Building Young Lives Through Camping

This is a first-hand story from Ben Stenhaug, one of our youth camp counselors at YMCA Camp Streefland. Ben's story shows the effect YMCA camps can have on young lives. As you read along, remember back to when you were that age, and see if a smile doesn't cross your face!

John is respectful, responsible, honest, caring, and his main goal at camp is to have as much fun as he possibly can. As his counselor my job is to assist in this quest for fun while still ensuring his safety. John makes balancing that line difficult; being the adventurous type, he’s been seen up to his knees in the lake, known to run off chasing a frog, and tackling less aggressive players in our group's weekly football game. During the three weeks I’ve been with John, I’ve become more understanding of his behavior and more able to connect with him.

On a routine Thursday afternoon, John broke Camp Streefland’s primary rule: he ran away from his counselor. He didn’t run away from me to make me worry or to make my job more difficult. He ran away because chasing frogs is fun. A few minutes later when I tracked John down I was prepared to scold him, but looking at the situation through John’s eyes reveals his innocence. Of course I had to make sure he didn’t run away from me again, but I didn’t feel like being too harsh when he was simply trying to have a little fun at Camp. After all, that’s what Camp Streefland is all about. Instead of yelling at him I pulled him aside and had a valuable conversation with him. “John! Why did you run away from me? You know that’s not okay.” I asked. “I caught a huge frog, sorry, I knew right where you would be,” he responded. John was right. Being a veteran camper he knew right where the pool is and there is no doubt that John would have showed up in his swim suit a few minutes later if his detour went unnoticed. After a few unimportant questions I arrived at a compelling response. “Do you act up like this at school,” I asked. “Yeah, I’m a bad kid at school, my teachers don’t like me - I got six detentions last year” he responded. “But you’re such a good kid at camp. How come you listen to me but not your teachers?” I asked. His response still warms my heart, “You’re cool, you are way better than my teachers, you are the best.” That’s the moment it occurred to me that if I am simply helping my campers have a fun time a golden opportunity has been missed.

These kids look up to me, they listen to everything I tell them. I have an opportunity that parents and teachers don’t have. It comes from being “cool” in the campers eyes. I’m “cool” in the campers eyes because parents are attempting to raise a good kid, while teachers are trying to force feed education to these kids, I’m simply trying to have fun with them. It may also stem from my long white Nike shorts and 18 year old physique, but regardless of the reason, the opportunity remains. My words, the messages I send, mean much more than anyone else’s. So I explained to John that his teacher isn’t trying to make his life difficult, his teacher is trying help him. I explained to him that his teachers are trying to make him smarter so he can truly be whatever he wants to be. I explained to a second grader the importance of education. I don’t think he really understood the implications of my thirty second message, but I do know that he was listening and that he trusts me. To make sure that my message was received I asked, “Will you try to be a good kid at school?” The conversation ended with John responding “It’s hard, I can try.” I tapped him on the shoulder and he ran excitedly towards the pool. From then on I’ve had two goals at camp. The primary goal is always safe fun, but the second and more important goal is make my campers better people outside of camp. That is what Camp Streefland means to me; an opportunity to enrich the lives of the campers in as many ways as possible. In the short run it means fun, in the long run it means making them better people.

Not too long ago I was a camper. I wish my counselor would have sent that message to me. I’ve lived in Apple Valley, Minnesota my entire life. I attended Greenleaf and Echo Park elementary where I caused my share of havoc. I continued on to Falcon Ridge Middle School and eventually through Apple Valley High School where I did well enough to be accepted at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Next week I will be starting a new adventure as I move to Madison.

Through the years I’ve played tennis, basketball, badminton, and football. I enjoy reading, and my intended major is economics. The best investment in our future is education. If I can help my campers be a little bit better students and better people I’ve done my job as a Camp Streefland counselor.

Building a Downtown Community!

On June 25, 2008 at Joe’s Garage the Downtown YMCA showed people that it is more than just a fitness facility, by hosting the first annual “Wines of the World, the World of the YMCA” wine-tasting event. Proceeds raised went to support the YMCA’s mission to build strong kids, strong families, and strong communities. Last year, the Downtown YMCA gave $280,000.00 in membership financial assistance, $22,000.00 in child care financial assistance and $5,000.00 in Youth leadership financial assistance.

What else did we do that night? A community was built- a community of new friends that share a common interest. Healthy people taking time to learn the names of people they see everyday. People who they may not have known have children, long hair or learned to swim at a YMCA. People they see now and can greet by first name. Relationships were taken to a new level…friendships with common interests were formed. A new swim partner, runner partner or coffee date. This was just a few of the things that happened that night.

A successful first annual “friend”raising event...we raised $17,000.00 + dollars. We raised awareness of the mission of the YMCA, and we built a community of philanthropy at the Downtown YMCA.

Please join us for our second annual Wine-Tasting event next year, June 25, 2009 from 4:30-8:00 p.m. at Joe’s Garage. I guaranteed this year’s event to be the event of the year and it was. I will guarantee it again for 2009! See you there!

Jim Cook - Blaisdell Community Hero

The Blaisdell YMCA celebrates Jim Cook as this week's Community Hero. Cook (pictured in the middle, with Blaisdell Executive Director Mike Melstad, left, and John Meegan, Vice Chair of the Community Board, right), a member of the Community Board for three years, has been a pivotal volunteer for his neighborhood Y.

"Anything that needs fixing, Jim can find a solution," says Mike Melstad, Executive Director of the Blaisdell Y. "Jim is the most known guy on the South side. He's a wonderful ambassador and he can always find the right path."

Jim retired as Director of the Sabathani Community Center in 2006, and is still building on the great relationships he developed during his nearly 30 years with that organization. His solid community connections have helped generate even more support for the Blaisdell Y. A member of the Y since 1980, Jim was more than willing and able to step into a board member role.

"It's because of my experience at Sabathani that I have developed relationships with people of means and people with needs," Jim explains. "I help them connect the dots. The Y is an important dot and a catalyst for building this wonderful community we all see."

Jim, a quintessential team player, assisted Blaisdell in meeting its 2008 Y-Partners goal of $143,300. These funds help the Blaisdell Y maintain its charitable mission of ensuring that no one is turned away from Y programs or services because of an inability to pay a fee. Dollars raised also support other Y initiatives designed to help kids, adults and seniors develop healthy spirits, minds and bodies.

John Meegan, Vice Chair of the Blaisdell Board, says Jim is a great example to other volunteers. "This has been the best board I ever served on and it's because the whole board is as committed and as high-caliber as Jim."

Southdale YMCA + World Harmony Run= Great Story!

Two weeks ago, the Summer Power program at Southdale had an exciting opportunity to take part in a community outreach event with a group called World Harmony Run. World Harmony Run is an international torch relay devoted to advancing friendship and harmony between individuals and nations. This year, diverse international teams of runners will carry a flaming torch over 30,000 miles/48,000 km through more than 100 countries around the globe.

The kids learned that “harmony begins with me” and that everyone makes a difference to build a strong team. The group told the kids that they ran from Shakopee this morning and try to run 100 miles per day. The group sang their theme song and each child was able to hold the torch.

Pictures were taken of the kids by World Harmony Run and are now posted on their website at http://www.worldharmonyrun.org/. Once you click on their website, scroll down to USA and click on 18 July, Mankato to Minneapolis. You can also view more pictures that Jenna took on her camera while they were here in the hallway by the Summer Power classroom.

Another YMCA Success Story!

The following is a testimonial from a participant in our YMCA Multicultural Achievers program. It shows once again the kind of impact the YMCA makes in the lives of young people in our communities. It comes to us from Fatima Muhammad, who referred Bre'Andra to an aviation camp. You can just feel the excitement and enthusiasm in Bre'Andra's words when writing about the camp. Enjoy!

Ms. Fatima,

This week at aviation camp was so much fun! It was a really organized camp so we were never bored. Everyone was great and all of the counselors were in college studying aviation except for two adults who had already graduated. The leader was a woman who flies an Airbus for NWA. The other lady was an air traffic controller. We were able to go into the air traffic control tower, where they explained to us how everything worked and how to talk the pilot about things like how to avoid storms.

I had the opportunity to fly a glider, airplane, helicopter, and a 747 simulator! We even got to fly in the C- 130 with the Air Force and were allowed to go into the cockpit while they were flying! They also had a Tuskegee Airman come in and talk to us, and he was my favorite speaker.

These are only some of the things we did. We also went to the airport where the planes flew and watched their departures. That was the first time I've ever seen a 747 and that thing is HUGE!!!! We went to where the mechanics made airplanes and where they created models of the airplanes. We saw the 3M office and went on their private jets that can fly up to 5100 feet – they even had leather toilets!!! We got to see where the flight attendants do their training, and also went to where the airport's firefighters stayed at, where we got in a simulator that fills up with smoke and you can’t even see your hands in front of your face! The trainer let me put out a fire, but I had to put on this astronaut-looking thing that holds in fresh air.

Yesterday was our graduation ceremony and we met even more pilots! This camp gave us so much information and I have so many cards - the lead counselor gave me her card and said I could call her whenever I need her help - even if it's 5 years from now she'll be glad to help me out. But overall it was really fun and I thank you so much for helping me out with this. I either will go to North Dakota, St. Cloud or go into the Air Force ROTC program, but whatever I do I know for sure I want to be a pilot. On July 28th I’m going to Oshkosh for an event for all women who love aviation. They're trying to get 3,000 woman pilots from all over the country to come!! If all of them come, it would be in the book of world records! If you want to check it out go to www.eaa.org, then go to the Women Soar icon.

Again thank you so much and I'll continue to keep you updated!
- Bre'Andra Beamon

YMCA Scholarship Recipient Nidal Kram

Nidal Kram, one of this year's recipients of the YMCA Laxson Scholarship, was the subject of a recent interview on Minnesota Public Radio. You can read all about Nidal's remarkable story (including a link to the radio interview) here!

Water Safety Week at the YMCA

We live in a state famous for all its lakes, not to mention our many ponds, rivers, creeks—and backyard swimming pools! It’s definitely a place where water safety is important, especially for children. Statistics point out that children from minority and immigrant backgrounds are the most vulnerable to drowning and water accidents.

The Minneapolis YMCA is doing something about that! You may know that the Y invented organized lessons more than a century ago, and that our local YMCAs teach thousands of people of all ages to swim every year. But did you know that in partnership with Hawkins Inc., a locally-based chemical firm, the YMCA offers water safety lessons to more than a thousand Twin Cities kids each summer? And that those lessons are free to all the kids?

Some of the children participating in this year’s water safety courses had never been in a pool. Many begin with lots of fear and trepidation, but by the end of the week they’re brimming with new confidence and big smiles! Most important they’ve learned basic water safety skills that build a foundation for a lifetime of safe swimming, good exercise, and lots of fun. Thank you, Hawkins, for helping the YMCA provide this critically-needed service to our community.