Camp is here!

Hello all! Session One is off to an exciting start! On Sunday, our Buddies arrived, made their Campers' posters, and made new friends. The Buddies did all sorts of ice breakers, setting up, and training. After dinner we all went down to the dock, had a discussion about the credo, and talked in small groups.

Our Point People, Nicky and Sarah, are ready for buddy check-in.

Buddy Meeting in the Chapel

The nurses gave some training on proper hand washing and glove usage during buddy training.

Rebecca, Caryn, and the rest of our staff awaited the Campers' arrival on Monday. The Buddies made a welcome line in which they cheered for everyone who arrived. The Buddies and Campers met each other and started becoming friends. They set up their bunks and hung out together.  Some people played games, some colored, and others just talked and got to know each other. After a delicious dinner everyone went to the chapel, watched Toy Story, and had some popcorn.

Tuesday morning started with breakfast and then Mass with Bishop Snyder in the chapel. Many of our Campers and Buddies participated and really enjoyed it.  We also went to the pool for our first swim today! Campers, Buddies, and Camp Leaders alike all loved it! The pool was a blast and quite refreshing in the heat. Everyone has just finished up lunch and afternoon activities and is eagerly anticipating tonight's carnival. Keep checking the blog and Facebook for more pictures and updates!

MIA

Ok, ok.  I know we promised we'd be posting a lot more, but oh my goodness have we been busy!  This time of year is always a bit hectic, but throw in building a new building, having Faith and Sharing before camp instead of after, providing trainings to our summer staff and much more and you have one busy blogger!  We are getting so excited for summer though, and we hope you are too!

Our Camp Leaders are all heading home from college or finishing up their senior year of high school, so our training sessions have begun.  Our staff are all certified life guards which includes CPR, AED and first aide training.  I have been providing trainings for our new lifeguards.  They are also all certified in Professional Crisis Management (PCM) which is a program for de-escalating crisis behaviors if they arise. We also do an entire week of Camp Leader training from May 31st- June 5th.  This week is all about team building, learning the ins and outs of camp, and getting all of our activities and events set up and ready for our Campers to arrive.  We do DCF trainings, food handling trainings, and trainings on confidentiality and sensitivity training.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg!  When all is said and done, they are a well-trained staff!

More pictures of training and Camp Leader bios will be up soon!

Less than 20 days until our first official day of camp!
 

Baby Annie and CPR mannikin Steve can't wait for summer either!

Golf Cart Dreams

We have a few updates for you here at Camp I Am Special.

First, thank you to everyone who shared our job postings!  Prayers have been answered and we are working on the steps towards hiring some great additions to our camp family.

Summer is rapidly approaching.  How is April almost over?!  We are working hard every day to get everything ready for this summer, and we need your help!

Each summer, we rely on golf carts to help our staff do their jobs.  They are used to haul materials from place to place, to allow staff to get from point A to point B more quickly than walking, to transport Campers long distances when needed, to help the nurses get to Campers and Buddies quicker, and MUCH more.

At December Mini-Camp, our trusty old donated golf cart finally drove it's last trip to the dumpster and it is currently in our garage, broken down and defeated, waiting to be sent to the "Great Garage in the Sky".  It worked valiantly, serving our camp for years, but it seems like its years of services are over.

Last year, we were blessed with additional golf carts.  For the first two weeks of camp, we had 3 functional golf carts, but that quickly became two when our donated cart (the white one in the picture below) broke down over the summer for the first time.  It was repaired in time for December Mini-Camp, but unfortunately the repair wasn't enough.

"The Fleet"

The two green carts in the picture were rentals that were graciously paid for by a donor last year.  They were a wonderful blessing to our staff.  We use the golf carts countless times through out the day.  Here are just a few of the tasks that are aided by the use of a golf cart:

1. Taking trash to the dumpster.  Taking heavy trash bags to the dumpster can be accomplished much quicker and much easier by loading up the golf cart and taking 1 trip instead of a dozen.  This allows our staff to spend more time playing with our Campers and helping our Buddies.

You know you hired a great staff when they are this excited to take out the trash!

2. Taking life jackets and fishing equipment to the dock and pool.  Each week we have the joy of fishing off the gorgeous dock up at Marywood.  This is over a quarter of a mile from our campsite where our life jackets and fishing equipment are stored.  Our staff can simply load the gear onto a golf cart and make one trip to get the dock set up for fishing.  The same goes for taking supplies like water coolers, ice, and snacks to the pool.

3. Transporting our Nurses.  Our nurses go where our Campers and Buddies go.  By taking a golf cart, they can quickly be wherever they are needed.  They can also take whatever gear they need with them, from our portable AED to our First Aide Kits.  This also allows them to quickly get back to camp if they need to!

