Register for Free Newsletter by Email and Additional Site Access
Login
Recognizing Interests PDF Print E-mail

Highlights:

We encourage the development of relationships and the skill of fostering friendship
We encourage our Scouts to form relationships with friends and positive role models
Some of the relationships we enable our Scouts to form are BigBrother/BigSister, pen pals, and Scout Buddy

The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are relationship oriented because relationships improve all our lives.  We encourage our Scouts to develop the skill of fostering friendship and to interact with positive role models.  Some of the relationships our Scouts form are the following:

* Adult Mentor
* Big Brother, Big Sister
* Scout Buddy
* Leadership, Personal Achievement and Peer Team Buddies
* Leadership, Personal Achievement and Peer Local Area Team Buddies
* Leadership, Personal Achievement and Peer U.S. Buddies
* Pen Pals from other American and International Scout Programs

Adult Mentor

Our Scouts have the opportunity to develop positive relationships with Adult Mentors.  Adult Mentors provide our Scouts with information, actual experience and access to contacts. Challenge Mentors help our Scouts accomplish their chosen Challenges.  The Adult Mentors also provide encouragement, motivation and challenge our Scouts to Give their Best.  They also serve as positive role models for our Scouts.  This enables our Scouts to see how good character can play a positive role in their own lives.  Our Scouts also have the opportunity by interacting with their Adult Mentor to acquire a depth of experience, which enables them to make better decisions.

 

Below is a basic script to follow when contacting a Mentor:

Proper planning must be made prior to meeting with a Mentor or visiting a place.

Proper planning includes making an appointment with the appropriate person.
Making an appointment includes:  finding contact information for a selected individual by conducting research via the internet, telephone book, or personal referral.  Be sure to ask your parents, teachers, Team Leaders, fellow scouts, and your friends for referrals.

Get your parents' permission before deciding on a Mentor or going to an appointment.

Get parental permission regarding your appointment time and meeting place.

Be certain your parents know the exact address of where you are going and the name of the person you are meeting with, your departure time, and your expected return time.

Remember no Scout is permitted to enter the home or garage of anyone unless accompanied by their parent or guardian or are otherwise following the safety practices of the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA. 


Contacting the selected individual:
* After obtaining the telephone number and dialing it, it is possible you may initially reach a receptionist in which case you need to tell them you wish to speak with.
* It will then be necessary to say your name, and identify that you are a Scout of the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA or of the specific program you are a member of;
* Explain the purpose of your call.
* It is then possible you may then be connected with the assistant or secretary of the person you are trying to contact rather than the person you seek directly.  It may then be necessary to repeat your name, and again identify that you are a Scout of Adventure Scouts USA or of the specific program you are a member of;
* Explain the purpose of your call and why you wish to speak to the person you have been referred to.
* When you get to the person you are trying to contact, greet them;
* Say your name;
* Identify that you are a Scout of the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA or of the specific program you are a member of;
* Explain why you would like meet with them in order to find a Mentor;
* It is possible that individual may refer you to someone else either in their company, office, or department to work with in order to complete your mission.  If this happens, you will need to introduce yourself again and explain the purpose of your call again.
* Once they have agreed to assist you;
* Schedule an appointment on a specific day and time; therefore you should be prepared to know when you have some free time and if you need a ride, when the driver will be available.
* You will need to know the exact address, directions, and the approximate amount of time the person will be able to spend with you.
* Then remember to thank the person for agreeing to meet with you.

Not everyone you speak with will have the time or desire to help you.  If this happens, ask them if they can refer you to someone who can help you.  If they are unable to refer you to someone, then ask your parents, teachers, Team Leaders, fellow scouts, and your friends for another referral.  Keep trying until you are successful at finding a Mentor.  Perseverance is a strength that will help you to successfully reach your goals. Never be discouraged when you encounter obstacles.  Like the story of the rabbit and the turtle, it is not the fastest, but rather it is the one who sticks with it, who succeeds.

Remember to:
* Call the day before to re-confirm your appointment.
* Prepare whatever you need to know;
* Bring with you necessary materials;
* Arrive early for your scheduled appointment;
* Be properly dressed in uniform or the clothing appropriate for the position.
* Send a handwritten thank you note after your meeting and after your job for the day experience.
* Remember to email the national office with the names of the business, name of the person who agreed to work with you, the telephone number, mailing address, and email address.  This information is necessary for them to receive a written thank you from our Scout Programs nationally and to enable a press release to local media outlets.

Remember you are an ambassador of the program you are a member of within the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA.

Big Brother/ Big Sister

One of the relationships our Scouts form is a big brother/ big sister relationship.  Rising Star Scouts get a big brother or a big sister, boys get boys and girls get girls.  Big brothers and big sisters can spend time with their little brothers and sisters, helping them with their personal achievement projects, improve their performance in sports, and just spend time together.

