand complety about the frustrations with Venturing. Being new to Venturing, but not Boy Scouting (Eagle scout I am), I went through the new leader training for a Venture Crew, purchased the Venture Leadership manual, and began the crew last month. I can say that Varsity and Boy Scouting have it easy with the planning guides and troop resources. There is nothing for Venturing. I found the book confusing and not really much help. They should have more specific things in there to help people like me get off the ground. I also have the Crew startup guide and found that not helpful at

We started the flag fundraiser for residential neighborhoods, and modified it bit. It has such a large potential to make some big $$$. We bought flags 10 at a time that come with 2' epoxy coted rebar. Then at the homes of our subscribers, we intall a 13" PVC pipe in the ground and cap it. Then, when it comes time to put up the flag, all that needs to be done is remove the cap, put the rebar inside the pipe and place the flag over the rebar. We charge $35 for 7 holidays. So far we have 25 suscribers and more on the way. The first and second to the last day's of the fundraiser, put flyers on the

Does anyone have experience with flag fundraisers? Pro's, Con's, Words of advice or flag companies to go to? Our Troop (64) is looking into the idea. Thanks!