This was the last week of the Bedford County Camp. It was a different kind of week for several reasons. First, we met on Monday, July 5th that is part of the extended holiday for many people. So, we had only 22 children on Monday. Second, the Bedford County Summer School program began on Tuesday. Eighteen of our campers were in summer school until 12:15 but many of the campers in summer school joined us for the afternoon. By the end of each day we had 42 to 46 kids with us.
Every afternoon this week the Roanoke Children’s Theatre worked with the kids preparing them to present the play “Cooking It” at the end of the week. This is part of our focus on Healthy Living.
Then the difficult part – saying goodbye to the children and their families after our closing celebration on Friday. We do become family during these four weeks of life together.
Some of the Highlights
- Monday morning began with local author and storyteller, Becky Mushko reading her children’s book, Ferradiddledumday, to the kids. This is an Appalachian version of Rumpelstiltskin. This gave the kids a chance to ask questions about writing stories and publishing books. I was good for them to meet and talk to a working author since we spend time everyday in writers’ workshop. Maybe we have a “budding writer” in our midst! Again, a big thank you to SMAC. They purchased enough copies of the book for each child to take one home.
- From 12:30 to 2:15 every day this week the kids worked with Pat Wilhelms, Artistic Director for the Roanoke Children’s Theatre, and others from the theatre staff. This also required the assistance of all of our interns. The kids continued learning theater skills but they learned the songs, dances and some of the script for “Cooking It”, a musical play about healthy eating. This was a big task to accomplish with 40+ kids. The themes and messages in the play are great and timely with characters such as Brock Broccoli and Brussel Sprout teaching us about the good foods to eat and the bad ones we are addicted to. There were times when I wasn’t sure we could get the kids to focus enough to actually make this work. But - and this is not uncommon - my fears were unfounded. The kids were great. They got in to the story, the songs and the movements. This is a great and subtle way to teach the basics of eating and healthy living.
- From 2:15 to 2:45 every day the kids are in Writers’ Workshop. The older kids are generally able to do some writing. But the youngest (the Koala Bears) are a challenge. Many of them are very beginning readers and writing is beyond their grasp. But, Nalina Nop and Angela Massino, the interns who work with this group every day, were very creative and helped the kids write and illustrate a book based on their own ideas. Nalina and Angela took the basic, disconnected stories of the individual kids and knit them together into a complete story. They had the kids do illustrations for the parts of the story that came from their ideas. All of this was then put together in a book. It was great to observe Nalina and Angela guide the kids through this activity. It was a lot of work for them and a great community activity for these kids. Working with six year olds is a challenge!
- Angela completed her first video about the program. It is a 10 minute program that highlights the elements of the program. It is very well done. It captures what life at camp is like, educates people about the real content of the program and, the kids loved it. Great job Angela; we now understand why you win awards for your video documentaries.
- During the morning on Friday Elizabeth told us a wonderful story. Here is the short version. Jesse, one of our campers, was very upset and crying. He was crying because this was the last day of camp and he didn’t want it to end. Although most of the kids didn’t cry about the end of camp, Jesse’s feelings were typical – a good witness about how the children feel about the program.
- At 2 p.m. on Friday our closing celebration began. It exceeded anything I expected. By the time the program began, there was standing room only in the gym – the bleachers were filled with family, friends, volunteers and a few board members. The kids were perfect. Working with the Children’s Theatre staff, they performed their songs and moves with enthusiasm to the delight of the audience. “Cooking It” is a great play about healthy foods and our addictions to foods that are not so healthy. It is funny but truly has a big message. We were really proud of the kids. At the end of the play, Mary Bova, one of the authors of the play, led the kids in one of the songs they taught them as part of their work about the Peace Child. It is about accepting our differences and living together peacefully. The words of the chorus are something like this – so you be you, and I’ll be me; that’s the way it’s meant to be; and we’ll live together, you and me… differently. A great message for children and adults – maybe we can learn from the children!
At the completion of the theatre program, Angela's video about the four weeks of camp was shown. I think anyone who hadn’t spent at least one full day at camp was amazed by the depth and diversity of the activities the kids do during the four weeks. You can imagine the applause. It is too bad that we didn’t have media present. As we know, it is not possible to explain what goes on at camp - it has to be experienced. Now for the good news - since I was recording the program on video, I have no still photos to include in this report.
Finally, we all moved to the cafeteria where we had ice cream, clowns, tattoos and other silly things for the kids and families. And then – all of us who came to know and love these children had to say goodbye. These are transforming experiences for many of us. Our lives are changed by this work and I hold the belief that it is transforming for many of the children.
A Few Parting Thoughts
We did have a terrific four weeks. The program operated with no major problems and only a few minor issues. Being well prepared explains much of this success. But, in my opinion, even more important are the people who worked with the kids and managed the camp every day.
- Shearer Rumsey did a great job as the new Camp Director. She managed the dozens of details necessary for the daily routines. These included opening the building every morning, greeting all the kids and their families every morning, working with the reading buddies, making certain that breakfast and lunch was set up on time, dealing with behavior problems, calling parents as needed, being the nurse, signing out the kids at the end of the day and on and on and on!!! Multitasking is a way of life in that position and Shearer did it well. As we were doing our final closing activities at the school I asked Shearer how she felt about the job at this point. The big smile on her face said it all; she didn’t need to say a word.
- All of our interns are excellent. But, for this report I want to single out Hannah Sizemore. Hannah is our lead intern and she has been a very effective team leader. And, she has taken ownership of the program. She is the “go to” person for dealing with most of the issues about the daily work of the interns and the schedule. We made a very wise decision in inviting Hannah to return this year as our lead intern. I have truly enjoyed working with Hannah and have the highest respect and admiration for her work and for her as a person.
- The Intern Assistants and Camp Facilitators have been invaluable in keeping the program running smoothly. The assistants are attached to a group of kids and their two interns. From taking kids to the bathroom, mopping floors and setting up lunch, to working with disruptive kids – we truly need these volunteers.
- And then, there are the behind the scenes volunteers who quietly support the camps. These are the people who purchase all of our food from Second Harvest Food Bank and Shop Rite, pack lunches, pack backpacks, and deliver all of these to the camps. All of this work requires 30 to 40 volunteers who do this work every week. This team is led by Colleen and Jerry McNulty. They work quietly at TEP (backpack packing) and LCM (lunch packing) and without benefit of air conditioning. We are not only dependent on these volunteers, we are grateful to them for supporting this mission.
Our moving company loaded all of our materials and supplies at Moneta E.S. this afternoon and delivered them to Trinity Ecumenical Parish. At 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 18th, we will meet at TEP to unpack all of our supplies and get our rooms organized for the Franklin County Camp that begins on Monday, July 19th. At this time, we have 48 children registered and expect a few more. Between now and the 19th, I will relax and play with my family and savor dozens of wonderful memories of my experiences at the camp we just completed. We are so blessed to have this opportunity to work with these children.
Blessings and Peace,
Russ
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