Keep DREAMingSummer 2010

Summer Camp Overview

Camp DREAM Profiles

Summer Program Roundup

DREAMers had busy, fun-filled summers, from canoeing at Camp DREAM to exploring local museums with community programming! This special edition of the newsletter cel-ebrates the adventures and accomplishments that are unique to summertime DREAM.

2

3-4

5-7

2010 marked one of the biggest summers in Camp DREAM’s history, with eight Camp sessions and 110 total campers! Nearly half of these campers were attending Summer Camp for the first time. Local programs in southern Vermont had the most new campers, with DREAMers from Poultney and the Forest Park community in Rutland nearly tripling their attendance.

Campers enjoyed Camp standbys such as the Ropes Course, field trips to The Farm Between, and lots of swimming in Metcalf Pond, as well as some fun new challenges. Teens went hiking at Sterling Pond, and two of the 10-12 year old sessions competed in an Iron Chef competition, using prescribed ingredients from the Camp kitchen and anything they wanted from the garden to create delicious lunches. Campers of all ages learned about being environmentally conscious at Camp and in their daily lives at weekly Leave No Trace workshops. Every session culminated in a Coffee House talent show where both campers and staff sang, danced, and performed original skits.

A stellar summer AmeriCorps crew of eight counselors and four trail crew kept Camp running smoothly, with help from twelve teen counselors-in-training hailing from five local programs. Many AmeriCorps members had previous experience with DREAM, including four mentors and one former mentee. Newcomers and veteran DREAMers alike embraced their Camp experience and put their own unique stamps on Camp DREAM’s culture, raising the bar for next summer!

CAMPDREAM

2

Elm Street mentee Laura Alger, also known as Luigi, has been a Counselor In Training at Camp DREAM for the past three summers. With the help of some campers at the first 10-12 year old Girls session, DREAM Historian Sarah Pfanz asked Luigi about her summer experiences.

Sarah: What made you first decide to become a CIT? Luigi: I was at a Camp session two years ago and I told a Camp counselor that I didn’t want to leave, and she was like, “Come back next week as a CIT!” And I said “Okay!” I came back two weeks that summer. Then I had the chance to be a CIT the next year, so I went twice again. I wanted to be a CIT again this year, so I went through all those trainings, and here I am today.

S: Is it weird being in a position of authority around kids you know?

L: Well, a lot of kids look up to me anyway, and they’re pretty respectful to each other in our community, so it was the same way here at Camp. It was a little bit awkward for some kids because there was a really short age difference when I first started CITing, but they got used to it. But now I don’t really CIT anybody from my own program. Just the awesome southern girls!

Girls: Wooo! S: Do you have any advice for future CITs?

L: Even if you’re not happy, act like you’re happy, because then you’ll have contagious energy and you’ll just become happy. That’s how I do it. Dolores (Willowbrook mentee): Okay! This question is difficult but kinda easy. What was your best CIT moment? L: I have a lot! Let’s see... This week all the girls gave me a friendship bracelet, so that made me really happy.

Kennedy (Poultney mentee): What was your weirdest moment? L: Weirdest moment? Make A Deal was weird. S: What is Make A Deal? L: Oh, it was like this thing where-- K: [overlapping] We put bras on our heads! [laughter] L: Yeah, they put bras on their heads. That was weird. I think coping with that was a weird CIT moment.

Cheyenne (Willowbrook mentee): Some of us had underwear on our heads and all sorts of clothes on our bodies. It was hilarious!

Autumn (Highgate mentee): What was your most embarrassing CIT moment? Girls: Ooo...

L: There was a 10-12 Boys session where we were going on a walk, and I tripped, like, every three minutes. I was just walking, and I kept tripping everywhere. And the boys were all laughing at me. They thought it was really hilarious that I kept falling. That was two summers ago, but I’m still extremely clumsy. Just ask my knee!

D: What was your happiest moment at Camp from this year?

L: Like, this year ever-ever? Because I was a camper earlier this summer too, and if we were talking about earlier this summer, it would probably be kissing a chicken, because that was awesome.

D: Is Luigi your real name?

L: Do I need to tell the story of how how I got that nickname?

Girls: Yes! K: What is your real name? L: My real name is Laura. K: I love that name!

