Camp

Had a meeting today for summer camp, which was both exciting and frustrating.

Exciting: Two of our Junior Counselors are two of my favorite students from the Class of 2008. They've got great energy, they're entertaining, and they've both done E.X.P.L.O.R.E. so they're familiar with the games and the silly stuff we do.

I also know 3 members of my group, and I basically hand-picked them. A few weeks ago I told my coworker I wouldn't mind taking 2 of them, although we weren't sure if the two of them together would work well. I guess she's decided to try it, so I've got 2 kids who I really like. Because I'm taking 2 difficult kids, she let me pick a "good" kid. I couldn't decide, because I really like all the kids, so I chose a boy and a girl and she gave me the boy. I *think* all the kids will work well together, but time will tell. I'm being positive about it. So far I've got three 8th graders, so I'm expecting 2 7th graders in my group as well. I think my group will mesh well, and if not...well, camp only lasts 3 weeks. :-)

As for the frustrating.....camp starts on Monday, and we're already $1,000 over budget and that doesn't count hiring buses to haul us around to a few different events. Yuck. The fundraising has been done solely by my coworker and I. We both sent letters to family and friends asking for donations. I've got solid donations from my parents and sister, and one good friend told me she'd send me a donation (she asked where she could send the donation, so as far as I'm concerned that's solid).

Together, we've raised nearly $1,000, and the kids are paying $25 each, so that's brought in $550. However, some of the activities we have planned are costing us more than we expected, and that doesn't factor in all our transportation OR snacks during the day. Each day we give the kids a small snack and a drink, and sadly for some of our kids that's going to be their dinner.

It's so frustrating. I'm not sure what our solution is going to be. My coworker has already purchased some volleyballs and was planning on making those her donation to camp. She's decided to take on some more expenses and make that part of her donation as well. We're also going to send a letter to our colleagues and ask nicely if we can have some of their hard-earned money. It's not ideal, and it WON'T make up for the defecit, but hopefully we can get a few hundred from that.

It can be disheartening to not be able to give some really great kids a camp experience they truly deserve, but I'm glad they have the opportunity for camp, I really am. In the letter I sent to family and friends, I stated that for these kids, they're too old for the park district programs, and they can't afford the programs at the local Catholic high schools. For some of our students, this is their only option. And really, for a number of our campers, they don't have a summer aside from this. So many of them are responsible for a younger sibling while their parent or parents work, so for 4 hours a day they get to chill and have fun.

I can't wait for camp to start. Our first week is already jam packed, and we're hoping for a few stray donations to tumble in over the weekend and next week so we can officially pay for the rest of camp. God bless, and I'm sure I'll update soon.