Monday, July 6, 2015

The Council is Incidental



Listed below are just a few articles showcasing the positive opportunities related to the NEW Spirit of Adventure Council.  Please take a moment to read the articles, and share through your social media networks.

This summer the Spirit of Adventure staff will be visiting camps all across New England to listen to the needs of our unit leaders. It’s one thing to pull together a successful merger – it’s another thing to deliver a thriving Scouting environment. This summer is all about building the new council to serve those needs. As the articles below indicate we are proud of the listening we’ve done through the process, but NOW is when the real work (and excitement) begins.



Helping Scouting thrive in every community does NOT happen magically. Like our most successful units it requires lots of hands, and everyone pitching in where they can.

The plan is what allows everyone to most easily pitch in – when a troop has a strong plan new parents can easily find a way to help because the requests are simple and direct. “Can you pitch in next month by …..?” or “Can you stay late next week to help with …..?” It’s the plan that creates the simple opportunity to help. When the requests feel too heavy or without enough clarity folks will shift and not-commit (even if they want to help).

Sometimes it’s the folks who are most committed who inadvertently create an environment that prevents volunteerism. The sentiment is often expressed in phrases like “I could NEVER do what so and so does” meanwhile "so and so" is burnt out, begging for help and wondering why no one will step up.  Also, when we have a clear plan – everyone knows their position. In a well run troop with a strong plan, everyone knows who the Scout Master is and who the committee chair is, and what they do. 

The birth of the Spirit of Adventure Council is actually more like the birth of a plan to revitalize Scouting, the Council is Incidental. 

So, this summer when you are at camp PLEASE don’t hold back. Bring it all. This Summer we start the process of making the detailed plan. Full disclosure:  With the plan will come opportunities to help.  But the whole idea regarding these opportunities to help are just that, simple opportunities. If they are life time commitments that cause people to shrink away then we haven’t heard ANYTHING from all this listening.