Service at Camp

[who_stole_my_loofa]

Does your camp provide opportunities for community service for your campers/staff? I'm not talking about like free camps for under privileged children- I'm talking about actual service opportunities for the kids. Also if you don't do them and you wish you did- what do you wish your camp could do?

Loofa

[Flukie]

It is part of our "required programming" (we have several categories that have to be fulled - such as campers need to go to arts and crafts, do a nature activity, have a cookout and so on) that units complete a service project while at camp. Our director (who is also our site manager!) compiles a list of service projects that she'd love to have done at camp, but the kids are also free to brainstorm their own. In one way or another, it needs to be both helpful meaningful to camp.

Some of this year's projects:

- Campers helped to spread woodchips on the pathes and in their units to help beautify camp and cover the roots in the paths.

- Campers helped to wash all of the boats down at the end of the season - not only did they get to have water fights and get squeaky clean, we got clean boats ready for winter.

- Campers helped to build a campfire rng in the prim site for use by other groups going on prim.

The CITs took it one step further. I mandated that their project needed to take at least 5 hours of work - the rest was up to them. After checking out the suggestions, they decided that they wanted to clear and rack the Back Beach where we have our final campfires. The bushes had spread a bit over the year and the grass was getting quite tall - they pruned and trimmed and raked the entire beach. Then, they opted to build seven benches - one for each of them and one for their whole class - for the staff to sit on at final campfire. Turns out we had 4 benches that were already done but not in use. So they designed and built three benches and then painted all of them. This spring, I'll varnish them prior to camp opening, and they'll be brought back down to the beach. I was proud of them - not so proud that they still have 2 benches to finish due to poor planning on their parts! Lol. Which just about sums up my CITs - who but one of them has a block painted that says something along the lines of - "Always finishing these things at the last minute - and loving it." Hahahaha. Even better - her's was in Black Sharpie - hey, there was no time for the block to dry on check-out day. :)

[camper]

at my camp, the CA's (like CIT's) do community service. not at camp, they actually go into the community and do it. they help at the honesdale book sale at the public library (they pack books up at the end of the sale to be donated somewhere, i can't remember where) and they went to the wayne county food bank and made lunches. they started the program last summer and it worked really well. when they came back from a project they would tell the camp about it that night at lineup.

[audur]

Our campers can do service projects, but it's not mandatory, and not really encouraged unless the counselors of the group are into it. Service projects they can do are things like clearing trails and getting rid of rocks and weeds in the corrals. I had a group of older campers this summer - LIA (leadership in action), and our camp director approached us and asked if they'd be willing to make the insides of our climbing wall prettier and more welcoming. So my campers designed and painted the doors, and they look aaawesome. Since it was a pretty big project, and we only had 2 sessions to work on it (and a LOT of other stuff to do), and paint takes some time to dry, they didn't quite finish it, so me and my co for that session, and our leadership specialist finished it up during post-camp.

[rockinsmiles]

Our camp does not do community service work (unless you count picking up trash). Since the campers are only there from sunday-friday I think it would be hard to fit in. I do know that during the spring and fall school groups and what not will be service work at camp. And i think if the campers stayed longer during the summer it would be a good addetion.

[Fleur]

For the past 3 years, our CITs have been doing community service work. Each session a group comes up to camp from a nearby seniors home, and our CITs lead them in a few activities. This past summer, the CITs also held a car wash to raise money for the charity the camp donates to every year.

Usually, we have community service opportunities for the staff as well. In the past, we've gone down to a children's hospital on weekends to bring and lead them in camp activities. We've also done the same for a local group home.

[Flukie]

I should add that we are also have sessions of one or two weeks - so it is a shorter amount of time. The two-week session normally has slightly more complicated projects. Also, I should add that since we are a GS camp, community service clearly fits into our general programming. After all, our mission is to build girls of "courage, confidence and character". Lol - and if you had only heard the debate about that mission.

[martha27]

part of my CIT's programme involved community service. the group went out of camp once a week for an afternoon to one of two local projects. one was working with big brother/big sisters and the other was a gardening project for the upkeep of local parks.flower beds etc....
it was great, they learnt alot

[CAMPFRIEND]

We have all of our CITs do different projects. Most of them need it for high school. It's a great chance for them to help others outside of camp!

[Skater Bubbles]

My camp is like Rockinsmiles's camp, and we don't do service either becuase of the reasons she posted, but I also think if our campers were there longer it would be a good addition.

[collissimon]

We have a work programme for our SuperTeens. Some of them deliver towels to bunks from the laundry, whilst others wait on the tables during meals, and others come to activities to help out.

They get a little bit of pocket money for their trip days, someone worked out that they get paid more for their couple hours a week than we do!! :D

[who_stole_my_loofa]

At my camp we provide a reasonable amount of service opportunities, but I'd like to see more. First session we have Relay for Life which is more of a fundraiser- the kids never donate any money but our director gives a certain amount of money for every lap and for other things going on during our relay/carnival. Second session we do another fundraiser and we donate such and such amount of money for each lap the campers swim in like the week. Some of the kids swim like 300 laps it's amazing. The money from 2nd session goes to a camp for children affected by AIDS (whether them or someone in their family) in Africa. Our campers aren't really doing hardcore community service- but the programs definitely raise awareness and the kids get really into it. So it's at least positive programing that's still helping to change the world. Oh the singing group also going into town and sings a couple of times at the retirement home and they like play bingo with them and get ice cream and they enjoy it.

Our most impressive program is with the oldest kids. This past summer they started a program with the local Boys and Girls Club where once or twice a week they would go and get to know the kids there. This might not be a big deal to most people but when you consider that my camp has predominately wealthy, white Jewish kids and most of the kids at the local B&GC are below the poverty line, black, and certainly not Jewish- it certainly is amazing. After the first day pretty much everyone became totally color blind. A lot of the kids became really close through the 8 weeks and from what I've heard a lot of them are still keeping in touch. At the end of the summer we invited them to spend the day at our camp for Shabbat and experience our camp in action- it was a really powerful day.