| Camp Fire Club of the Month |
|
|
|
John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary School
City:
St. Paul
When:
3 days a week for
2 hours
Youth:
41 youth
in grade 3
Club Leaders:
Bryce Volrath
Activity Highlight:
Overcoming Fear
Outcome: Youth learned that everybody has fears and also thought about steps to alleviate their fears...goal setting.
|
Keep in the
Camp Fire circle 
Already receive our emails?
Stay connected on Facebook
| |
|
|
Families Have Fun Supporting Camp
Family Fun Day at Camp Tanadoona brings record number of families to enjoy camp 
The second annual Family Fun Day on Aug. 8 was full of festivities as a record number of families came out to support Camp Fire USA. Families were welcomed by the smell of pancakes cooking on the griddle and freshly brewed coffee. After bellies were filled, everyone dispersed throughout the camp to explore their favorite camp activity.
Family Fun Day is
special because it gives camper parents and community members to be a camper for
a day. This was a day where that happened for many. A few lucky parents, who arrived before the rain, were able to experience first-hand some of the activities their children talk about all summer. Being strapped into the harness and stepping up to the first footholds on the 40-foot climbing wall was an unexpectedly challenging endeavor for a few parents. This was exciting for the kids too, who enjoyed helping their parents learn how to do activities their favorite camp activities.
Even as the rain showers began, families continued to enjoy the morning. The silent auction offered a variety of goodies that families competitively bid upon. One lucky family even received a week of Mini Overnight Camp--at a steal of a price. Many of the items were generously donated by Camp Fire supporters and local businesses.
Attendees also got a preview of the events that will be happening as we build up to Camp Fire's Centennial Celebration in May 2010. The next event is our Vintage Vines Soirée on Nov. 5, which all friends and supporters of Camp Fire are invited to attend.
We would like to thank everyone who made Family Fun Day possible. Thank you
especially to our event sponsors, food and drink sponsors, and silent auction
donors: OSI Batteries, Lindquist & Vennum, NorthMarq, The
Mortell Family, Assured Protection, Exos Corporation, Carolyn Rehn, Rick
Schultenover and North Star Resource Group,
Caribou Coffee, Greg's Home Delivery, U.S. Food Service, Rita Ayers, Sarah
Hrusovsky, Bonnie Hullett, Gretchen Starks, Lola's Lakehouse, and M.E.G. Roy on
behalf of Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Co. LLP.
A
great big thank you to our volunteers:
M.E.G. Roy, Kelley Loughrey, Sue Marty, Tom Henry, Katherine
Meerse,Susan
Blotz, Paul Strickland, Nancy Stiller, Suzi Flory, Ralph Bovard, and Ryan
Bean.
Related Links:
Watch a flickr slideshow of Family Fun Day photos
|
|
A Meaningful First Job
Group of Camp Fire youth give service to a neighborhood while building job skills for their future 
Lately, countless news headlines announce that it is a tough job market. Many older youth are having an especially hard time getting their feet in the door at a first job - the important one to start building their resumes. One resourceful group of 12 youth from a Camp Fire Club at Walker Church in Minneapolis have had the
opportunity to overcome this challenge, and not at just any job--at a meaningful job. Together, they are working to beautify the neighborhood and learn what community means.
Camp Fire partners with Walker Church to make this program possible. Sally Kuehn, the program services director at Walker Church secured funding from the State of Minnesota's Youth Intervention Program as well as from Frey Family Foundation to offer this unique work/learning opportunity with Camp Fire to a group of motivated youth. Participating youth receive a wage for their time spent in the program and receive
critical support and ongoing job coaching from Sally and Camp Fire Club Leader,
Josh Klawitter. Meeting 4 days per
week throughout the summer, the youth work together to positively impact the
community through service-learning projects. "We learn in
service and give service to learning," 13-year-old Brandi recites as the group's
motto.
Participating Camp Fire youth came from throughout the Twin Cities. They applied for the 12 positions, participated in interviews and once "hired" their first task was learning how to work as a team. "I was nervous at first because I didn't know if we'd all get along," said 13-year-old Rahmanika. "But we all get along really well. And that's part of what I like about this experience the most." "It's been awesome," added 12-year-old Jordan, who experienced this project as his first job.
Learning how to work as a team was a unanimous highlight for the youth. The hard-work of doing the projects was also very rewarding. Their projects included, cleaning-up trash in the neighborhood, tending a community garden, installing a rock rainwater run-off basin, and creating a boulevard walkway. "My favorite project was installing the rocky [rainwater basin], said Brandi. "I didn't think we could do it, but we did and then we could see how it looked when we were all done. It was cool knowing that we did that."
Developing and implementing service-learning projects has been an important part of the success of this project. Before the group embarks on a project, they conduct a needs assessment. They learn about the neighborhood and determine concerns that need to be addressed. Upon completion they reflect on their project as a group. These experiences provide youth with a sense of accomplishment and a deeper
sense of their role in the community. "This has changed the way I see [my] community," explained Rahmanika. "I now think of it as my job to help out."
|
|
Unlocking Our Region's Treasures
Camp Fire USA leads a collaborative effort that brings Twin Cities' cultural attractions into reach for St. Paul youth
Summer in Minnesota is a precious and fleeting time when youth get out and explore all the enriching features and attractions that our Twin Cities metropolitan region offers -- places like the zoo, water parks, state parks, museums and theatres. However, not all youth have the means to access these places. Working in
partnership with over 30 youth-serving organizations, Camp Fire USA addressed this issue for youth in St. Paul this summer. Through a generous grant from The McKnight Foundation, Camp Fire worked with two youth collaboratives in St. Paul to coordinate field trips to the area's cultural attractions.
This initiative, currently in its sixth summer of operation, coordinated over 50 free field trips for hundreds of Saint Paul youth from June through August. "Our participants look forward to the summer field trips all year," explains Lisa Grotenhuis with Opportunity Neighborhood Development Corporation, a participating youth-serving organization. "Beginning in the fall they ask 'where are we going next summer?' Many of our youth come from families that can't afford the admission to the Minnesota State Fair, don't have the transportation to make it to the Minnesota Zoo and don't have the time to bring their kids to a water park. Our program's ability to offer these opportunities to youth through the summer transportation grant makes our program stronger year round."
Offering opportunities for youth to explore their larger community is an important step toward increasing their sense of place and understanding of their world. Camp Fire played the lead role in coordinating these field trips as an engaged partner of the East Side Network Café and the Leap Forward for Youth Collaborative because we understand that quality youth development must be rooted in a firm sense of community. Working with these two collaborative groups was a key element to the success of reaching the large and diverse group of youth who benefitted from these field trips. "The organizations within these collaboratives work very well together," explains Jill Dent, the Partner Relations Manager with Camp Fire USA Minnesota Council. "They truly collaborate to offer youth the best array of out-of-school time options."
As the season concludes, planning
for next summer
will
begin in
earnest. The collaboratives
will review youth participants' feedback and compile survey results. Camp Fire and its partnering youth-serving
organizations are committed to building on the successes from this summer into
next year's initiative. Now however, the youth simply get to imagine and build their excitement for next summer's adventures.
We would like to thank The McKnight Foundation, The East Side Network Café, and the Leap Forward for Youth Collaborative for making this initiative successful. |
|
Best Regards,
Marnie K. Wells, Chief Executive Officer
| |
|
|
|
