Highlights: We encourage relationship with friends, parents, and positive role models We instill in our Scouts the skill of fostering friendship We make it easy for families to participate together We enable our Scouts to form relationships with mentors The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are relationship oriented because strong relationships improve the quality of our lives. Strong relationships build a strong society, and we are dedicated to bringing out the best qualities in our Scouts - the leaders of tomorrow. We encourage strong friendships, and we promote strong families and strengthen family values. Strong relationships are respectful, kind, and the people in those relationships both give and receive at the same time.
The lack of shared experiences, the ease of travel, and the need to have two income families all contribute to a society and a time when families and people in general, find it a little more difficult to develop and keep relationships. We have thought about the reality of this problem. We have reflected on how a Scout Program, or an effort of any kind, can better serve those who are their members. We have thought about how we can better improve opportunities for everyone to spend quality time together and create a bridge to more meaningful relationships. As a consequence, Adventure Scouts USA has developed a new and substantially different model for our Scouts. Friendship There are many types of relationships, and friendship is one of them. Friends become our pals and confidants, and can even become part of our extended families. The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA believe developing the bonds of friendship is so important, we devote part of most of our programs exclusively to it. We use games in each meeting which allow for the development of FUN with a purpose. The friendship portion of team meetings includes games that offer our Scouts the opportunity to develop the skills of fostering friendship and to get to know each other better. For example, our Rising Star Scouts play the game of Scout Bingo. In Scout Bingo, Rising Star Scouts make a bingo game board and in each square they write a random fact, such as:"Favorite color is green", or "Has a little brother." Scouts then go around the room interviewing each other trying to fill in as many spaces as possible with a Scout's name. The friendship portion of our team meetings develops the skill of fostering friendship in our Scouts and encourages the development of friendship between our Scouts. Whether our Scouts are cementing old friendships or forging new ones, our Scout Programs emphasize the importance of strong friendships. If our Scouts have friends who are interested in an activity, they are free to being their friends along whether they are Scouts or not. Because we are a nondiscriminatory Scout Program, our Scouts also get the chance to meet and forge bonds of friendship with Scouts they may otherwise not have met. Our Scouts broaden their horizons by meeting Scouts from differing identities and backgrounds. We encourage our Scouts to share with each other, enabling them to naturally acquire new knowledge. Our Scout Programs offer FUN with a purpose by providing games and activities to our Scouts that encourage personal growth. Families The Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA are family-oriented. We go the extra mile to offer opportunities for shared experiences which are convenient for the entire family. This is one of the things that distinguish the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA. We help provide balance to family life by enabling the choice of participation by our Scouts and their parents, multiple generations, and extended family members effortless. We promote strong families and strengthen family values by making time spent together as easy as possible. In fact, the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA consciously believes so much in this ideal that it has chosen to relegate the highest position - that of Partner - to the parents and guardians of our Scouts. Our Partnership with parents or guardians contributes to our ability to successfully promote strong families and strengthen family values. We not only want our Partner/parent's help, we need this help to better serve our Scouts. Therefore, we offer activities that bring multiple generations and extended family members together naturally, without stress, contributing to balance in the life of the family. We provide programs that are FUN and appropriate for each member of the family, while creating opportunities for shared experiences. In the Scout Programs of Adventure Scouts USA, multiple generations and extended family members are always included. Mentor and Team Relationships In our Scout Programs, we support the development of relationships by our unique networking system of mentor, big brother, big sister, buddy and peer interactions. Although we are a nationwide Scout Program, we believe there is value of interacting with others beyond those within a team. As a part of our system of mentor, big brother, big sister, buddy and peer interactions we have developed ways for our Scouts and Members to help each other and develop friendships that bridge every community. Our networking system also contributes to the development of our Scouts skill of fostering friendship enabling them the opportunity over time to develop lifelong relationships. Our Scout Programs do not operate by isolating our teams or by providing infrequent once or twice a year times for our Scouts to interact with Scouts from other Teams. Within our own Scout Programs, we advocate Teams to interact at least every six weeks with other Teams including weekend long trips, combined meetings or activities. Participation in our Scout Programs discourages high-risk behaviors, improves academic performance, and contributes to the development of meaningful relationships. Our Scout Programs have created a place where positive relationships can develop based upon honest and open communication.
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