For the second consecutive summer, I’ve had the unique opportunity to meet and positively impact approximately ninety different children over a span of three weeks at Adventure Camp.

From the beginning of my “Summer Experience Coordinator” role at City Kidz, I have eagerly anticipated these three weeks of Adventure Camp as I’ve organized the registration forms to make this opportunity possible for each child. To me, these registration forms are precious because they represent a child – full of potential just waiting to be inspired.

In partnership with Mount Hamilton Baptist Church, Adventure Camp has consisted of thirty different children each week; hearing various bible stories, participating in fun group games, going swimming and bowling, and visiting entertaining conservation areas and the zoo.
“All that matters is that we’re having fun,” said a child as we were building sand trenches.

Through this experience, I’ve truly learned how to make the most of every moment with each child. Be it rain or shine, it is crucial that each child is positively impacted and has fun. This starts with our leaders maintaining a loving attitude and being willing to invest time and energy so that the kids feel valued and safe.

It has been a pleasure for me to see the children enjoy camp, and at the same time inspiring to see the the growth of leadership in our Jr. leaders as they connect and engage with our children. These Jr Leaders were once City Kidz kids themselves and it is so amazing because they are putting into action the values that we teach.

My hope was to make an impact on these children, and I am grateful to have been impacted by them as well. I’ve experienced giving countless piggy-back rides, spinny hugs, making funny faces, being splashed by the children, singing and dancing to City Kidz songs, and much more. All to see countless smiles from these children!

Because of this experience, I am overjoyed to know that for each one of them, this has been a wonderful “Summer To Remember”.

Katherine Paterno,
Summer to Remember Staff

This entry was posted on Monday, August 24th, 2009 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Blog Experiences . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.