Serving at-risk youth: one perspective - Blue Star Camps' Camping Unlimited program

Blue Star Camps in Hendersonville, North Carolina, recently resurrected their Camping Unlimited program for at-risk youth. The Camping Unlimited program was developed by the Popkin family, owners of Blue Star Camps, to encourage private camps to make themselves available to diverse populations. Blue Star Camps hopes that the revitalized Camping Unlimited program can become a model for the independent camp industry. Rodger Popkin, Blue Star's co-owner and director said, "It's our feeling that resident summer camps are the most under-utilized facilities for child development in the country." Many more at-risk children in America could be served at independent camps through the Camping Unlimited program.

The original program ran from 1969 to 1976 and served a multiracial and multi-cultural clientele that included the children of Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. The current Camping Unlimited program served 150 at-risk youth.

The program was made financially possible through a partnership with JM Family Enterprises, First Union Bank, W.R. Grace & Co, and McDonald's. The primary youth-serving agency involved was Barton's Boosters, an organization founded by police officer Wayne Barton to help at-risk children in Boca Raton, Florida's, Dixie Manor Housing Project.

The campers, who ranged in age from seven to fourteen, came from a number of agencies in Palm Beach county, including Barton's Boosters, Aid to Victims of Domestic Assault, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Jewish Family Services. The children selected for the program demonstrated academic and behavioral improvements in school and showed that they were on their way to overcoming socioeconomic barriers.

The Program

The Camping Unlimited program took place during the week after the traditional eight-week summer season was over. The program shared the camp facility with a week-long teen leadership program that included more than 450 teens and staff. Blue Star's 780 traditional summer campers moved out the same day that the Camping Unlimited campers moved in, which could have created a logistics problem. However, the Camping Unlimited organizers were able to contract with the charter airline that was taking some summer campers home to south Florida and have the airline bring the Camping Unlimited campers to North Carolina at a minimal cost.

The program was similar to the regular summer camp program. Campers were given the freedom to select activities, or options, just as other campers are during the summer. Each camper selected three options from a menu of fifteen activities - including mountain biking, video, or archery - and participated in those programs during the week. This allowed campers to gain some mastery of the activity, which would help build their self-esteem. Campers were allowed to switch options if they found that they did not like the activity.

Campers had instructional time, free swim, and an athletic period each day. They also participated in a number of typical summer camp activities that they could not do in south Florida, including grooming and riding a horse, climbing the camp's Mt. Pinnacle, and going on an overnight trip. A special program was scheduled most evenings; summer campers take part in these only once a week. These special programs included a bonfire with s'mores, a pool party with ice cream, a friendship service, a talent show, and a final-night banquet. Campers also visited the camp store each day for treats.

Staffing

Most of the camp's specialty staff and enough cabin counselors to staff the cabins volunteered to stay the extra week. On an interesting note, about half the staff for the program were international staff. Four minority students from Georgia Southern University were also recruited to augment the cabin counselors. The camp also had two assistant camp leaders and two directors.

Campers were divided into four traits by gender and age; seven to ten year olds comprised one unit and eleven to fourteen year olds the other. Each unit contained approximately thirty-eight campers and was lead by one unit leader. Each cabin had six to eight campers and two staff members. This is a lower camper/staff ratio than that used during the regular camp season because the directors felt that these campers might need more care and attention.

In preparation for the Camping Unlimited program, Blue Star Camps developed a special staff manual that included information on working with at-risk youth and information specific to the week-long Camping Unlimited program. A staff training meeting was held for those staff who would be working the extra week. Staff's role in making the week successful was emphasized. Their goals for the week were:

* Give campers new opportunities. Let them know that camp is a fresh start and that they are expected to do their best.

* Increase campers' self-esteem through camp activities.

* Offer a nonjudgmental atmosphere for campers to express themselves.

* Teach campers how to socialize by functioning in a cabin group. By participating in cabin and group activities, campers learn how to share and communicate and how to resolve conflict without intimidation.

Staff were encouraged to show campers that they cared and to make. their expectations for behavior known. The camp placed an emphasis on campers and staff in each cabin having a good first night talk to get to know each other. The cabin rules were also discussed during this talk. A list of nine cabin rules similar to those used during the summer, including using appropriate language, touching other people's property only with permission, and being on time, were published.

The Program's Impact

The week went smoothly. The campers were extremely cooperative and enthusiastic and were willing to get involved with new activities and experiences. Campers seemed to need a couple of days to get comfortable with the new environment, but then they got into the rhythm of camp. Only one camper was homesick, and he was better after the third day. Officer Barton, who was co-director of the camp, observed, "The kid's attitudes are different. They are sleeping better because they're not waking up to gunshots and police sirens."

Only a couple of minor incidents that could be described as racial/cultural friction erupted between campers. For the most part, campers and staff from diverse backgrounds and cultures lived and played with each other in friendship and brotherhood. This is what the Camping Unlimited experience is all about. Many tears were shed as the campers boarded the busses and left for south Florida.

The success of the Camping Unlimited program can be attributed to Officer Barton and the staff of the other agencies who selected children who would be successful in the camp environment. Another advantage of working with these youth-serving agencies is that they work with these children on a year-round basis and can use the camp program as an incentive for good school performance and positive behavior. Blue Star Camps is looking forward to seeing many of the same kids next summer. The camp believes Officer Barton was correct when he said, "The kids have expressed a lot of love. This is going to have an impact on all of them for the rest of their lives."

Eric Brown, twelve, of Sunrise, Florida, observed, "The environment is different. I like the scenery here. There's no Mom and Dad to go to, but there's a freedom, and I don't have my older sister to fight with." Eric said that he appreciated having the camp paid for and the opportunity to make new friends. He said, "There's a good feeling. We're sharing our joy."

The success of the program at Blue Star included three elements: (1) a camp that was willing to open its doors; (2) financial support from foundations and companies; and (3) youth-serving agencies like Barton's Boosters. Blue Star Camps hopes that other camps in the country will be willing to find the financial support to open their doors so they too can make a difference in a child's life. As Officer Barton says, "If you can save one kid, you can save a generation."

William A. Becker, Ed.D., is an associate professor in the department of recreation and leisure studies at Georgia Southern University.

Rodger Popkin is owner and director of Blue Star Camps in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

COPYRIGHT 1998 American Camping Association
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