I can speak for all of the counselors here at Rising Sun when I say that making a difference in a camper's life is one of our main goals throughout the summer. Sometimes it can be difficult to go beyond the normal daily routine to make a permanent impact on a child, but from my four years working at the Y, I can say with confidence each counselor in their own way tries to reach as many campers as possible. I was lucky enough to be a camper at Rising Sun since elementary school, and even that experience showed me how much of a significance counselors could have on a child's life. For me personally, I can think of a few specific counselors from my past that taught me life lessons that have forever changed me positively, and my life would not have been the same without them and camp. Now as this summer's personal paparazzi, it is my job to capture these moments that other counselors are making with children and share them with all of you parents. I'm so happy to say that yesterday I had a front row view of our two amazing counselors Jared and Leslie working together to help make a difference in a child's life, and luckily I had my camera. This particular camper's mother emailed me in hopes that I could get some counselors together to help her
son defeat his fear of the pool. Our Camp 1 head counselor Leslie tackled this challenge and began talking with the camper to try to help him gain some courage to at least put his feet in the water. Through communicating with Jared, our pool chief counselor, they worked together to get this boy to the pool. They convinced him to put on a floaty, just in case he decided to go deeper into the water. However, with Leslie and Jared's enthusiastic encouragement, the camper decided to glide into the pool only after a minute or so of standing on the steps. He then swam all the way across the pool with Jared, having a blast every second of the way! His smile reminded me of why my colleagues and I work at the Y, and made it even more evident that it is possible to make differences in campers lives here this summer.
Throughout the week campers and counselors have been going above and beyond to reach new goals, learn new things, and most importantly....have fun. After a mile run a few days ago, our Fitness rank kept up their heart rate by practicing their jumping skills. However, to spice things up, they tested out exactly what it would take to jump over a trashcan. One of our fitness counselors Jessica showed them how it was done. Joe, our Fitness chief, continued to teach our campers the importance of excercise by bringing in a workout video for everyone to follow along with. The kids loved seeing how high they could kick! Our CILTS (campers in leadership training) also went above and beyond the normal camp routine yesterday when a member of SPCA came to speak to them. SPCA, the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, is dedicated to creating a more humane comm
unity where every adoptable animal has a home. After learning more about this organization, the CILTS donated their time to make homemade dog toys for the animal group. Not only have the CILTS helped the community locally, but they have given a global helping hand as well. Multiple times this summer the CILTS, with their counselors Ryan and Deanna, have cut donated shoes to make them more suitable to send to areas of poverty in warmer climates. Thanks to the CILTS, people who can't usually afford shoes now have a chance to a better life. Last but not least, I'd like to give out a congratulations to Camp 3 for winning the spirit stick today. They have proved that a huddle can easily win this recognition more than just once a week thanks to spirit filled teamwork. Way to go guys!
Over in the gym, Camp 2 was enjoying themselves as they played "Just Dance" on the Wii. However it was not just an ordinary game, as the screen was projected onto the huge gym wall, allowing all of Camp 2 to participate and dance together.
These are just some examples of how we make an average day of summer camp even more fun!
For those of you who aren't aware, LARPing is a live action role-play game where participants physically act out certain characters. In spirit of our "Knights Tale" theme, Camp 3's head counselor Sarah designed a LARPing extravaganza for all of our middle school campers. To prepare for battle, Camp 3 was given time on Thursday to design their weapons out of cardboard. Everyone's creativity was very impressive! After some anxious anticipation, today was the day for everyone to show off their hard work and head down to the woods with their creations. The rules are as follows: whatever body part gets tapped, the player must lose use of it. If you get hit in the back, you're out. Everyone must use their acting skills by staying in character the entire time. In LARPing, every single action should be overly dramatic. They began playing with a girls vs. boys battle that eventually evolved into every person for themselves. It was definitely a funny way to spice up the day!
