Community Connection
  

Auberle Kids Experience Many “Firsts” on an Overnight
Camping Trip

Spring is a good time for camping, and for Auberle youth, this spring’s camping trip was a very rewarding experience. They participated in the usual activities: canoeing, fishing, high ropes course, archery, campfires and more. For many of these young men, these activities were “firsts”. There were kids who caught their first fish. There were a lot of kids who climbed their first rock wall and definitely a lot of first timers to zip down a 100-foot zip line. To the surprise of staff, many had never been in a canoe.

What made this trip especially interesting was meal preparation. Staff members always ask for kids to volunteer to help with the cooking. Staff was both surprised and pleased that more than half of the campers raised their hands with an interest to help.

Two of the kids on this spring’s trip were currently participating in the Auberle Culinary Program. They really expressed an interest in helping to do the cooking of every meal, had fun doing it and did an exceptional job. Ralph Wagley, Therapeutic Recreation Coordinator, said, “Breakfast caught my eye. For a group of 20, the culinary students made hash browns and personal egg orders for everyone in camp. Some wanted their eggs over easy, some wanted omelets and some wanted cheesy eggs. They were able to meet everyone’s needs and do it in a timely fashion. It is interesting to note that the kids chose to eat as a group and cleaned up with little to no prompting.”

It can’t be said enough that seeing Auberle youth in an environment outside of Auberle is very fulfilling. It is some of the little things that the rest of the world takes for granted that Auberle kids would not normally experience. With help, they do experience them, learn from them and grow as a result.

Following are pictures and excerpts from the thank you notes that the kids wrote.



Some excerpts from the kids' thank you notes:

I had never been to camp. There were a lot of things I never did, like the zip line. At first, I was not going to do it until Mr. Vince did. Another cool thing was getting to help cook breakfast. I enjoyed that because I like to cook. Last of all was fishing. I liked that even though I didn’t catch anything. I still enjoyed it because I never really did that.

- Shawn

I liked everything at camp, but I liked fishing most. I caught 5 small mouth bass. That was my fourth time there. I liked the zip line too, and boating. Hopefully next time we can do the whole high ropes course.

- Dylan M.

I liked the camping trip because of the various activities. I like most of them. I went fishing 3 times and never caught a fish! I like the zip line and the rock climbing. We also roasted marshmallows and we had fun.

- Kwame