When I first accepted the job as Camp Coordinator, it felt like summer would never arrive. Months of planning our theme and activities, of learning the new online application system, of placing Campers, of placing Buddies, of finding donations, of lining up volunteers, of hiring staff, of planning trainings; all of it leading up to June 8th.
Summer finally arrived when our Group Leaders came for their week of training. They became certified (or recertified) in Professional Crisis Management. They practiced emergency drills and prepped and checked our emergency kits and supplies. They planned activities and gathered supplies needed for the activities. They practiced our big evening events. They attended training sessions on conflict resolution, behavior modification, and even learned about their top strengths and the strengths of their co-workers.
We crammed in all that training, plus more and even found time to set up and decorate the camp! And FINALLY it was time for the campers to arrive!
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| Our amazing Group Leaders! |
Our sessions began to fly by at that point. Each day was so full of fun activities and I loved watching our Campers and Buddies have fun together. Before we knew it, summer was over.
It was a summer full of sock hops, diner nights, drive in movies. Lemonade and popcorn. Chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and green beans. Pool times and rainy day activities. Dances and hayrides. Smiles and laughter.
Thank you to our wonderful staff. They work so hard day in and day out, doing all the not-so-fun jobs at camp. They set up for every event. They cleaned the bathrooms and the cabins and the dining hall and the grounds. They bleached. They mopped. They sprayed. They took out the trash. They did laundry.
They also lead every activity from an early morning sing-a-long to the final song at the evening dance. They helped our Buddies with their Camper's wheelchair transfers, diaper changes, and shower times. They helped comfort Campers who were struggling with transitions. They used behavior modification techniques to help Campers successfully navigate their day. They came up with fun and engaging rainy day activities for those times we were cooped up indoors for just a little too long. They were also ready at any time to utilize our emergency procedures if necessary.
It's a huge job and one that I feel we just can't say thank you enough for. They are an incredible group of young adults and I feel blessed to have gotten to work with them all this summer.
Thank you to our Buddies for giving up a week (or more) of their summer. I always say that the Buddies in our program give me so much hope for the future of our communities! Such an amazing group of teenagers.
Thank you to our volunteers who helped feed us, keep us healthy and keep us on schedule.
It was a wonderful summer, and I'm sad to see it come to an end, however we are now looking forward to December Mini-Camp and we are already well into the planning stages for next summer!
The "off season" is a busy time for Rebecca and me. We both have plans to attend conferences and we are already brainstorming many ideas for our upcoming sessions.
Thank you for being part of our summer. It was a wonderful summer.
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