Celebrating & Appreciating Mother-Nature with Peace4Kids!!!

Camping has always been a fun and exciting experience for me. I can remember going to camp as a young Girl Scout. Every year from the ages of 8 to10, my Aunt Elaine, who was the Camp Director, would pack our belongings into her little blue and white Rabbit hatchback and away we’d go. While most girls only had to stay at camp for a week, since MY aunt was the Camp Director, I always had to stay with her for a MONTH - lucky for me, I liked it. Camp was always an adventure. The crafts, the hikes, the challenging activities - both physical and mental, making new friends, bonding tighter with old ones, and most importantly, the opportunities to learn valuable life lessons as well as being taught to appreciate nature at an early age, were the jewels that I took away from my camping experiences and ones that I wanted to pass on to the wonderful youth at Peace4Kids.

On the day we left for our Peace4Kids camping trip, the air was thick with energy and excitement. Our destination: Camp Meadow, a beautiful camping ground nestled in the mountains of Big Bear. After we survived the roller coaster ride up the mountain in our luxury transportation accommodations, cleverly disguised as school buses, we began our 3 day/2 night stay at the camp. My friend and co-counselor, Lori Trella and I had been assigned to the 8-13 yr. old girls cabin and in usual kid-at-camp fashion (plus the fact that I was a NEW volunteer) they had to “test their limits” with us to see what we were made of. Luckily, Lori and I were able to establish order (for the most part - I mean hey, it IS camp) and gain the respect and trust of our girls which allowed us all to have lots of fun.

During the course of our time at Camp Meadow, I was honored to assist the youth with developing one of the most important attributes they will need in life - Confidence. I observed kids who were scared to death of horses, face their fears and participate in the activity. I saw kids who were afraid of heights walk across the high ropes, I saw others who were afraid of water, listen intently to the instructions they were given, put on the life vest and get in the canoes and row across the lake for a relaxing ride. At the end of the day, it didn’t really matter if they completed the activities their first time around or not. The fact that they even made the attempt to participate at all were great accomplishments. It showed they were willing to try, which is the MOST important precursor for success.

This trip was an excellent opportunity given by Peace4Kids for our youth to learn that the world is bigger than their neighborhoods and that a person’s current situation does not dictate their future success. Their inherent value gives them not only the right to explore this world and what it has to offer, but the responsibility to do so and pass their knowledge and skills on to future generations.

Thank you Peace4Kids for a wonderful camping (life) experience.

Sincerely,
Shonda McFarland

Please take a moment and consider making a gift to Peace4Kids. Your tax-deductible contribution will help us work closer with foster and at-risk youth, and guide their journey into adulthood. It is the only way we will be able to expand and sustain our programs.