The Story of Sally and More…
In October of 2010 I wrote about a child I called Sally. The story was about how Sally was learning to handle her anger. The basis for the story came from a call I received from her principal who told me about how Sally – age 6 - was learning to apply the things she learned at the Good Neighbors camp when she got angry. It was affirming and exciting to hear this story.
And, the story continues. We invite children who attended camp the previous year to return to camp the next year. The letters inviting these kids are mailed in March and to reserve a place families are asked to call me. Almost immediately I received a call from Sally’s mother. She wanted to reserve a place but also wanted to tell me how changed Sally had been at home. She talked to me for 10 minutes telling me how Sally was helping at home, how she had many fewer times of being uncooperative and angry and how grateful she was for the influence our program had on Sally’s behavior. This is the same child who frustrated all of us last year; who was taken out of her group nearly every day to spend time with Shearer, our Camp Director! Her mother thought we should know how important the program is to the kids and their families. Thank goodness we were patient with Sally last year and kept her in camp.
Sally is currently in our 2011 program. When our lead intern and our camp director saw that she was returning, there was a look of apprehension on their faces; a look that said… “we’ll see how she works out this year.” Well – Sally is a model camper this year. She does model the Good Neighbors behaviors we teach and has literally not been a problem even once at camp. We love having her with us and she will certainly be invited back for 2012. I am still amazed!
Sally is not the only child who has changed since being in the Good Neighbors program. Another mother called me about registering her son for the 2011 program. Unfortunately, she had not completed the registration forms by the time the Franklin County camp started and we were already full. She then told me that James’ teachers were amazed by how different he was when he returned to school last Fall. They said his behaviors were like the difference between night and day. She then told me how much he loved camp and how badly he wanted to return. Although the Franklin camp was full, we had vacancies in the Bedford camp and I suggested that she enroll him in that camp. It is a long trip from their home in Franklin County to the Bedford camp but I told her that if she could get him there we would love to have him return. The story has a happy ending – James is in our current camp, in our new group of 5th and 6th graders, and loves it; his mother is grateful and has sacrificed to get him to and from camp every day.
Because we have many returning campers we get to see changes in many of them from year to year. Some kids who were difficult to manage in the past remain that way, and sometimes we are not able to keep them in camp. But, those of us who work with the same kids each year do see many of them who are changed. One of the boys in the 2010 camp had fairly serious anger problems, especially towards his brother. We worked with him lovingly and patiently, but firmly, last year with mixed results. We were able to get him involved with Unbridled Change, one of our enrichment providers during the Peace Education week, and he attended programs at their facility during this past year. They are a wonderful resource for helping people with anger management issues, among other things; more about them later. This young man is back at camp this year along with his brother. He is a changed kid and a very Good Neighbor.
And then there are two other boys that come to mind. One was in the 2009 camp, missed 2010 and is back this year. Although he is a minor distraction at times, his behavior is much more positive than before. Another boy from 2010 had regular “melt downs” and I was concerned that he would continue those behaviors again this year resulting in dropping him from the program. We are two weeks in to the current camp and he is still with us. As a matter of fact, we have seen none of his old behaviors.
Can SML Good Neighbors take credit for the positive changes in these kids? We will never know for certain how much credit can be given to the Good Neighbors program, but I have a strong sense that we are a very positive presence in the lives of many children. Conversations with parents, teachers and principals confirm this sense.
I hope everyone who contributes their time, effort and money to the Good Neighbors program will join me in celebrating the lives of the children. We are fortunate to have this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children like Sally; I thank you for being on this journey with me.
