A/U Ranches
In this recurring column, alumni of the A/U Ranches and DiscoveryBound programs (including the formerly named A/U Chapters) share why they’ve stayed involved or reconnected with Adventure Unlimited and its programs. We’ve all heard it or said it: “I’m sooo busy!” While the pace of daily schedules can seem to…
Leading up to the 2016 summer season, the A/U Ranches management team prayed deeply about how to improve camper engagement by more clearly communicating staff expectations. “We wanted to help the staff clearly focus on what is most important about camp,” explains the Ranch director, Alison Peticolas. The first step…
I watched my son pedal away on his new bike with little help from me or my husband. Our role was only a matter of holding the seat while he climbed aboard, and then he was off in a hurry. He had gracefully transitioned from a small toddler’s balance bike to what he deemed his “big boy bike with pedals” with little interruption, and we were so proud.
As my cab emerged from the Midtown Tunnel into Manhattan, I noticed a Christmas tree lot at one end of an overpass. As long as I can remember, I’ve associated New York City with Christmas, though not on a personal level. Rockefeller Center, ornate department store windows and holiday musicals have always come to mind when thinking about holidays in the city.
My favorite part of Mini Camp this year – and every year, for that matter – is the sense of appreciation these campers feel at the end of each day. At the close of dinner, the dining room is opened up for sharing of gratitude and highlights from the day. You cannot contain the joy that percolates in that room.
Before that summer, I was a girl who lived like a raindrop at the end of a pine needle. Playing fast and loose with time, a loner orb stained by rebellion, questioning my worthiness, searching for my voice. Funny how when God calls, plans melt. Mine dripped all over the points of the steely mountains while the wide Colorado sky opened in torrents of holiness.
In October, I had a great time witnessing how two entities – 100 Elk and Rainbow Valley Resource Network – merged as natural partners to offer enrichment activities to individuals who are striving to break out of society’s label of “disabled” and prove their God-given abilities.
This is the fourth summer that we have sent at least one son to camp. I don’t usually think through why we’re signing them up each year; it’s just a given. Part of it, no doubt, is my own tremendous vault of camper and staff experiences in the background of consciousness.
Anyone who has been a counselor at the A/U Ranches knows the hard and soft skills that are necessary to ensure a harmonious, safe and fun-packed experience for campers. But communicating the value of those skills on a resume to potential employers can be a challenge. To serve this community as it searches for fulfilling employment post-camp, Adventure Unlimited has partnered with The Albert Baker Fund and its ABF Career Alliance.