Once Upon A Time A Youth Was Invited to Go To Camp....or One Going Was Partly Sponsored by Surprise!
Once upon a time there was a person trying to create community and find a family that wanted their child to go to camp… and their child who wanted & could handle doing that in The Berkshires in late June or a July 2023 for 2 consecutive weeks 9am to 3 pm with a farm, crafts, riverside theme with nice kids and counselors..
After six months of many almost matches ( and details that needed
ironing out which took about 20 hours and much patience on everyone’s part) many people have said to ‘give up on getting others to join in the effort of helping afford the cost through barters or donations…) and just move on to the woman. Is that how the story ends? To be determined… but the options to donate or barter to help offset an investment of $350 the woman made that covers one week of camp is still open ( even for down the road if having a tag sale or want to help organize one or donate things etc.)
The funds needed for the 2nd week are $325 to cover the camp and donations to cover gas and support would be welcome to help the youth willing and able to attend get there reliably without added burden to a family.
I am sharing the details to help others understand the options and work it takes to consider and sign up for something like a program. This camp offer may work best for someone in the GB area. I was hoping a youth from CT would take advantage and looked at the option of trying to house a youth but that was getting complicated. The overall learning could benefit all families and friends to realize nitty gritty details.
Like sharing recipes for summer meals and lunches, thinking of what each child needs ir could learn locally ir with some support would help many families feel better about asking for help and creating their own networks with safety and accountability. That would help for field trips and routines in general ( car pools, study groups, class trips and more.)
Thanks if you’d like to talk more. I will keep this forum updated.
tried a few times to correct the post up above to say 9 AM to 3 PM for the camp. Also, the second week would be closer to 325 since I got some donations and if it’s in Connecticut may be an extra hundred donated. so thanks for going on this journey and realize it’s much more than an experiment or a theory but an actual possibility and and helpful set of points to help more advocate for each other no matter the age or program!
From a FB Post: Would you please concisely and clearly bullet point the journey, the experiment, the possibilities, and the points?
I have a certificate I paid for that cost 350 a couple of years ago and would like to have someone pay me or barter (even with a friend of theirs doing so etc) to cover that amount or what they can.
A deposit of $425 would need to be paid to hold the place for a named youth, and cannot be changed once signed up. I have 100 or maybe 200 to put toward that (so it may only be about $225-325 unless others donate to that with cash or with a tag sale some may like to run or donate to as people may feel makes sense in a timely
fashion.) This camp is in Great Barrington so finding someone near the area makes sense but it's open to anyone within driving distance.
The other idea is to have some extra funds for gas and snacks etc if that's needed or people would like to work toward that.
I can donate the certificate to the camp in hopes they can offer it to someone who is signing up. People could still donate to help me offset my investment.
It's not easy to think through all the aspects of this or ask for help, but I am painting a realistic picture and would offer that having more people available to think through purchases and clarify 'terms' as much as possible, even work with some flexibility if people are trying to understand and comply with things with a few days or weeks etc would be helpful. I am setting a goal to find someone by June 9th so I can 'put this in park'.
There are three sessions with the first starting June 19th and running for 2 weeks and then two other sessions, starting in July, one after the other. The camp involves being with a nice group of youths and dedicated counselors who will be doing things on a farm, some crafts and outdoor play and swimming in a quiet part of a shallow small river.
Thanks for thinking on this and overall it's a special learning opportunity for all who attend events (with things or services for sale,) have youth or others who may be able and willing to attend programs and can grow in social skills and experiences. I did a few things along these lines when I was young, mainly with family trips and just a weekend Scout camp out, although our grade school helped invent 'Nature's Classroom' and we'd hike for miles on a mountain for a weekend.
Doesn't hurt to be aware of the options and maybe more towns can set up ways for all to learn about setting up tents, basic farm and nature skills and more. But for now, it's just finding the right match or donating the certificate on my own or as part of a team. Thanks for considering all of this and can help others think through options for their situations as well, even with a PM etc.
From Another FB Post:unfortunately your intention gets lost. I understand you are trying to creatively be in service, because that is your nature, but you need to simplify what the actual exchange is. I hope in my other comment, I described accurately what transaction you would like to make. All of your posts on this matter have been to complicated to follow. It overshadows the simplicity of the actual transaction available
From Another FB Post:thank you for correcting the dates and times, but I assure you that is not the source of the confusion. It’s totally unclear whether you are asking for recommendations, donations, advice, or input of any kind. Please start again by simply answering the following question, without including any of the backstory or circumstances surrounding it: What do you need? What are you asking your fellow community members for in this post? That will allow us to help you better.
There are options but I see folks get confused. Also I feel the experience (which is a couple years in the running) has valuable points for more people to help figure out, like having more oversight for all involved with transactions of any kind to make sure 'everyone is clear about the offer and details, timelines, and more. I have studied marketing and promising great things or getting people to buy under pressure is common.
Keeping track of what one is doing and considering, before buying or investing or committing to something can help everyone manage things. I usually explore this on my blog Livfully.org. I can run all of my posts through ChatGPT soon and have many main topics and processes spelled out...and so will get to that eventually too.
My response to someone saying nothing should take more than 15 seconds to communicate (unless a creative work, which in many ways this is out of necessity...leaving no stone unturned in terms of creatively addressing the problem and others that pop up as well as the great opportunities for more people to consider What If they were in a similar situation.
Consider how many people (mainly Moms but plenty of other family members, chose to stay home to care for their own kids because there were not reasonable options for them during COVID....and who knows if a similar scene will be coming our way since The WHO (not the band but the World Health Organization) can set rules I think now about lockdowns and other levels of monitoring, getting shots, wearing masks and more. Some of what we may be feeling is the residual confusion about figuring something out even for a reasonable positive situation.
The big concern we're not addressing about 'caring for people' in our country and world is that there are many more elders who will need 'adult day care' if not full-time care and very few workers. Hopefully we will give them more consideration and not assume there are endless easy-access resources. The book by Matthew Desmond and resources from SalisburyForum.org paint a picture about Poverty, by US and the gap between rich and poor, have's and have-nots.
So I am hoping we can all 'put on our thinking caps' and try to see the Bigger Picture and even identify other concerns and opportunities we may be missing. It's okay that it's off to a rocky start (even after months of more casual networking and posting among small groups and such.) It takes as long as it takes and then we may figure things out and 'take things for granted that used to puzzle us.' Hope this can be helpful really and 'it's okay if you didn't want to read this or don't agree with what I am sharing..." It's all important to factor into the times and plans going forward many would say....
The big concern we're not addressing about 'caring for people' in our country and world is that there are many more elders who will need 'adult day care' if not full-time care and very few workers. Hopefully we will give them more consideration and not assume there are endless easy-access resources. The book by Matthew Desmond and resources from SalisburyForum.org paint a picture about Poverty, by US and the gap between rich and poor, have's and have-nots.
So I am hoping we can all 'put on our thinking caps' and try to see the Bigger Picture and even identify other concerns and opportunities we may be missing. It's okay that it's off to a rocky start (even after months of more casual networking and posting among small groups and such.) It takes as long as it takes and then we may figure things out and 'take things for granted that used to puzzle us.' Hope this can be helpful really and 'it's okay if you didn't want to read this or don't agree with what I am sharing..." It's all important to factor into the times and plans going forward many would say....