L: Thank you! It was my first time ever going to Camp, and we were driving up with some volunteer counselors, and one gave us all really weird boy names, like Alfred and Humphrey and I got Luigi. And they said, “We really want you to confuse the Camp counselors because they don’t know who you are yet.” So when went got to Camp and had to introduce ourselves, I was first and I was like, “Hi, I’m Luigi!” The next person was Sam, who already has a boyish name, and everyone else said their real names. So everyone just thought, “Oh, she’s Luigi,” and they’ve called me that ever since. I really enjoy it, so I partially think of it as my real name. It’s my real name at DREAM.

K: Are we done with the interview? Everybody let’s clap! [applause] Girls: Yay Luigi! L: [bows]

Camp Profile: Veteran CIT

3

Birchwood mentees Justice and Mikayla helped Camp Iron Chef Steven “Swank” Craig cook a fantastic dinner of lasagna, salad, and brownies during the second 10-12 year old Girls session at Camp DREAM. Here’s what they told DREAM Historian Sarah Pfanz about Camp, cooking, and the secret to good lasagna.

Sarah: What was it like cooking at Camp? Mikayla: It was fun here because Swank gave us free food. Like, he let us lick the bowl and the spoon when we made the brownies.

Justice: And we got apples!

M: And he gave us apples! When you chop the apples you go doomp, doomp, owmp! [mimes chopping and eating] And you can eat the apples.

S: Had you ever made lasagna before? I had that cheese lasagna that you guys made, and it was delicious. M: I made it, and Justice made it, and it was so fun.

J: We never made it before, but it was so fun! We got to go plop, plop! [mimes dropping noodles]

M: What you do is you do noodles, cheese, sauce, herb, and garlic, and then noodles, cheese, sauce, herb, garlic again.

J: And then you go BOOM with sound effects and stuff! S: Sound effects make everything better. J: That’s what Swank said. S: Did you have a favorite part of cooking? M: When we got to eat the brownie mix. J: When we made the brownies. M: That was fun.

J: For making brownies you go krrrshhhh! [mimes stirring] S: What all did you do to make the brownies? J: It was from a box, but we got to crack eggs and put in oil.

M: And we made three packages! There were six packages in them, but three packages were already made. J: There were chocolate chips in them, and I got to crack the egg. S: If Swank asked you to help cook again, would you?

Both: YES!

J: You should show him this video.

S: I’ll put in a good word for you. Was there a part in cooking that was really hard? M: Chopping. Chopping the apples. J: Getting all the noodles in the pan.

M: I think chopping the apples, because you have to go like this [demonstrates holding apple] and get your finger in and ksshk, ksshhk. [mimes slicing]. And I did most of the lasagna. J: I helped a lot.

S: What do you have to do with the noodles? I’ve never made lasagna before.

J: You just flap them. [demonstrates spreading noodles]

M: There’s a big pan where you line them all up, and then you have to put the cheese, and then the sauce, and then the herb, and then the garlic. Noodles, cheese, sauce, herb, garlic—

J: Shh, you’re telling his secrets! M: —But I’m not going to tell you anything else.

S: Besides cooking, what is your favorite part of Camp so far?

M: Swimming!

J: Sleeping in the Treehouse and having fun with friends.

M: Yeah, we’ve been sleeping in the Treehouse and sliding down the fire pole.

S: Any stuff that you haven’t done yet at Camp that you’re looking forward to trying?

J: Can I say food? Sloppy Joes. We’ve never had Sloppy Joes.

M: Kind of Adventure Swim, if I go.

S: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

J: Swank is awesome.

M: Swank. Is. Both: AWESOME.

To see the original footage of Justice and Mikayla’s interview, visit DREAM’s video page at www.dreamprogramcast.blogspot.com.

Camp Profile: Apprentice Iron Chefs

4

After college students have left their campuses for the summer, DREAM’s local programming continues through our Community Interns and Recreation Specialists. These amazing individuals work with each community to engage children and teens in a variety of activities during the week. Here is a glimpse of the summer happenings in each of our local programs.

23 teen mentees and 11 mentors from the Windsor and Northwoods/Hollow Drive programs spent 10 days in northern California for their High Adventure! Their itinerary included whitewater rafting, camping in national parks, and visiting San Francisco.

o One-on-one time with 50 new Sophomore Summer mentors.

o Northwoods/Hollow Drive culminating trip to play miniature golf, followed by ice cream and a barbecue.

o Windsor culminating trip to Manchester, NH for a Fishercats game, where they got to run out on the field with the players during the national anthem.

o Excursions to the Lebanon Farmers Market, the Montshire Museum, and to Hartland Dam for kayaking and canoeing.

