One of the many advantages of being a larger organization that operates a diverse range of programming is the ability to provide a wide variety of opportunities to the people we serve. For the Y, scale doesn’t simply mean size, it more importantly means opportunity.
To illustrate the point, ten high school students from the Academy of College and Career Exploration (ACCE) in the Baltimore City neighborhood of Hampden, one of the Y’s 24 Community Schools, were provided the opportunity to work as junior counselors at Y Camp Puh'tok this summer. I think it’s fair to say that they wouldn’t have even known of that opportunity if they hadn’t already been engaged in a Y program.
As a reminder, Y Community Schools are located in neighborhoods that have a high concentration of poverty and limited assets. A highly-skilled Y associate (often a social worker) is placed in each school to coordinate the resources needed to remove barriers to learning (like providing daily meals to address hunger, as well as facilitating enriching experiences which will help students succeed in life post-graduation).
The opportunity to learn valuable job and social skills, get out of the hot city on a daily basis, and help many happy campers made for a productive and enriching summer!
Below is an excerpt from the ACCE newsletter about the students' experience, written by Principal D'Ambrosio.
ACCE Students Spend Summer at Camp Puh'Tok
Over the course of the summer, ACCE students have learned new skills while working with the Y in Central Maryland at Y Camp Puh'Tok in Monkton, Maryland. A total of 10 students worked as Junior Counselors in the woods of Camp Puh'Tok over two sessions. During their employment they learned engaging arts and crafts activities, spent time hiking, learned about CPR and First Aid, and worked with younger campers. Overall, the students had a wonderful time expanding their boundaries and exploring new opportunities. Parents started to notice the positive change in their ACCE students as well! One ACCE Parent reflected that her student is more patient and able to take the skills she is learning with the arts and crafts and do them at home with her younger nieces. ACCE Senior Angelia Faulk stated, "I enjoyed the Zip Lining and all the different age groups I worked with!" We are incredibly proud of all of the students who participated in Camp Puh'Tok and we look forward to next summer!
Hats off to Abby Baldwin, the Y Community Schools Site Director at ACCE, for facilitating this excellent experience for her students. I am confident it will be a long remembered and treasured experience which could well set them on a path of lifelong appreciation for nature and for helping children to do the same. Well done, Abby!
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland