By Andrea Holmes | Project Leader
Camp Trailblazers wrapped up with resounding success in October of 2010!
There were several big changes to Camp Trailblazers in 2010:
We added a new Alberta camp, bringing us to a total of 6 locations across Canada. We experienced a 43% increase in enrollment this year! The continual growth of this program and the number of returning campers is a clear indication of not only Camp Trailblazers' success, but also the high demand for it. AboutFace is the only organization offering a self esteem building weekend of fun and adventure for teenagers with a variety of facial differences. The truth is; once our members find the courage to go, they keep coming back, year after year.
Also new, were the branded hoodies for all campers! The kids love them -- they are cozy and warm and many continue to wear them proudly when they go home from camp. At camp, it makes them feel like they belong to a team. When they go home, wearing the hoodie reminds them of the experiences they had and the friends they met.
Journals/diaries were introduced to encourage kids to use writing as a process to help "digest" their experiences from the day. The journals help them to learn to express their thoughts and feelings and then to open up to others.
Randy, the Camp Trailblazers Director introduced a writing competition for kids to write about their camp experience. Kids will be kids and for most of them this meant "work" so the response this time around was a little low. Randy plans on introducing the concept at camp next year to engage the kids right then and there. The best thing about the kid's stories is that they can be shared with others who are hesitant "to take the plunge" and go to camp. They will know that others felt the same way -- until they got to camp. And now they can hardly wait to go back! Our winner of the First Camp Trailblazers writing competition was 16 year old Quy! Click on the link below to read Quy's story in his own words.
To wrap up the Camp Trailblazers up-date, I would like to share Camp Director Randy Pielsticker's summary of how camp went this past year:
"One of my favorite activities at camp is our final circle where we go around the entire group and everyone explains their favorite part of camp: The food, the climbing wall, the horses and making new friends are all common answers. But when kids respond with "I just enjoyed spending a weekend without getting bullied or teased", or "this weekend I learned to be proud of my difference", it truly tugs on the heartstrings".
Randy continues, "When a camper is in tears and afraid to get on the bus with a bunch of strangers, then two days later has written a song about camp and stands up at the campfire to sing it, this is when I really know the difference that we are making."
Planning is underway for Camp Trailblazers 2011 with many new and exciting enhancements! Stay tuned!
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