Local Kingsland Group Offers Activities for Teens

There aren’t many attractions or activities for teens in Kingsland. There aren’t many clubs or businesses geared towards the entertainment of teens. Venture Crew 226 is looking to remedy that.

Venture Crew 226 is chartered with King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland. At the reigns of this teen-geared program is Joshua White, current president of the program. He provided some insight as to what ‘Venturing’ is:

‘Venturing is a comprehensive program that is associated with the Boy Scouts of America for males and females aged 14-21 (or 13 and completed the 8th grade). It is organized by Venturing Crews (similar to Boy Scout Troops) that are units of youth that lead the Crew with some advisement coming from adult advisors. The organization is very young, being only 20 years old.’

Venturing is a co-ed organization (boys & girls) that involves high adventure activities such as:

• Hiking
  • Community Service
  • Kayaking
  • CPR/First-Aid Certifications

The venture crew meets each Monday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss old and new topics. During this weekly meeting, adjustments are made to previous plans as well as brainstorming for new ideas and activities. White explains, ‘The Leadership Team (which consists of several youth) helps make large decisions and brings them to a governing adult committee, which we acquire any funding we need from.’

White lists the main goals during his presidency as being able to increase the current member size of 13 as much as possible, and to interact more within the community. ‘I have also been looking into making our current members even more involved and excited about our upcoming events. In fact, we will be going to Kennesaw for a Lock-In at a climbing gym with another Crew that is from the Atlanta area on April 6th, coming back on the 7th. A lot of our current members are very excited about this, for we will also be visiting the “Museum of Aviation” at Robins Air Force Base’, he elaborated.

Within the community, activities are in large part geared toward environmental work, such as clean-ups or yard work help. White shared, ‘At times, we also do charitable work for those in need of it. For example, in recent years we have helped raise money for a young girl’s cancer treatment.’

Community work is just one component of the group. They arrange camping trips that involve a ‘roughing it’ approach; cooking their own meals, hiking long distance, kayaking (ocean and rivers). White adds that they are ‘very outdoorsy’.

White sums the program up: ‘Venturing is a program that is very similar to Boy Scouts in some ways but very different in others. We push ourselves to lead each other and to help make the community a better environment for those around us. We love what we do and plan to keep it that way.’

Interested teens can stop by the King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland any Monday for a meeting. Those planning on going, or want to learn more, can feel free to reach out to Joshua at 912-467-8470.