We are Crew 357, officially chartered by the Massachusetts Rifle Association (MRA) in Woburn Mass. and as part of the Venturing program. Venturing is a similar but separate program from Boy Scouts that is oriented towards older teens (ages 14-21). Like Boy Scouts, Venturing shares a similar organization structure, program curriculum, and opportunities for advancement. One major difference between Boy Scouts and Venturing is that Venturing is organized into crews rather than Troops. Each Crew is much smaller than a typical Boy Scout Troop and usually has a focus area or specific activity/interest. Our Crew, Crew 357, is centered around shooting sports; our goals are to foster a healthy respect for firearms, develop our shooting skills, and promote Scouting values. We typically hold meetings every other week during the school year, and occasionally during the summer months, at the Mass Rifle Association. During our meetings, we learn about gun safety, marksmanship, plan trips, and events. The shooting club we are hosted by has a variety of ranges and shooting activities available, including trap, sporting clays, long range rifle shooting, pistol shooting, and even archery. One of the benefits of being a Venturing unit is that we are much less restricted than Boy Scouts units, allowing our activities to include a larger variety of firearms, such as pistols. Due to having more freedom in Venturing, we possess many more opportunities in terms of possible trips and activities. Some of our past trips and activities have included: camping trips to New Hampshire, marksmanship competitions, and high adventure trips. Our small Crew size allows us to follow the interest of the Crew members.
We are open to all youth, male and female, ages 14 to 21. We require that all members are able to be mature enough to properly adhere to gun safety rules during all events. We try to have our Crew meetings every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm at MRA. If you are interested in joining, please email us.
Yours in Scouting,
Crew 357