 

When we match up a big brother or big sister with a little brother or little sister, we ask each Scout to write down their top three choices:  the little siblings writes down their top three choices and big siblings write down their top three choices.  It's great when it matches up and big siblings and little siblings choose each other as their first choice.  We know however that sometimes this will not be the case.  Sometimes a very popular Scout will be chosen by several people and another Scout may not be chosen at all.  We strive to match every Scout up with someone on their list of top three.  Use your common sense in the situation, and after voting, see how the numbers fall.  It is ideal to give every Scout their first choice, but again, we acknowledge it may not be possible.  It may be necessary to give Scouts their second choice to make sure every single Scout gets a name on their list.  If a Team Counselor or Counselor sees a big brother or big sister already has a strong relationship with a particular little brother or sister, that may be something to take into account.

If actual siblings are on the team, they both still get another big brother or big sister on the team.  It is okay to have more than one person looking out for our Scouts, in fact in everything we do, we strive to create a web of support for our Scouts.  Ideally, all our Scouts will be looking out for each other all the time.

We put off voting on big brothers and big sisters until several weeks into the development of a team or after a new Scout joins.  We all know from participating in a new group, we latch onto the first people we meet or the first people who talk to us when we walk into a room.  Like a life-preserver, we cling to people who seem to accept us when we are in a room full of strangers, and adults exhibit this behavior as much as youth.  Very rarely however are these the people we ultimately become good friends with. 

To make good friends, our Scouts need to have something in common, and to know they have something in common, they need to get to know each other.  Getting to know each takes time.  We suggest waiting 5-6 weeks after a start of a team and at least a few weeks after a new Scout joins before assigning big brothers and big sisters.

The purpose of the big brother and big sister program is to build camaraderie and develop bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood in our Scouts.  These relationships are intended to be like sibling relationships.  Though they are clearly not biological brothers and sisters, we desire to cement their bonds until they become as close as family.  There are many people in the world who have satisfying relationships with friends who have become as close as brothers and sisters and which have lasted life long.  It is these kinds of relationship we want for our Scouts. 

A web of support means our Scouts will have emotional support for a lifetime, but also competitive advantages from knowing other Scouts who go on to live and work in various types of businesses and parts of the country and the world.  Our Scouts have connections wherever they go.

Scout Buddy

Our Scout Buddy relationship is intended to emphasize our Scouts interest in always being alert for their Scout Buddy, helping each other and keeping track of their Buddy.

Our Scouts have the opportunity to develop a positive relationship with a Scout Buddy.  The Scout's Scout Buddy exchanges information and actual experience.  Their Scout Buddy also provides encouragement, motivation and challenges the Scout to Give their Best.  They also serve as positive role models for the Scout.  This enables the Scout to see how good character can play a positive role in their own lives.  Our Scouts also have the opportunity by interacting with their Scout Buddy to acquire a depth of experience that enables them to make better decisions.

If Scouts are good friends and would prefer to be matched together, those Scouts can act as Scout Buddy for each other.  Otherwise, names are randomly drawn and Scouts are matched up.


Team, Local Area and U.S. Leadership, Personal Achievement and Peer Buddies


Scouts in our Scout Programs are given Leadership, Personal Achievement and Peer Buddies from within their individual Team and in addition from another Local Area Team and from elsewhere in the United States.

The Leadership Buddy is a fellow Scout who holds the same or higher Leadership position as the Scout themselves hold.

The Personal Achievement Buddy is a fellow Scout who holds the same or higher Personal Achievement Award Level as the Scout themselves hold.

The Peer Buddy is a fellow Scout who joined at or about the same time frame as the Scout themselves joined the Scout Program.

Our Scouts have the opportunity to develop positive relationships with their Leadership, Personal Achievement and Peer Buddies.  The Scout's Leadership, Personal Achievement and Peer Buddies exchange with information and actual experience.  The Buddies also provide encouragement, motivation and challenge the Scout to Give their Best.  They also serve as positive role models for the Scout.  They enable the Scout to see how good character can play a positive role in their own lives.  Our Scouts also have the opportunity by interacting with their Leadership, Personal Achievement and Peer Buddies to acquire a depth of experience that enables them to make better decisions.

If Scouts already have a relationship with a potential leadership, personal achievement, peer buddy, otherwise names can be drawn and Scouts randomly matched up.


Scout Pen Pals from other American and International Scout Programs and Scout Organizations


Our Scouts have the opportunity to develop positive relationships, with similarly aged Scouts, by their being given Scout Pen Pals from other American and International Scout Programs and Scout Organizations.  The Scout Pen Pal exchanges the Scout with information and actual experience.  The Scout Pen Pal will also provide encouragement, motivation and challenge our Scout to Give their Best.  The Scout Pen Pal also serves as positive role models for the Scout.  This enables the Scout to see how good character can play a positive role in their own lives.  Our Scouts also have the opportunity by interacting with their Scout Pen Pal to acquire a depth of experience that enables them to make better decisions.

Our Scouts are brothers and sisters with all other Scouts.  We encourage them to form relationships with Scouts from other Scout Programs and Scout Organizations with nationally and internationally. 

We want our Scouts to form healthy relationships with those who can help them succeed and grow.

 
Adventure Scouts USA