What is PCSC?
PCSC is a youth led venturing crew under the Piedmont BSA council, but we are so much more than that!
Read below to find out everything there is to know about PCSC!
The Beginning of PCSC
The Piedmont Community Service Crew (casually referred to as “PCSC”) is one of the coed Venturing Crews of the Piedmont Council of BSA. Members must be at least 14 yrs old (or be at least 13 yrs old and have completed the 8th grade), and can participate until they turn 21. Our members are mostly from Piedmont High School, but we do not discriminate and welcome all youth. This crew was founded in the fall of 2004 by Ken Li with the help of Barbara Caruso, both parents of PHS students at that time. The crew has steadily grown in membership numbers, frequency and diversity of activities, depth of program, the extent of youth leadership, and has leveled off at nearly 150 members.
Our Crew’s vision, refreshed every year at the annual retreat:
“PCSC is a youth-led co-ed Venturing Crew that provides leadership skills to empower Bay Area teens through service in their community.”
Why Venturing? Why BSA?
Venturing Crews are formed around a common interest area; the program’s intent is to allow flexibility of interests associated with any given crew, and to apply the Venturing program values in the context of that interest area to encourage youth leadership development, independence, a social environment that promotes teamwork, learning, teaching others, giving back to the community, learning to make ethical choices, physical fitness, etc.
Venturing is different from Boy Scouting: it is coed, involves youths in an older and more mature age range (14-20), and has a program that is adaptable to youth interests that are very different from the traditional scouting program. Piedmont Council, Boy Scouts of America (BSA), operates many different Venturing Crews with the mix constantly evolving: in addition to PCSC, examples include Piedmont Service Squad for middle school aged kids, High Adventure Crew, Food and Cooking Crew, Camp Crew, Police Explorer Post 911 and Ship 16 Sea Scouts (sailing). Piedmont Council’s VOA (Venturing Officers’ Association) is a consortium of our coed Crews that seeks collaboration between the crews in a way that provides ways that enhance the collective experience of our membership.
Venturing Awards
Crew members are encouraged to work towards the Venturing awards which promote personal growth through challenges that also benefit others around them. Members who want to work on the Venturing awards should do so in collaboration with the Crew Advisor.
Active and motivated members should seek leadership roles: the Advisor and crew officers will mentor them to grow in confidence and competence through on-the-job leadership experience. Crew officers are elected, but there are many non-elected ways that members can lead, from easy starter-roles to challenging responsibilities to plan and run major events. Have a discussion with the crew president and the crew advisor to develop your own path to working on your own leadership skills and making an impact within our crew and helping our community!
In the summer, we offer the chance to go on trips, attend BSA camps, and attend BSA’s renowned leadership training programs. Members are invited to be involved in the selection and planning of our summer program.
