Apologies for the delay - the end of the trip was rushed with packing and driving and then heading back home from Columbus to PA.
The high school freshmen who came on Friday were interesting to say the least. There were just around 100 of them, with four teachers from the Esko high school, just about 5-8 minutes away from the camp. They were split up in groups of 25, and rotated through four stations - moving and splitting the logs we had moved on Thursday, making wooden nametags for the summer campers, making birthday cards for the campers, and going through an educational session about One Heartland with Jill. They were full of energy and questions ("Do you have class with Tyrell Pyror?" was a common one, actually) and we were worn out by the time they left at 2:00. We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the camp and finishing up projects that we had been working on all week. After dinner, we did our final reflection session, talking about what we had learned from the camp experience, and what our favorite parts of the week were. A huge thing we discussed was what we could do when we get back in Columbus to help. We had decided that, in the case of most campers, HIV/AIDS wasn't the biggest concern for them or their families - poverty was. We're going to attempt to do a group service day at the Columbus Boys and Girls Club sometime during winter quarter, to do something for the underprivledged youth of Columbus.
Saturday involved getting up at 3:30 am, leaving at 4:00 am and driving back to Columbus. Ironically, our Minnesota trip was the only Buck-i-Serv trip that didn't get caught in a huge snow storm on our drive back.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and I think more than a few of the trip participants are going to join OSU's Students for Camp Heartland organization, in addition to toying with the idea of volunteering as a counselor for even just a week this summer.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Days Four and Five!
Disclaimer: I'm exhausted and I have a decent amount of pictures, so I'm not going to be writing much; hopefully the pictures speak for themselves!
Day Four was simply our day off, and our trip to the Mall of America. We were able to sleep in, and we got to the mall around 1:00. We spent four and a half hours on our own in the mall - some of us saw a movie, some of us finished our Christmas shopping, and some of us just wandered around the Mall. We wrapped up our day with group dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, which was nice.
Today was a day of a lot of work. We spent this morning addressing and writing Christmas cards to all the families that help with one of their camps in New York, and then finished up our Christmas cards that we helped make for the families that attend camp (all 170 of them for the Minnesota sessions). After lunch, the real tough work began - three hours of moving trees that had been cut down. There were around 20 oak trees in camp that were affected with (and died from) oak wilt and had to be cut down because of the danger of them falling down in a windstorm. These trees had been cut up into smaller portions, which we moved and split, using a wood splitter. In addition to that, we also moved all of the branches (which were the size of small trees) into the woods, making brush piles for animals. It was hard work, but it was kind of fun; because it was 15-20 degrees outside and we were constantly moving, we didn't get cold and were able to stay outside (working up a decent sweat) for the entire time.
Tonight a few of us drove to Duluth (which is about an hour north of Willow River) to see a huge display of Christmas lights called Bentleyville. Jill and Fels (the camp director and a camp employee) had been there last night, and recommended that a) we go and b) that we bring ice skates, because there is a giant free ice rink outside of the light display. Duluth seems like a really awesome city, and the lights display was really fun, and the skating was cold, but also a fun time.
Tomorrow come the 100 high school freshman - should be interesting, exhausting, and a blast.
Day Four was simply our day off, and our trip to the Mall of America. We were able to sleep in, and we got to the mall around 1:00. We spent four and a half hours on our own in the mall - some of us saw a movie, some of us finished our Christmas shopping, and some of us just wandered around the Mall. We wrapped up our day with group dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, which was nice.
Today was a day of a lot of work. We spent this morning addressing and writing Christmas cards to all the families that help with one of their camps in New York, and then finished up our Christmas cards that we helped make for the families that attend camp (all 170 of them for the Minnesota sessions). After lunch, the real tough work began - three hours of moving trees that had been cut down. There were around 20 oak trees in camp that were affected with (and died from) oak wilt and had to be cut down because of the danger of them falling down in a windstorm. These trees had been cut up into smaller portions, which we moved and split, using a wood splitter. In addition to that, we also moved all of the branches (which were the size of small trees) into the woods, making brush piles for animals. It was hard work, but it was kind of fun; because it was 15-20 degrees outside and we were constantly moving, we didn't get cold and were able to stay outside (working up a decent sweat) for the entire time.
