Sherman Lake YMCA

For the latter half of round 4 Oak 3 worked with Sherman Lake YMCA (SLYMCA) as camp counselors. Upon arrival the team was immediately involved in trainings. The first day the program directors facilitated team builders to help Oak 3 become acquainted with Sherman Lake staff. The name games and team builders we were participating in also served as examples of what the team could do as counselors to help build relationships within their cabins. During training Sherman Lake staff went over a mock arrival day and explained to Oak 3 what would happen when schools arrived at camp and what should go on in the cabins. Throughout the week the office paper work portion was broken up with activities. Oak 3 participated in all of the activities offered at camp so there would be an understanding prior to the school group as to what was expected in certain areas of camp. The activities also served as a tour of camp. Some of the activities the team went through were: dodge ball, underground rail road, low ropes, high ropes, rock climbing, boating, and a game of “capture the pig.” Trough these games the staff incorporated the four core values of the YMCA: Honesty, Caring, Respect, and Responsibility (HCCR). The entire camp experience for the campers is constructed around these ideas. The reason schools send students to attend Sherman Lake YMCA is to introduce or reinforce the idea of HCCR which improves students behavior both in and out of the classroom. Each activity includes a briefing, activity period, and debrief period. The majority of the training period was learning by trail and error; however, some of it was very direct. An example, policy and procedure was reading the manual and talking about scenarios that may arise in the cabins. The team also had an opportunity to meet with the CEO Luke Austenfeld who motivated the team with inspirational stories. Another serious training was counselor safety which included: signs of bullying, proper incident report, social media etiquette, and appropriate touch. The safety was primarily to protect the counselors but also protects campers from each other. Oak 3 took the hands on approach with safety and did some environmental trimming to get rid of overgrown weeds to control the bee population. The service learning opportunities included in this project were primarily involved in working with the campers. Skills gained from this would include: communication, team work, facilitation skills, and team management. Communication is important in every project but in this project Oak 3 had to not only have solid communication between members as counselors but also communicate any issues or concerns with staff of Sherman Lake. The cabins also functioned as teams; each “team” was traveling with another cabin and participated in different activities at different times. It was important to form a team culture within a cabin to make sure the campers felt like they were part of something instead of just participants. As counselors the members of Oak 3 had to facilitate activities in the cabin to cultivate a team culture and also engage campers. Some of Oak 3 had the chance to facilitate activities outside of the cabin which included the activities that the schools signed up for as part of their curriculum. It was up to each counselor how they ran their cabin but everyone had to manage their “team” efficiently. It was a new skill to some members who had never been in a leadership position. As a leader over youth different issues arise than when working with adults so it was a new experience for many of the members. Also working with staff that has been at Sherman Lake YMCA for years was very helpful to the team to see how camp shapes those who partake in activities offered at camp. For a reflection the SLIs facilitated an activity in which the team took turns facilitating a camp song or game for the team to practice leading a group in an activity. The activities really helped the team practice before getting real campers. This project was important to the sponsor because by being their Oak 3 saved them a ton of money. Without an AmeriCorps NCCC team the camp would have had to hire more staff to take over the responsibilities the team covered. Also by having a team to work as counselors who stayed in the cabins the activity leaders got a chance to take a break and not work 24 hour days. The team was lucky and had some members with previous experience in the camp world but for majority it was new experience. For those it was new to, they really stepped up to the plate and made it a successful round. The best part of working with this sponsor was the extensive orientation and training period. For those who were uncomfortable with the duties in this project the orientation and training really answered any and all questions.