In which I volunteer at Camp Boggy Creek

Hello again!  It has been a while since i've last posted on here, things have been incredibly busy, but I wanted to share with you a little about my experience volunteering again with 

Camp Boggy Creek.  

In case you didn't know, Camp Boggy Creek is an amazing camp located in Eustis, Florida, that is free for children with serious illnesses to attend.  They host both camps throughout the Summer weeks, as well as " Family Day Weekends", which are 3 day weekend events where the whole family can come and participate in activities.  For the Summer Camp weeks, the weeks are split into specific groups, so that they can provide and meet all the medical needs for those children.  

The session I have volunteered with for the past two years has been the Blended Camp, where children with Asthma, Spina Bifida, Kidney, Transplant and Craniofacial attended.  The camp is split into age groups, which are divided by 4 colors (Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow) and then divided into 4 cabins per color (2 for boys, 2 for girls.)  The detail and care put into these sessions are truly incredible, allowing children the place and opportunity to behave as children, and not worry about their illness or what others might think of it.  

For the past two years, I have been in the Blue group.  Each cabin has its own theme, something that the counselors and the camp play up and support site wide.  

This year, my cabin were called

 The Fireflies~

Chalk art I drew to welcome the girls to the cabin on arrival day.

The Blue Cabin  this year (and last, so maybe its consistent) were the youngest group, so our age group ranged between 7 and 9 years old.  It was fantastic.  The thing with young groups (and to be honest, this camp in general)  is that they just get so into the spirit and will buy what you sell them, so we were all about The Fireflies, and the idea that you shine solo, but as a group and a team, you shine the brightest.  We really emphasized team work.

A shot of the camper side before arrival.

 Some of the basic activities that we did throughout the week included Archery, Horseback Riding, Cooking, Arts and Crafts, Woodburning, Nature Barn, Boating and Fishing, Swimming, Theater, and more.  The kids all rotated through these activities as the week went, and got to select them for special projects and time frames.  Then there were camp activities with things like Aquatic Activity (some might call it a water fight, but they would be wrong, as there is no fighting at camp), a Banquet, a Dance, and what is called the Silly Olympics (or Silly Os.) 

 The Silly Olympics are a high light for the kids as its a time where they can paint on their counselors, or put pudding in their hair, or maybe even sling cold oatmeal at them.  They also get to roll through spaghetti on a slip'n'slide sort of set up.  Its all very messy, but very fun, and afterwards the fire department comes out and creates a river of water basically for the kids to run through on their way to the cabins. 

Little Acts of Kindness jars that we had in the girls room
for them to leave messages for each other.

This year, we also had a spectacular firework display take place, where the whole thing was basically like a grand finale.  The kids loved it, to be sure.

Due to the nature of the camp, I can't post photos of the children, obviously, but I had an incredible time there and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to volunteer at an incredible facility.  Everything there is donated, from the pool (Sea World) to the gym (Orlando Magic) to the Theater (Universal Studios), and so much more.  So much care and attention has been put into this camp, so if you know anyone who would benefit from going here, either as a camper or a staff volunteer, please recommend it!  They are always welcoming volunteers, especially male volunteers! 

Something that really meant a lot to me was that every single child I had as a camper last year came up, found me, and gave me a big hug.  I had wondered if they would remember me or not, so it meant a lot to me that they saw me and greeted me so enthusiastically.

The kids are hysterical, and I know, as cliche as it sounds, that you go there expecting to have an impact on them (even if its just making their life easier/more fun) and instead you walk away just as changed yourself for having attended.   No matter what group you end up volunteering with, I promise you you're going to learn just as much from them as they will from you.