Tonight a few of us drove to Duluth (which is about an hour north of Willow River) to see a huge display of Christmas lights called Bentleyville. Jill and Fels (the camp director and a camp employee) had been there last night, and recommended that a) we go and b) that we bring ice skates, because there is a giant free ice rink outside of the light display. Duluth seems like a really awesome city, and the lights display was really fun, and the skating was cold, but also a fun time.
Tomorrow come the 100 high school freshman - should be interesting, exhausting, and a blast.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Day Three!
Another day of small, organizational projects here at Camp Heartland. We started off the morning by unloading a donation of food from Sara Lee, which meant getting bundled up and braving the -2 degree weather (with a windchill in the negative teens!). Next we started prepping the camp facilities for Friday, when 100 local high school freshman (yes, that's 100 thirteen and fourteen year olds!) are coming to do a massive volunteer day as a part of their health class. That involved mopping the entire basement of the camp and then setting up enough tables and chairs.
We then moved on to what we thought would be a pretty simple project - testing out the art supplies in the arts and crafts room, to make sure they all worked (the 100 freshmen are going to be making birthday cards for the campers at one of their volunteer stations). That involved testing around 1000 markers to make sure they still worked, unclogging all the glue bottles and refilling them with glue, sharpening 100's of colored pencils, and then organizing the entire craft room. It wasn't the simple project that we imagined, but it was great, because all ten of us spent the entire morning in one room, joking around as we scribbled with markers and performed surgery to remove clots on glue bottle caps.
After lunch we split up to accomplish a few smaller tasks. Some of us folded laundry, some of us organized the quilts in the basement, some of us spackled dents in the wall from recliners during the summer, and some of us headed outside to load books into a van - One Heartland (the parent organization of Camp Heartland) gets so many donations that they donate what they can't use, which I think shows how interconnected service organizations are. We spent the rest of the afternoon back in the arts and crafts room, making holiday cards to send out to the families of the campers. Again, all of ten of us were in a room, singing to Christmas songs and generally having a really great time. I'm still amazed at how close a group of nine students and one advisor can get so close in such a short amount of time while doing service.
We sat around after dinner and did a short reflection, focusing on what service actually is. Kristen (my co-leader) and I felt that this was important to discuss, because it would be easy to think that sharpening colored pencils and setting up tables doesn't do anything to directly effect the children that come to camp in the summer. However, the fact that we can do this kind of jobs frees up Jill (again, the camp director) to be able to work on paperwork, phone calls, and all the types of things that allow camp to go on in the summer. No one on the trip thought that what we were doing was unimportant, which really speaks to the character of everyone on the trip. We also chatted about what made us decide to go on a Buck-i-Serv trip; I thought it was fantastic that most of our motivation was just because we all like to do service.
Reflection was followed by one of the most intense games of Catchphrase I've ever played, then more movie watching. Day Four (which is actually day) is our day off and our trip to the Mall of America - should be a good time.
We then moved on to what we thought would be a pretty simple project - testing out the art supplies in the arts and crafts room, to make sure they all worked (the 100 freshmen are going to be making birthday cards for the campers at one of their volunteer stations). That involved testing around 1000 markers to make sure they still worked, unclogging all the glue bottles and refilling them with glue, sharpening 100's of colored pencils, and then organizing the entire craft room. It wasn't the simple project that we imagined, but it was great, because all ten of us spent the entire morning in one room, joking around as we scribbled with markers and performed surgery to remove clots on glue bottle caps.
After lunch we split up to accomplish a few smaller tasks. Some of us folded laundry, some of us organized the quilts in the basement, some of us spackled dents in the wall from recliners during the summer, and some of us headed outside to load books into a van - One Heartland (the parent organization of Camp Heartland) gets so many donations that they donate what they can't use, which I think shows how interconnected service organizations are. We spent the rest of the afternoon back in the arts and crafts room, making holiday cards to send out to the families of the campers. Again, all of ten of us were in a room, singing to Christmas songs and generally having a really great time. I'm still amazed at how close a group of nine students and one advisor can get so close in such a short amount of time while doing service.
