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Okay My Aunt is the CubMaster for my Cousins pack! And after a meeting one night she was talking to me about helping out with the pack. I was thinking that would be really neat, but neither of us knew if I could help out with the pack or hold any positions in the pack because I am not registered with the Boy Scouts (I am with Venturing tho). I mean I help out as much as I can with his pack and I do all I can for them, so is it possible for me to hold position with them?

 

Thanks

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From what I understand you not only can help out, but should be encouraged to help out. One of the steps in passing a requirement in Venturing is to show/teach the skill to someone else and one of the areas that you can do this is to teach those skills to Cub Scouts.

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Also, if you are registered as a Venturer then you are registered with BSA.

 

You can only hold a position in the Pack if you are over 21 (I don't think there are any positions in cubs for the 18-21 year old). I don't think there is a formal position equivalent to Den Chief for Venturing but helping out as fboisseau states is definitely an option.

 

If there is a Venturing equivalent to den chief someone please let me know.

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Actually, an 18-to-20-year-old (male or female) can hold any of the "assistant" positions in a Cub Scout pack: Assistant Cubmaster, Assistant Den Leader, Assistant Webelos Den Leader. (Someday I'd like someone to explain why, when they officially created the position of Tiger Cub Den Leader about 2 years ago, they did not create a corresponding "assistant" position. Maybe they thought that those working with the youngest Cubs should be 21 or over, but I don't see how that applies any more to a 6-year-old Tiger than a 7-year-old in a Wolf den.)

 

As for a female Venturer under the age of 18, I do know that she cannot be a den chief. As the official den chief qualifications state: "Be an older, experienced Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, or Venturer who has been a Boy Scout." Since a female Venturer cannot have been a Boy Scout, she cannot be a den chief. I am fairly sure that that result is intentional, even though it is produced by indirect wording. I am not familiar enough with Venturing to know whether there are other legitimate ways that a female Venturer could "work with" a Cub Scout pack. For example, if Venturers do "service projects," perhaps she could work with the Cubs as a service project. That would probably only be valid up to the age of 18, at that point she should be registered in one of the positions mentioned above. As an adult, working with boys, she needs to subscribe to the responsibilities of an adult leader and receive the appropriate training, starting with Youth Protection.

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That's awesome that you want to help out your Aunt's pack! Like the others have stated in this forum, you can register as an adult leader if you are over 18. However, you cannot be a den chief, even though you are a Venturer. You can be a mentor and help out in the Cub Scouting program, just not under the "den chief" title. Are you currently working on the Gold Award in Venturing? This would be excellent to use for your personal growth requirement. There other awards as well that require you to teach a skill or something you have learned in Venturing (ie, Ranger, Quest, Bronze Awards).

 

Hope this helps!

 

Dale

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Actually since I have only been in scouting almost a year I am still working on my bronze award in the youth ministries category!

 

I really want to do as much as I can before I go off to college...and I have one more year before that so hopefully I can get alot accomplished with the right help and support and motivation!

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Since it seems that you are a minor that there isn't an official position with the Pack for you. However, that doesn't mean that you can't help out with knot tying, song singing, three legged races, etc.

 

If your Crew wears a uniform, wear it to all of the Cub Scout function to show that you are all part of the same big family.

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I just asked this question to our District Executive yesterday about some of our girl Crew members. I have not gotten a reply yet, but I thought a lot about it last night. fboisseau is absolutely right though. I am sure that be the answer to my question as well. But I would strongly advise you to help out as much as you can. If you know a troop, or if their are Den Cheifs from a troop in that pack, you can assist in directing Webelos to that troop. Therefore, you would be performing the duties of a Den Cheif even though there is no Den Cheif position in Venturing for girls.

 

ASM514

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The only reason I can think that there is no assistant position in Tigers is each Tiger is to have a adult partner. Therefore they could be considered 'assistant'. Just a guess.

 

CrewGirl there is no reason when you go off to college that you can't be still active in Scouting/Venturing. Stay connected with your home crew and be active on your breaks. If you can make the time get conected with a crew where you are going to school. Will be a lot better to do on your off time than some of the other activities some of us did in college.

