Venture Crew Offers Opportunities

For Adults And Youth

By Nancy K. Crevier

Scheduling time to be in the outdoors and to experience challenging situations can be difficult, even for those who are advocates of outdoor sports. As a Venture Crew advisor, though, scheduled opportunities exist to do just that, in the company of like-minded and eager-to-learn young adults.

For the right two adults willing to pass on outdoor and life skills, Venture Crew 70 in Newtown is seeking a female and male advisor to take over when current advisors, Tracy and Peter Van Buskirk, step down next year.

To be able to share their love of adventure and the outdoors has been the high point of the eight years the Van Buskirks have spent as advisors to the Venture Crew 70, they said. Sponsored by Cullens Youth Association, Venture Crew 70, a branch of Boy Scouts of America for young men and women, ages 14 to 20, is defined as a high adventure group. Monthly programs of backpacking, caving, ice climbing, overnight bicycle trips, backcountry canoeing, and rock climbing trips carry out that theme. Each summer, the crew takes part in a weeklong high adventure that challenges advisors and members, physically and psychologically.

“We get kids outside doing challenging activities, teach practical skills, and help them develop self-confidence,” said Ms Van Buskirk, a former Girl Scout leader from the time their daughter, now teaching in Thailand, was in fourth grade through high school.

Mr Van Buskirk served as assistant leader to Troop 70 when their son, an Eagle Scout and now a college student, was involved in Boy Scouts. Continuing to provide Newtown youth with his love of outdoor adventures seemed a natural to him. When he and his wife were offered the chance to serve as advisors to Venture Crew 70, they were thrilled, said Mr Van Buskirk.

“We build self-confidence, and these are team-building skills that they learn,” he said. The more challenging experiences are tempered during the year with “plain old fun,” said Mr Van Buskirk, including midnight bowling, or indoor wall climbing followed up by pizza. “We sprinkle in the fun in large portions,” he said.

The Van Buskirks have seen at least 50 members channel through their crew in the past eight years, and are always as excited as the young people themselves when a member triumphs over a difficulty.

“Our trips are daunting at times. Some are highly defined programs, like our canoe trip on the Penobscot River [in Maine], and some are much looser, like our bike trip through the Northern Kingdom of Vermont. So many times in life, you don’t think you can do something; but then you accomplish it, and feel really good about yourself,” Mr Van Buskirk said.

The Van Buskirks have brought their expertise in outdoor skills to the crew, sharing what they know through workshops, and learning from the members and guest advisors. They see their role as one of teaching, but more importantly, one that allows youth to learn independently while fostering a safe environment and lifting the morale of the crew.

The Importance Of Attitude

Mr Van Buskirk had the unexpected chance to show Venture Crew members the importance of attitude in triumphing over adversity. Stricken with a rare neurological/muscular syndrome in 2010, which left him unable to use his arms or legs and wheelchair-bound for months, he actively pursued means to improve his situation and advocated for interventions that have put him back on his feet, literally and figuratively.

While he was not always able to attend meetings or take part in trips, his continued to provide advice and support the crew during that period.

“I think it has shown our kids how important a positive outlook can be,” said Mr Van Buskirk.

“As the years went by, I found myself building more confidence [along with the kids] and trying new things. I love the outdoors,” said Ms Van Buskirk, and added that she sees the Venture Crew as a chance for young people who may not be involved in school sports or activities to receive the benefits of being outdoors. “I think it is really important for kids to be moving around physically, and I feel very strongly that kids give a lot of lip service to saving the environment, but if they are just indoors talking about it, there is a disconnect,” she said. Showing young people the power of nature helps them to develop a genuine love and respect of the earth, she said.

“We don’t get into formalized education of ‘saving the planet.’ But we practice responsible outdoor activities, without preaching,” stressed Mr Van Buskirk.

“I particularly like seeing girls get comfortable with outdoor adventures and making it a part of their lives, even after they are no longer with the crew,” Ms Van Buskirk said. “It’s actually kind of empowering to see these young people empowered,” she added.

They are enthusiastic about what they have taken away from the experience of advising a Venture Crew, and now, as their own lives evolve in other directions, they hope to join forces with a new pair of advisors, one female and one male, and shepherd them into the roles of permanent advisors to Venture Crew 70.

“It’s gotten me to try things I never, ever would have done myself. I’ve enjoyed every single trip we have done with our crew,” Ms Van Buskirk said. The Van Buskirks have also developed long-lasting relationships with former Venture Crew members and their families, they said.

“We’ve made a lot of new friends,” she said, “but I’m at a point in my life when I want to do more things in different areas, including art. [Ms Van Buskirk is the winner of the 2012 Newtown Arts Festival design contest, a skilled print maker, and polymer clay artist.] I would like to be doing more outdoor activities with my peers,” and the commitment to Venture Crew 70 does not always allow her to do so.

“We’re highly active people,” Mr Van Buskirk said, “and sometimes, less is more. We’ve had a great experience and we’re hoping now that someone else will [take on the roles of advisors]. I think it’s the natural passage of things.”

As well as assisting the new advisors through June 2013, Mr Van Buskirk plans to remain on as committee chairman, advising the crew.

“You don’t have to be experts on everything, and you don’t have to be a former scout leader. You just have to love the outdoors and want to share that with young people,” Ms Van Buskirk said.

To find out more about the opportunity to become a Venture Crew 70 advisor, contact Ms Van Buskirk at 203-731-1809, or Mr Van Buskirk at 203-448-6767.

“It’s a life-changing experience for adults,” said Mr Van Buskirk, “as well as the Crew.”