We sat around after dinner and did a short reflection, focusing on what service actually is. Kristen (my co-leader) and I felt that this was important to discuss, because it would be easy to think that sharpening colored pencils and setting up tables doesn't do anything to directly effect the children that come to camp in the summer. However, the fact that we can do this kind of jobs frees up Jill (again, the camp director) to be able to work on paperwork, phone calls, and all the types of things that allow camp to go on in the summer. No one on the trip thought that what we were doing was unimportant, which really speaks to the character of everyone on the trip. We also chatted about what made us decide to go on a Buck-i-Serv trip; I thought it was fantastic that most of our motivation was just because we all like to do service.
Reflection was followed by one of the most intense games of Catchphrase I've ever played, then more movie watching. Day Four (which is actually day) is our day off and our trip to the Mall of America - should be a good time.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Day Two!
Today was a much looooonger day of service here at Camp Heartland. We worked on a lot of organizational projects today, getting the camp back in order after a summer (and fall) of camp sessions. We organized a closet of a million different types of paint - I honestly had no idea there was so much variety, other than exterior/interior! We moved a whole closet of sleeping bags, and organized the entire "drama closet", which is essentially all of the costumes used all summer. And that was all before lunch!
After lunch, we braved the Minnesota winter for the first time, as half of the group moved shelves, televisions, and food from an outside storage facility into the camp. The rest of us worked on washing two solid days of dishes, since the kitchen's hot water heater had been broken the past two days. After we had finished working on organizing parts of the main camp, we moved out to the shower houses and organized all of the towels, sheets, and ot
her laundry-related things out there. The winter weather here is cold, but (at least today), it seemed to be just as cold as winter in Ohio. Though, the wind chill tomorrow is supposed to be around -20, so we'll be staying inside all day tomorrow.Tonight is another night of movies, hot chocolate, and getting to know each other better. Everyone on the trip has reached a nice level of comfort with each other; the conversation flows really easily and we usually wrap up each meal cracking up.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Day One!
Our first day at Camp Heartland was a relaxing one. We were allowed to sleep in, and then had a fantastic brunch. After that, Jill (the camp director), gave us an overview of the history of Camp Heartland. This was after a tour of the camp - it's a little like being at summer camp when we stay here, what with bunk beds and wooden nametags and such. Except, y'know, it's -2 degrees outside. After the tour we watched two films as a group - one which was a short documentary (produced by the founder of Camp Heartland) about a woman and her two sons and how a family lives with HIV/AIDS. The woman, a close friend to Camp Heartland founder Neil, was infected with the virus by her ex-husband, and passed the virus on to her youngest son. The film consisted of interviews with both sons and the mother, interspersed with scenes from their life; arguments over medications, the two boys playing together, and the mother discussing how she hoped to live the rest of her life.
The little boy with AIDS, Nile, was the first camper at Camp Heartland in 1993. Just this pass year, Jill informed us, he was married, with Neil being in his wedding. It was a nice reminder of how difficult HIV/AIDS is to manage on a daily basis, and also a reminder of how much medical treatment of the disease has progressed in 17 years. The second video was a slideshow of pictures and video from the camp sessions in the summer - a completely different experience from the first video. Jill also spoke to us about how One Heartland (the organization that manages the camp) has expanded to a family based camp in New York. and a two week session in Malibu, California. In addition, since their campers have grown so old (because fewer children are being born with HIV), they have expanded their focus to more groups of children with special needs, including camps for runaways from the Twin Cities, homeless children, children who have Crohn's disease, and children with seve
re allergies.
We spent the rest of the afteroon working on organizational projects around the camp:
- organizing the sheets, blankets, and towels for the main lodge
- organizing all the clothes that the camp has to give to campers who don't have enough clothes for camp
- organizing the closet of board games
After dinner, we had a little bit of group reflection, talking about our reactions to the films we watched and learning about the camp as well as talking about our experience on the trip so far. We then played Scategories as a group, and are now watching movies or working on some arts and crafts for the camp.
It's been great!
re allergies.We spent the rest of the afteroon working on organizational projects around the camp:
- organizing the sheets, blankets, and towels for the main lodge
- organizing all the clothes that the camp has to give to campers who don't have enough clothes for camp
- organizing the closet of board games
After dinner, we had a little bit of group reflection, talking about our reactions to the films we watched and learning about the camp as well as talking about our experience on the trip so far. We then played Scategories as a group, and are now watching movies or working on some arts and crafts for the camp.
It's been great!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
We're Here!
15 hours in a 12-passenger van, and we've arrive (all 10 of us) safe and sound at Camp Heartland! Not much more to say, other than I need to relax and get some sleep!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Last week!
Thursday was our last training session as a cohort of trip leaders. It was a relaxing, even slightly informal meeting. We went over some last minute details (where to pick up our van, where to pick up the sweatshirts for participants, etc.) and discussed reflection on the trip for a little bit. We ended the meeting by hearing a 3-5 minute presentation from every trip leader pairing on their trip. I loved it. I know my trip pretty well, because I was a participant last year, but it was so interesting to hear about all the other trips, which, honestly, I didn't know that much about. The only downer was hearing about how a lot of trips are going to go to the beach in their spare time - the weather forecast says it will be around a 7 degree windchill when we get to Minnesota!
This Saturday, the majority of the trip was able to meet up at Donato's and just hang out; it's nice to get to know people on your trip before you spend 14 hours in a van with them. Everyone seems really relaxed, I think it's going to be a great trip.
We leave on Saturday at 6:00 am! I'll be updating the blog a lot more once we get there, complete with pictures and everything.
This Saturday, the majority of the trip was able to meet up at Donato's and just hang out; it's nice to get to know people on your trip before you spend 14 hours in a van with them. Everyone seems really relaxed, I think it's going to be a great trip.
We leave on Saturday at 6:00 am! I'll be updating the blog a lot more once we get there, complete with pictures and everything.
Monday, November 23, 2009
On Being An Expert Citizen
This past Thursday, we had Dr. Don Stenta (stenta.1@osu.edu) speak to the trip leaders. In addition to developing leadership courses and a minor in leadership for the University, Dr. Stenta also has an appointment within the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. He talked with us (not at us, which is always nice) about the "link between leadership in service."
His main message was that just doing service is contributing to the status quo. Those who volunteer, especially college students, hae to do more work to understand and changed the social problems of our country. This involves understanding politics and how policy is made; I think this is something that college students avoid doing because we already have so much on our plate. We can barely handle o-chem, so on top of that, many of us don't want to put the effort into understand the complicated framework behind government policy. However, as Dr. Stenta emphasized, this is what's essential to truly helping: we have the resources out there to solve problems, but do we have the priorities? The question he posed was "Why is it okay to pay a football coach 3 million dollars? How many homes would that build? How many meals would that serve?" Dr. Stenta points to the fact that we lack the knowledge about how the system works to explain why our priorities are so out of whack.
We watched this youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVVu54z5ys) about the American Civil Literacy test, and then took a civic engagement quiz, to begin to understand out own connection to American policy and political activism (which has a radical connotation, but can be as simple as wearing a button to support a certain candidate). All the trip leaders also recieved a list of ideas to increase civil and electorial activity, which is what we're going to focus on after the trip. What conversations/actions can occur AFTER the trip that make this more than just a one-shot service opportunity?
20 days until we leave for Camp Heartland!
His main message was that just doing service is contributing to the status quo. Those who volunteer, especially college students, hae to do more work to understand and changed the social problems of our country. This involves understanding politics and how policy is made; I think this is something that college students avoid doing because we already have so much on our plate. We can barely handle o-chem, so on top of that, many of us don't want to put the effort into understand the complicated framework behind government policy. However, as Dr. Stenta emphasized, this is what's essential to truly helping: we have the resources out there to solve problems, but do we have the priorities? The question he posed was "Why is it okay to pay a football coach 3 million dollars? How many homes would that build? How many meals would that serve?" Dr. Stenta points to the fact that we lack the knowledge about how the system works to explain why our priorities are so out of whack.
We watched this youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVVu54z5ys) about the American Civil Literacy test, and then took a civic engagement quiz, to begin to understand out own connection to American policy and political activism (which has a radical connotation, but can be as simple as wearing a button to support a certain candidate). All the trip leaders also recieved a list of ideas to increase civil and electorial activity, which is what we're going to focus on after the trip. What conversations/actions can occur AFTER the trip that make this more than just a one-shot service opportunity?
20 days until we leave for Camp Heartland!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Two week update
For the past two weeks, there hasn't been a lot of planning concerning the trip going on. The make-up of the trip participants has changed slightly, just because people's plans have changed, but the new participants seem to be a lot of fun. Two weeks ago, our training focused on getting to know our co-leader better by playing a version of the Newlywed Game. Kristen and I were SO close to winning!
This past week, we had representatives from the Multicultural Center (http://mcc.osu.edu) come and speak to us about the different identities that all of us have, whether it be race, gender, socioeconomic level, sexual orientation, or anything else. Understanding our own identities helps us to become better leaders, and also will help to realize that every person on our trip - participants or the people we work with at Camp Heartland - have their own set of personal identities that define who they are. It was a really great chance to get to learn a lot about our co-leader, in addition to learning a lot about some leaders from the other trips. It's cool how the trip trainings have created a community between the leaders for all of the trips.
Outside of trainings, all of the leaders for all of the trips have had to write to op-ed pieces in the form of letters to the editor; one concerning the issue that our trip is addressing, and one on an issue of our choosing. I wrote mine on how poverty changes the way that HIV/AIDS affects people and another on how public schools don't deserve much of the criticism that is leveled against them. These op-eds will be used in next week's training, which is on being an "expert citizen."
This past week, we had representatives from the Multicultural Center (http://mcc.osu.edu) come and speak to us about the different identities that all of us have, whether it be race, gender, socioeconomic level, sexual orientation, or anything else. Understanding our own identities helps us to become better leaders, and also will help to realize that every person on our trip - participants or the people we work with at Camp Heartland - have their own set of personal identities that define who they are. It was a really great chance to get to learn a lot about our co-leader, in addition to learning a lot about some leaders from the other trips. It's cool how the trip trainings have created a community between the leaders for all of the trips.
Outside of trainings, all of the leaders for all of the trips have had to write to op-ed pieces in the form of letters to the editor; one concerning the issue that our trip is addressing, and one on an issue of our choosing. I wrote mine on how poverty changes the way that HIV/AIDS affects people and another on how public schools don't deserve much of the criticism that is leveled against them. These op-eds will be used in next week's training, which is on being an "expert citizen."
Friday, October 30, 2009
Participants, pizza, presentations
Kristen and I finally got to meet our trip participants last night! All seven of them were able to show up, so it was nice to start to get a sense of what the trip dynamic would be like. Everyone seems very laid back, which is perfect for the type of service trip that Camp Heartland is. What is also nice about our group is that there's a wide range of ages - I think we have two freshman, two sophomores, a junior, and two seniors. We got to know one another while going over basic trip logistics and snacking on pizza, all the while getting more and more excited about the trip!
Our main activity was listening to a speaker who came from a local organization which worked with our issue. We heard from Shaun Whybark, who is a MSM HIV Prevention Specialist with the Columbus AIDS Task Force. Our trip was paired with the trip heading to Project Lazarus, which is a hospice care facility in New Orleans that treats AIDS patients.
To begin the presentation, Shaun asked us why were participating on our respective trips. It was amazing how quickly we were all able to enter into having serious, personal conversations about our own motivations for service, especially after only just meeting each other! It was striking how similar responses were; even if someone said a reason that they thought no one else was going to say, someone always piped in with "Oh, me too!"
Shaun gave us what was essentially an HIV 101 session - disease information, testing information, information about the ways HIV is passed, and information about what treatment is like. It wasn't so much a lecture, but an open, guided discussion. We talked about what our perceptions of HIV/AIDS are and how those perceptions have changed between three generations. Shaun said one of the most truthful summaries of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, "With understanding comes complacency" that really underscored the educational aspect of these service trips for me. It was a safe environment to ask questions about what we had heard about HIV/AIDS and have those rumors either denied or confirmed (mostly denied).
It was really powerful to hear about HIV/AIDS in our own backyard. I think that most people acknowledge that we, in the United States, are still dealing with AIDS epidemic, but have relegated it in our minds to a disease of the developing world. CATF is doing so much to spread awareness in our own community, and they do it with just five staff members.
After the presentation, we held a quick (under 5 minute) meeting with our participants, answering any last-minute questions and making early plans for a potluck to get to know each other even better before the trip.
For more information about CATF, check out their website at http://www.catf.net. In addtion, they are holding fundraisers at local restauraunts on World AIDS Day (Dec. 1); check out http://www.reasontodine.com for information on that program.
Our main activity was listening to a speaker who came from a local organization which worked with our issue. We heard from Shaun Whybark, who is a MSM HIV Prevention Specialist with the Columbus AIDS Task Force. Our trip was paired with the trip heading to Project Lazarus, which is a hospice care facility in New Orleans that treats AIDS patients.
To begin the presentation, Shaun asked us why were participating on our respective trips. It was amazing how quickly we were all able to enter into having serious, personal conversations about our own motivations for service, especially after only just meeting each other! It was striking how similar responses were; even if someone said a reason that they thought no one else was going to say, someone always piped in with "Oh, me too!"
Shaun gave us what was essentially an HIV 101 session - disease information, testing information, information about the ways HIV is passed, and information about what treatment is like. It wasn't so much a lecture, but an open, guided discussion. We talked about what our perceptions of HIV/AIDS are and how those perceptions have changed between three generations. Shaun said one of the most truthful summaries of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, "With understanding comes complacency" that really underscored the educational aspect of these service trips for me. It was a safe environment to ask questions about what we had heard about HIV/AIDS and have those rumors either denied or confirmed (mostly denied).
It was really powerful to hear about HIV/AIDS in our own backyard. I think that most people acknowledge that we, in the United States, are still dealing with AIDS epidemic, but have relegated it in our minds to a disease of the developing world. CATF is doing so much to spread awareness in our own community, and they do it with just five staff members.
After the presentation, we held a quick (under 5 minute) meeting with our participants, answering any last-minute questions and making early plans for a potluck to get to know each other even better before the trip.
For more information about CATF, check out their website at http://www.catf.net. In addtion, they are holding fundraisers at local restauraunts on World AIDS Day (Dec. 1); check out http://www.reasontodine.com for information on that program.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
What have we done so far?
The planning of our trip to Camp Heartland has been going on for just about two weeks now, so I'm going to do my best to summarize everything that's gone on so far.
All of the trip leaders (there are 11 total Buck-i-Serv trips happening during winter break) meet every Thursday night to get direction on planning our trips and facilitating the discussions and participant dynamics that may occur on our trips. The first meeting involved meeting your co-leader (all trips, with the exception of one, have two trip leaders) and beginning the discussion of the goals for the trip.
Kristen and I talked a lot about how we want our trip to be educational in nature. We're dealing with a sensitive and current issue (HIV/AIDS), and we really want to create and environment on our trip which fosters learning about the issues that children affected by HIV deal with. The reason that it was necessary to immediately begin discussing what kind of trip we wanted was because we were picking our trip participants over the course of the next week.
The selection process for applicants was more difficult that either Kristen and I had anticipated. We were given blind applications with just basic information - year, major, etc. We found ourselves looking to questions which showed what a participant could bring to the trip - a willingness to become educated, a sense of humor, and a desire to experience a new type of service trip. We're still not sure who are participants are (we find out during this Thursday's meeting).
The next trip leader meeting focused on pinning down the leadership strengths (and weaknesses) of the trip leaders. We completed a survey (facilitated by the Student Leadership Advocates - http://ohiounion.osu.edu/csls/sla.aspx) that alerted all of us to our strengths as leaders and also let us know what aspects of our leadership style to work on. I, myself, need to work on "inspiring a shared vision" as a leader - I think working to organize this Buck-i-Serv trip will be the perfect way to go about it.
Another thing that we began to discuss were trip logistics. The Camp Heartland trip is unique in that way - our entire trip is completely contained within the camp grounds, with the exception of a one-day trip to the Twin Cities and/or the Mall of America. Kristen and I have been talking a lot about what to do in our "down time" - how is our trip going to socialize in a contained environment? We also completed a leadership survey, which allowed us to tell our co-leader which aspects of the trip we would be best at leading. Luckily, we ended up picking strengths that the other co-leader didn't pick, complementing each other very well (so far!) on how we lead.
Additionally, I called Camp Heartland this week. Everything's set up for us to go ahead with our trip, and they're really excited to work with us - they've been working with other Alternative Break programs and have a long history with Ohio State's programs.
This upcoming week, we'll be meeting with our trip participants for the first time (hooray!) and listening to a speaker on our specific issue.
All of the trip leaders (there are 11 total Buck-i-Serv trips happening during winter break) meet every Thursday night to get direction on planning our trips and facilitating the discussions and participant dynamics that may occur on our trips. The first meeting involved meeting your co-leader (all trips, with the exception of one, have two trip leaders) and beginning the discussion of the goals for the trip.
Kristen and I talked a lot about how we want our trip to be educational in nature. We're dealing with a sensitive and current issue (HIV/AIDS), and we really want to create and environment on our trip which fosters learning about the issues that children affected by HIV deal with. The reason that it was necessary to immediately begin discussing what kind of trip we wanted was because we were picking our trip participants over the course of the next week.
The selection process for applicants was more difficult that either Kristen and I had anticipated. We were given blind applications with just basic information - year, major, etc. We found ourselves looking to questions which showed what a participant could bring to the trip - a willingness to become educated, a sense of humor, and a desire to experience a new type of service trip. We're still not sure who are participants are (we find out during this Thursday's meeting).
The next trip leader meeting focused on pinning down the leadership strengths (and weaknesses) of the trip leaders. We completed a survey (facilitated by the Student Leadership Advocates - http://ohiounion.osu.edu/csls/sla.aspx) that alerted all of us to our strengths as leaders and also let us know what aspects of our leadership style to work on. I, myself, need to work on "inspiring a shared vision" as a leader - I think working to organize this Buck-i-Serv trip will be the perfect way to go about it.
Another thing that we began to discuss were trip logistics. The Camp Heartland trip is unique in that way - our entire trip is completely contained within the camp grounds, with the exception of a one-day trip to the Twin Cities and/or the Mall of America. Kristen and I have been talking a lot about what to do in our "down time" - how is our trip going to socialize in a contained environment? We also completed a leadership survey, which allowed us to tell our co-leader which aspects of the trip we would be best at leading. Luckily, we ended up picking strengths that the other co-leader didn't pick, complementing each other very well (so far!) on how we lead.
Additionally, I called Camp Heartland this week. Everything's set up for us to go ahead with our trip, and they're really excited to work with us - they've been working with other Alternative Break programs and have a long history with Ohio State's programs.
This upcoming week, we'll be meeting with our trip participants for the first time (hooray!) and listening to a speaker on our specific issue.
What's this all about?
I was asked to write a blog about my experiences leading Buck-i-Serv trip this winter break as a part of the Pay It Forward initiative at Ohio State. So here it is. I've put together this list of questions to give a little bit of background on this experience.
Who are you?
My name is Antonette Hrycyk, and I'm a junior at The Ohio State University. I'm leading a Buck-i-Serv trip to Camp Heartland from December 13 - 19, where I spent part of my last winter break as a participant on the same trip.