LOCAL PROGRAM ROUNDUP

Windsor andNorthwoods/Hollow Drive

5

o Exploration trips to the Echo Center, the Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory, Shelburne Farms, the Ben & Jerry’s Factory, and the local library.

o A ferry ride across Lake Champlain.

o Biking on the Lake Champlain Causeway.

o Tabling at the Winooski Farmers’ Market.

o Outings to the Echo Center, the local library, and nearby beaches.

o An Independence Day celebration, complete with a parade.

o Sailing and a ferry ride across Lake Champlain.

o Fishing in Milton.

o Weekly gardening and art programs.

o Swimming at the beach.

o A horseback riding adventure trip.

o Teen Nights featuring dinner and a movie.

Teens from the Highgate, Birchwood, and FrElm programs took a joint trip to watch races at Thunder Road International SpeedBowl in Barre, VT.

o A cooking program at Poultney High School.

o Swimming at Lake St. Catherine and the Poultney River.

o Learning and helping out at Sunrise Hill Farm.

o Hiking at the Dean’s Preserve.

o A National Night Out barbecue.

o Arts and crafts, including puppets, painting, and making Ooblek.

o Baking pies, cookies, and shortcake.

o A field trip to a local farm to pick blueberries.

o Swimming at Lake Paran and Lake Shaftsbury.

o Gardening and cooking with the Blooming Chefs program.

o Teen Nights with games, movies, and snacks.

o Arts and crafts with the Bead Club and more.

Many Recreation Specialists had a special focus for their programs. Alicia Best led the Forest Park, Willowbrook, and Poultney DREAM programs in theater activities, Carlyn Trout specialized in outdoor education and Vermont sights with Birchwood, Franklin Street, and Elm Street, and Mary Kenah taught Riverside, Pine Meadow, and Franklin Square about cooking and nutrition.

Poultney, Windsor, Northwoods/Hollow Drive and FrElm interns organized a joint programming trip to check out the Quechee Gorge and in Quechee, VT and taste test cheese at the nearby Cabot Cheese store.

Birchwood Highgate

Franklin and Elm Street

Willowbrook

Forest Park

Poultney

6

o Exploring the State House, Museum of Fine Arts, and TD Garden and Sports Museum, and Boston Children’s Museum.

o Activities including tie-dyeing, building kites, painting pottery, hiking, and making ice cream and homemade playdough.

o A multi-day Amazing Race throughout downtown Boston.

o Three Brockton Rox games and a Red Sox baseball clinic.

Madison Park Village DREAMers also made their own DREAMcast music video. Watch it at dreamprogramcast.blogspot.com! For more on Boston, visit DREAM’s news blog at news.dreamprogram.org.

Burlington Housing Authority Summer Program Coordinator and Franklin Square DREAM alumna Meghan Kerrigan worked with summer interns Laurel Chen and Justin Cane to plan many joint adventures for Franklin Square and Riverside, including stargazing, soccer games, Capture the Flag, and journeys to Montpelier and the Intervale.

o Trips to Shelburne Farms, the library, and Burlington’s Festival of Fools.

o Kayaking, rock climbing, and swimming.

o The Riverside Newspaper Group.

o A neighborhood Carnival Night with games, a cake walk, and relay races.

o African drumming lessons.

o Tuesday movie nights on Church Street in Burlington.

o Outings to the Echo Center, Adams Berry Farm, and a Burlington Lake Monsters game.

o A neighborhood Block Party with an African drumming and dance performance.

Pine Meadow summer intern Shree Dhond spent a full session at Camp DREAM with three Pine Meadow mentees. o Excursions to the beach and the local library.

o Picnics and cooking.

o A trip to the Montshire Museum.

o Outdoor games at Middlebury College and in the Pine Meadow community.

Madison Park Village and Orchard Gardens

Pine Meadow

Riverside

Franklin Square

7

84 donors gave to Boston DREAM and Vermont DREAM’s Summer Appeals, raising a combined total of $18,329! Your support helps make Summer Camp and summer community programming possible. Thank you!

If you would like to make a donation, visit www.dreamprogram.org/support or contact Sandy Mervak at sandy@dreamprogram.org to learn more.

8