Good Luck.(This message has been edited by NWScouter)(This message has been edited by NWScouter)

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Sometimes knowledge of the arcane and archaic is a hinderance, sometimes it is a help.

 

It's been a while since I last heard about it, but there is a position for females younger than the age of 18 to be at least affiliated with a pack. I don't recall whether it was a registered position or not.

 

It's called Den Aide and was specifically created to give young ladies the opportunities to help out in den meetings. It's very similar to a Den Chief, but the exception is, since, as many have ponited out the gal can not have been a Boy Scout, she can not fill the role of encouraging the Cubs to go on to Boy Scouting through her knowledge of Boy Scouting. She can be a great role model. The duties were very similar.

 

You can ask your DE about this position, but he/she may have to reach very far into their resources to find it. It's a fairly unusual position.

 

Hope this helps.

 

PS -- as a registered Venturer, Crewgirl1024, you can help the pack in any way you would like, short of holding some of the official positions, as long as it is okay with the pack. You have been cleared as a member of the BSA.

 

DS

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I'll attempt to illuminate the registration thing . . .

 

In order to be a Tiger Cub, Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, Venturer, unit leader, district leader, council leader, national leader (I give these adult positions in reverse order), you pay a registration fee to join The Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts of America is the organization to which registered folk belong . . . which program makes no difference and it's easy to help in one form or another without having to stick to walls that don't exist.

 

Clearer? Or muddier?

 

Let me try one more time --

 

You're either a member of the BSA, or you aren't. You aren't a registered Cub Scouter, Boy Scouter, or Venturer. Those are positions. If a golfer is on the ninth hole and is a member of the course, he doesn't call himself a "ninth-holer." He may be a member of the Country Club . . . but it doesn't matter which hole he's on.

 

DS

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Excellent explanatin DS. I love the Country Club comparison. Welcome CrewGirl. If your Aunt would like your assistance I think that's great. If you are going to have direct contact with the Cub Scouts your friend should get the OK from the pack committe. Make sure she tells them you are a youth and a registered member.

 

I hope you have a great time,

Bob White

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Dsteele, I have never heard of a "Den Aide," but I did an Internet search on that phrase and got 94 hits, so it may not be so arcane or archaic. Here is a link to something that appears to be authoritative (though not an official BSA national site, and possibly a copyright violation if it is a direct quote from a BSA publication, but anyway...):

 

http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/da.html

 

So it is not a registered or membership position, and is mainly used when den chiefs are not available, but is not officially limited to that situation. I guess it is just used to provide a little extra official sanction to the girl's presence at the meetings. As you basically point out, but in my own words, it is not necessary to fill out a form or get a patch every time a Boy Scout and a Cub Scout are in the same room together. In my son's old pack, several Boy Scouts (kids who have graduated from that pack into my son's new troop) attend the Pinewood Derby every year as "junior race officials." (Mainly they walk the cars from the finish line back to the staging area, and they place the cars on the track for each heat.) It's nothing official and I don't think the Boy Scouts can get service hours for that, they just do it, the boys get to help out while looking "important" in front of their former pack-mates, everybody has a good time and everybody benefits.

 

So, CrewGirl, there are definite opportunities to help out, and you will be doing a good thing.

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You can continue your Venturing while in college. Many colleges/universities have Venturing Crews on campus that are affiliated with Alpha Phi Omega and the National Eagle Scout Association. Many of the things you do for your Religious Life/Youth Ministries Bronze require that you to volunteer with a nonprofit organization (i.e. your Aunts pack). This can also be used for the Gold Award personal growth requirement. Remember, there are a lot of awards that can be earned; but most importantly, you effect those little guys the most when working with them. Good luck and have phun!

 

Dale

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Thank you Guys for all your help! Like I have said before I am semi-new at this and just need a little boost in a few areas. I really am proud of how much I have worked and I don't want to stop. The one thing I regret is starting so late in my youth!

 

Yes College is coming up on me fast and I know for fact that I can still be involved because I think it is 2 or 3 people in my Crew are in College and they still come down for events and meetings!

 

I really appreciate all the help!

 

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