4. Transporting staff to and from our office.  Our current office is located about a quarter mile from the campsite.  Staff must make FREQUENT trips to and from the office.  The golf cart saves a LOT of  time and helps reduce traffic on our streets by keeping our cars off the road.

 

5. Transporting Campers when needed.  Sometimes our Campers can get a little tired on the walk to and from the pool or dock.  Sometimes they just need an extra lift.  We also want to be able to rely on a golf cart if heaven forbid a Camper is injured and needs to be transported back to the cabins/dining hall, even if it's something as simple as a skinned knee.  

Catching a ride back from the pool.

And MUCH MORE!  The golf carts truly help us to run a smooth and efficient summer.

So here's where you can help:  Do you know anyone who is getting rid of a gently used golf cart?  Do you know a golf cart company who might give us a great deal on a golf cart?  OR Can you help us to offset the cost of a rental for the summer?  Please contact the office if you are able to help us out with this!
campiamspecial@ccbjax.org OR (904)230-7447

Please share with your friends or family.  I know it sounds like a somewhat silly request, but without the use of at least 1 good golf cart, our staff is going to have a much more difficult summer!

 

It's been a while.... and JOB POSTINGS!

Hi Everyone,

Is anyone still out there waiting to hear from us on this blog?  I know it has been WAAAAYYYY too long since we've posted.  We've been super busy getting our placements settled for the summer.  We've also been to a slew of speaking events and trainings.  BUT, we've missed this blog and it's time to get back into the swing of regularly updating here!  Especially with such fun and exciting things coming up for the summer!

One thing that we wanted to share with everyone is that we have two job openings for seasonal work here at Camp I Am Special.  Here are some details about the two positions.  Please share them with anyone you know who might be interested.  You can also contact Rebecca Aleman for more information at raleman@ccbjax.org. 

Here are the two positions:

1. Camp Administrative Support:

This is a temporary, seasonal, 21 hour per week position at Camp I Am Special located at the Marywood Retreat and Conference Center in St. Johns, FL.  Working hours may be flexible; normal business hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8:30AM to 4:30PM.  This seasonal position will begin immediately upon completion of the hiring process and will conclude mid-August 2015.

Duties for this position would involve helping with maintaining files, returning phone calls, assisting in email communications with camper parents, volunteers, etc., helping maintain records within our online application program, using MS Word and Excel, helping maintain databases and more!

2. Camp Night Staff Support:

This is a seven week, 60 hour per week position at Camp I Am Special at the Marywood Retreat and Conference Center in St. Johns, FL.   Hours for this position are 9:00PM to 7:00AM, Sunday through Friday as follows:  June 7-12, June14-19, June 21-26, July 5-10, July 12-17, July 19-24, and July 26-31; must be able to attend 20 hours of training June 1-5 during daytime hours.

 Duties for this position will involve nightly cleaning and restocking, laundry, organization, assistance with clerical work (filing, data entry, copying, etc), initiating protocol for emergency situations, assisting with Campers who have disabilities who might be awake during the night, and more!

We are looking for the right candidates for this job.  Please reach out to those who might be interested!  Also, these are just the BASICS for the jobs.  Please contact Rebecca for more information!

Thank you for sharing!  

Stay tuned for more blog updates soon!  We promise to update this poor, neglected blog more often!

Valentine's Day Events

Camp I Am Special is planning a very busy Valentine's Day. We are hosting two events that day!  The first one is a fundraiser.  We will be having a Bokwa Fitness Fundraiser!

Bokwa is a fun aerobic workout, kind of similar to Zumba.  Click here to learn more about it:  http://bokwafitness.com/what-is-bokwa/ .  It's going to be a ton of fun!

 

We'll be at Holy Family Catholic School Gym.  Clara from In Shape Ladies Fitness will be leading the class.  She's a certified Bokwa instructor and is certified to work with adults and children.

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than taking care of your heart with a healthy work out?

The cost will be $10 per person, but no more than $30 per family.  ALL ages and abilities are welcome.  We want to see all of our Campers, Buddies, volunteers and friends of camp out there moving!   All proceeds will go towards our Camper Scholarship Fund.

Then, that very same night, we are hosting a Parent's Night Out!  

Camp I Am Special is hosting this event with the Holy Family Youth Group.  We will have fun and games and snacks for your Camper while you enjoy 3 hours of free time to enjoy Valentine's Day.  Holy Family is located at 9800 Baymeadows Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32256.  It's not far from Town Center and Tinseltown and lots of restaurants.

Please RSVP for this event by calling the office at 904.230.7447 or emailing us at campiamspecial@ccbjax.org.  All ages are welcome to come enjoy the evening.  School aged siblings of Campers are welcome to attend as well.  We are asking for a $15 towards this event.  All proceeds will go towards our Camper Scholarship fund!

