Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Council – Posting #34

Hello! I’m Kathleen from Downriver CARES AmeriCorps. In a previous blog post, I wrote about a Community Resource Center (CRC) that was cleaned up after a flood. This summer has been an exciting one at the CRC where the Guidance Center, with the help of our AmeriCorps team, put on a free summer camp for the local children and teenagers.

Studies show children from low-income families lose more information during summer breaks, beginning a cycle that increasingly holds them back year after year. Our goal with a summer camp was to encourage critical thinking by providing fun, science-based activities all summer long. We studied topics like outer space, ecosystems, botany, and herpetology. The campers were able to explore these topics with hands-on activities.

We had a great time learning this summer, but I think the relationships we built with the children were just as important as the topics taught. Summer camp is such a unique setting – it allows for a relaxed atmosphere that fuels a mentor friendship between camp counselors and campers. This relationship is not always achieved in a classroom, teacher-student setting. Besides the educational stuff, the camp counselors were able to teach and discuss life issues. They regularly talked about pro-social character traits with the campers, like respect, trustworthiness, citizenship, and responsibility.

Through this summer camp, it is my hope the students grow in a well-rounded way, in both the mind and the heart. I have had a wonderful summer hanging out with these kids. I consider it a privilege to have been a part of their lives.