Exploring is a nationally recognized program serviced by Scouting America.  Decades ago, Exploring was started as a career development program to help older Scouts prepare for the next phase of their life. Soon siblings and friends of Scouts were asking to tag along on business visits. Scouting staff and volunteers began to realize there really was not another program like it. So Scouting America decided it should be available for all high school youth.

Exploring has grown quite substantially since then. It operates as its own program now. It is open to young males AND females, and you do NOT have to be a Scout to join. We repeat, it is open to young males AND females and you do NOT have to be a Scout to join.

Exploring is supported through the local Northeast Iowa Council, Scouting America, and also United Way.  Supporting these two wonderful organizations is also a great way to support Exploring!

Want to learn more about partnering with Exploring as a business to host a program?

Are you looking for a way for your business or organization to have more of a community presence? Are you searching for a way to express or showcase the importance of your craft or operation to a younger generation? Or maybe you had a mentor who helped spark your career interest and would love to give back. Partnering with Exploring is a great way to achieve any one of these goals! We are always looking for businesses to participate and begin a program. And by partnering with Exploring, you can host a youth program without even having to recruit or market it to any youth! That’s our job.

We know you are very busy. Letting local students in for tours or a job shadow can bring up some hard questions. How many can you accommodate? What if you cannot say yes to everyone? If your business does want to create a youth program, how do you tell the youth and schools about it? This is why Exploring was created. We take care of this legwork.

We work with the schools, survey the students’ interests, and inform them of all the details of your program. Yet you still get to pick the schedule and content. (Kind of fantastic, right?) Get to know possible interns or employees by working with Explorers. Provide team building and leadership opportunities for current employees as they plan and communicate lessons to the students. Gain a wonderful opportunity for greater community involvement, and even let the students teach you a thing or two.

The Fine Print:
  • The business or organization must have at least four adult leaders registered on the charter and pass a standard background check.
  • These adult leaders oversee the program and help with planning and insight. Hands-on learning activities are encouraged throughout all lesson plans.
  • Programs must provide 10 hours of program time throughout the year. Typical schedules look like once a week for six weeks, once every other week for two months, or once a month throughout the school year.
  • Meetings can be held when convenient for the hosting business or organization, but cannot be held during school hours. Typically programs meet in the early evening, since employees are still around the office and youth can see what really is going on.

 

For more information on setting up a program, contact our local office in Dubuque at 563-556-4343.

Interested in volunteering on our committee? Exploring is a great cause, but as you can imagine, it does take a little organizing. Exploring has some wonderful leaders and volunteers that meet a few times a year to brainstorm business partner ideas and contacts. We discuss ways to improve promotion, local school relations & participation, and occasionally need volunteers to be the welcoming committee at our various Exploring Program kick-off nights. This is a very easy way to get involved as a volunteer with a low time commitment. If you think Exploring is a great cause and can meet once a month for an hour over coffee or lunch, we would love to have you! Please contact the Exploring Executive for more information.

Exploring Executive Team

Melissa NeuhausExploring Executive
Michele Malone – Volunteer Exploring Chair
Kelly Cooper Volunteer Exploring Commissioner

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *