Camp bonus: mentoring older kids

We are here to serve good kids in Pleasant Grove. ALL of them - not just the little ones. Which is why I was so excited about a huge “bonus” element of our latest camp:

We found yet another way to help.

When we were forming our roster of coaches for the Samuell Spartan camp, we were asked if some of the upper classmen at the high school could help? They needed community service hours anyway.

These kids absolutely rocked.

We had four boys and four girls, all from Samuell High School’s soccer teams. They were diligent in attendance, in daily set-up and take-down, in helping run the breaks, etc. But the better part was how they bonded with the younger kids.

I was truly proud of one in particular, Lorenzo. Lorenzo is good kid, but a little ditzy. Everyone loves him, but they DO sort of poke fun at him. It’s all good natured stuff.

Well, by the fourth day, I singled him out to the group for the way he REALLY bonded with the youngest crop of campers. We separated the groups by colored bibs each day. His were purple, and he named them his Grupo de Uvas - his Gang of Grapes!

The opportunity to mentor these older kids, to teach them a little about how to work with kids in positive, effective ways, is something we didn’t expect to get from the camp. But we did. And it was amazing.