What's Buck-i-Serv?
Buck-i-Serv (previously known as the Alternative Breaks Program) is a program run by the Ohio Union that provides an alternative way for college students to spend their breaks. Their vision: Through extended hands on service experiences in diverse places around the country and world, we aim to inspire student leaders to have life-long dedication to service to others and social justice activism in their current and future communities.
To find out more about Buck-i-Serv, visit their website at http://ohiounion.osu.edu/activityfee/asb.asp.
What's Pay It Forward?
Pay It Forward is an iniative that connects Ohio State students to volunteer and service opportunities, both in the Columbus area and in the campus community. It provides ways to find opportunities, as well as programs to help organize one's own service. To find out more about Pay It Forward, visit their webstie at http://payitforward.osu.edu/.
Where are you going?
My Buck-i-Serv trip will be heading to the tiny town of Willow River in northern Minnesota. That's right, Minnesota in December. Camp Heartland, located in the "heart" of Willow River, is a summer camp for children affected by HIV/AIDS. We'll be spending a week at the camp, getting the place ready for the kids who come in the summer, as well as participating in a variety of educational programs concerning the issues that the children who come to the camp (who are mostly from Califronia cities) face.
To find out more about Camp Heartland and the parent program of One Heartland, visit their website at http://oneheartland.org/.
Who's going?
My fellow trip leader, Kristen, seven Ohio State student participants, and a trip advisor, who is an Ohio State graduate student.
What's the process of the trip?
There are three main stages concerning this Buck-i-Serv trip. There's the pre-trip planning, which involves education, planning the logistics of the trip, education about the issue that our trip focuses on (HIV/AIDS), and team-building within all of the participants. This is followed by the trip itself, and the final stage is what we do when we get back to Columbus - follow up activites and service in our own home community.
Other questions?
Feel free to e-mail me at hrycyk.2@osu.edu if you have any other questions about anything mentioned on this blog.
Who are you?
My name is Antonette Hrycyk, and I'm a junior at The Ohio State University. I'm leading a Buck-i-Serv trip to Camp Heartland from December 13 - 19, where I spent part of my last winter break as a participant on the same trip.
What's Buck-i-Serv?
Buck-i-Serv (previously known as the Alternative Breaks Program) is a program run by the Ohio Union that provides an alternative way for college students to spend their breaks. Their vision: Through extended hands on service experiences in diverse places around the country and world, we aim to inspire student leaders to have life-long dedication to service to others and social justice activism in their current and future communities.
To find out more about Buck-i-Serv, visit their website at http://ohiounion.osu.edu/activityfee/asb.asp.
What's Pay It Forward?
Pay It Forward is an iniative that connects Ohio State students to volunteer and service opportunities, both in the Columbus area and in the campus community. It provides ways to find opportunities, as well as programs to help organize one's own service. To find out more about Pay It Forward, visit their webstie at http://payitforward.osu.edu/.
Where are you going?
My Buck-i-Serv trip will be heading to the tiny town of Willow River in northern Minnesota. That's right, Minnesota in December. Camp Heartland, located in the "heart" of Willow River, is a summer camp for children affected by HIV/AIDS. We'll be spending a week at the camp, getting the place ready for the kids who come in the summer, as well as participating in a variety of educational programs concerning the issues that the children who come to the camp (who are mostly from Califronia cities) face.
To find out more about Camp Heartland and the parent program of One Heartland, visit their website at http://oneheartland.org/.
Who's going?
My fellow trip leader, Kristen, seven Ohio State student participants, and a trip advisor, who is an Ohio State graduate student.
What's the process of the trip?
There are three main stages concerning this Buck-i-Serv trip. There's the pre-trip planning, which involves education, planning the logistics of the trip, education about the issue that our trip focuses on (HIV/AIDS), and team-building within all of the participants. This is followed by the trip itself, and the final stage is what we do when we get back to Columbus - follow up activites and service in our own home community.
Other questions?
Feel free to e-mail me at hrycyk.2@osu.edu if you have any other questions about anything mentioned on this blog.
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