We are looking forward to spending the day with people we love-- our Campers and our Buddies!

Update on the Camp Building

Camp I Am Special has grown so much since it first began back in 1983.  What started out as a just a couple of weeks of camp a summer has grown to a full summer of camp sessions.  We have also outgrown our current office space!  Right now, we rent space in a building up at Marywood which is on the same property as the camp grounds.  The current office is about a quarter mile from the camp site.

Camp I Am Special has been blessed to be able to build a new building right down at the camp site.  This new building will house new office space, a meeting room, two handicap accessible bathrooms, a sensory room, a laundry room, a snack room, and storage! (If you don't have time to read this whole post, please scroll down and check out the flier at the end!)

We will use to office space throughout the year while we are working to prepare camp.  This will also house all of our secure and confidential files.  

The new meeting room will be used for staff training and volunteer training.  It will also be used for parent trainings during the year as well as some of our off-season events such as Super Saturdays.  

The sensory room is a much needed addition to camp!  In the past, we have set up a sensory room either in the chapel, or in a corner of the dining hall.  By having a dedicated sensory room, we will be able to better serve our Campers who have autism and other sensory processing disorders.  Our sensory room will provide a quiet, calming atmosphere for Campers who are over-stimulated and need time to calm down before rejoining the group.  We are excited to stock the sensory room with a variety of items to help our Campers in this process.

Adding two handicap accessible bathrooms will greatly help our Campers and Buddies, especially during rainy days.  When we are all in the dining hall and a Camper has to use the bathroom, they have to go out in the rain to get to the cabins.  We do our best to keep dry with umbrellas, but Florida rainstorms are often more than an umbrella can handle.  The new building will be right next to our dining hall, so Campers and Buddies will have a protected walkway to walk under.  This will also be handy for our Campers who are using the sensory room.

The snack room will be a place where we can prepare special diet meals.  This will help the kitchen staff out greatly, as there will be far less chance of cross-contamination of allergens and will free up work space and storage in the kitchen.

The storage will provide a secure, locked space for camp materials and will be where we can store the medicine cart when it is not in use.  

The new building will also have a washer and dryer.  The current washer and dryer are camp run nearly all day and all night to keep up with our laundry at camp.  Having an extra washer and drying running simultaneously will help our staff tremendously!  

There has been a lot of great progress on the building lately.  Here are some pictures of the building development!

We are going to be hosting a Blessing of the Beams on Saturday January 24th down at Camp St. Johns.  This will be an Open House from 10:00-2:00.  Light refreshments will be served and we ask that you wear comfortable shoes since this is a construction site.

You will be able to explore our new building and write prayers or messages on the beams and studs.  We hope that you will join us and have your words and blessings be a part of our camp forever!  Please share this flier with anyone you feel might be interested in attending!  All are welcome-- Campers, Buddies, volunteers and friends of camp.

New Year's Resolutions

So this is the time of year lots of people go about making New Year's Resolutions.  Well, technically that time of year was about 2 weeks ago, but hey, better late than never right?  

Well, if you're late like us, or just looking to add a little something new with the 351 days we have left in this year read on to see how Camp I Am Special can help you meet all your goals for the new year!

1. Get Fit

Ok, this is a pretty common goal right?  Who out there doesn't need to add a little exercise to their routine or a least try something new to spice up their usual gym going habits?  Camp can definitely help you reach your goals.  

Whether it's poolside yoga...

or a game of baseball...

or just spending the afternoon playing outside...

we definitely get plenty of chances to "get fit" at camp!

2. Take Time to Relax

With our world's hectic schedules, it can be hard to find time to just relax.  Wouldn't it be nice to just take some time for yourself and let all your cares melt away?

3. Make New Friends

No matter how old we get, it's always nice to meet new people and make new friends!  Well, lucky for us out at Camp I Am Special, we get to meet 34 new Camper friends and 34 new Buddy friends each week!  That's 68 ready made friends!  What could be better?

4. Dance More

Want to incorporate getting fit, having fun, and making friends into one resolution?  Try dancing!  We dance a lot out at camp.  We definitely follow the "dance like nobody's watching" philosophy!

5. Be silly and laugh more! 

With everything going on in the news these days, we can all use more smiles in this world.  There is definitely a LOT of laughter and a LOT of silliness out at camp!

Well, it may be a little late, but I think these are resolutions we'll be able to stick to out at Camp I Am Special!  Thanks for indulging us in this little New Year's Resolution exercise.  Share your New Year's Resolutions with us in the comments!

Also, stay tuned for many more updates.  Things are getting busy in the Camp I Am Special office as we gear up for the summer!