Teen Adventures

Becca, an AmeriCorps member with United Way of Utah County, has spent almost 300 hours at South Franklin Community Center this summer running Open Hours, refereeing soccer games, and putting together activities for the neighborhood youth. She wanted to share a few thoughts and memories from her interactions with the teenagers.

I have a blast when the teens come to soccer, girls’ night or whatever activity we may be doing at the time.  Although we’ve only had a few teens show up to soccer, it’s to still fun to play Meta el Gol and just get to know each other better.  Girls’ night was really fun!  I brought my fingernail polish that changes color in the sun and we had a blast watching it work.  

 

At the Bonfire Night we had tons of fun, but it wasn’t the fun I was expecting:  We drove up to South Fork Park just to find out that no open fires were allowed, so we played games the whole night!  We played Dynamite, which is played with a Nerf football, practically the whole time! After awhile another group cleared the field to play Ultimate Frisbee and they told us we could play with them if we wanted to.  We decided to go with it!  Those people were a blast to play with!  Then when it started to get dark we played some soccer with another group of people.  I’d say we made the best night we could without a bonfire.  

I have fun hanging out with the teens and so do the other AmeriCorps volunteers like Lindsey and Dallin.  I hope the teens have had as much fun as I have, and more.  I wish them the best in their life goals and I know they can reach them.

Day Camp: A Message from Noelle

Noelle Olivete is an AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate with United Way of Utah County and served as director of the South Franklin Community Center's Summer Day Camp for 2011.

There were seven weeks of camp…and it was questionable if I would survive those weeks! Looking back, I have to say that camp was a success! As each week passed, I learned so much about what activities to do and what worked best for the entire group. 

My favorite part of camp was getting to know each child on a personal level. In addition, being able to improve and teach them new skills was really rewarding. Whether it be on field trips, at the community garden, or just at the community center, I felt that it was important to focus on having a goal for them to reach. Some of the goals included giving the group challenges, teambuilding activities, developing the feeling of self-accomplishment, exploring new ideas and concepts, doing service, and so on. I have to say that preparing these activities presented a challenge for me but I would not trade this experience for anything! To see the facial expression of each child enjoying themselves during an activity or thinking things through during a challenge makes my job so fulfilling.

During these seven weeks, I know that I have gained so much insight as I interacted with each child; I have learned so much from them.  I hope that they were able to have a good experience during camp and that they have gained something from coming. I love that I was able to be small part of their lives! I hope that by working with them as well as our amazing volunteers, that together we have instilled in them to keep moving forward in life—to make good choices and know that each and every one of them has so much potential.

It is my hope that the South Franklin Community Center's Summer Day Camp keeps improving as the years go by. I hope that it will continue to impact and unite the families within the community.

Day Camp: Closing Social

Day Camp has come to a close for Summer 2011!  To celebrate, a closing social was held at the community center this afternoon.  Following a delicious potluck lunch served outside in shade of the trees, campers and their families were treated to a slideshow and special program in the community center.

After the slideshow, several campers from each group shared their favorite part of day camp.  The younger group treated the rest of the campers and audience to a dance set to Taio Cruz’s song “Dynamite.”

Summer Camp 2011 was a great success.  Special thanks to our volunteers who made our camp possible and to our staff members for their support.

If you missed any of our reports from camp, be sure to check the archives.  Visit our Facebook page for more pictures.

See you next summer!

Photos by Mark Hartman

Day Camp: Museum of Peoples and Cultures

With Day Camp coming to a close at the end of this week, the campers had time for one final field trip, this time to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures at BYU.  The museum started as part of BYU’s Department of Archaeology in the 1960s, becoming an official museum in 1981.

Today’s visit began with a lecture by one of the museum staff members about the Fremont people who lived in this part of Utah more than a thousand years ago.  Campers were shown various artifacts, and given a demonstration on telling a story based on archaeological evidence.  After the demonstration, the campers had a chance to put what they had learned to the test.

Outside the museum is a sand pit with buried artifacts.  After a brief safety lecture and some instruction, the campers were let loose to see what they could find.

Once they had discovered their arrowhead and beads, the campers made necklaces from their discoveries.

Thanks to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures staff for a fun and educational trip.  To learn more about the museum, visit their web site.  As always, thanks to Utah Valley Paratransit and our volunteers, without whom these trips would not be possible.

Photos by Mark Hartman

Day Camp: Hike Day

Day Camp tries to give children of the South Franklin community an opportunity to experience things that they might not otherwise have the chance to do.  Last week, the campers traveled to Rock Canyon for Hike Day.

After arriving at the entrance to Rock Canyon, the campers had a safety lecture.  Once the lecture was finished, the campers split into groups and went on their way up the canyon.  Along the way they learned about nature and health.

Thanks to Utah Valley Paratransit for providing transportation and to our volunteers for giving their time and energy to make these field trips a success!

Photos by Noelle Olivette