SOS Week 1- Brooke Henriques

Hello all my fellow Bonners! I hope you all are having a great summer so far! Sorry I am just now making my first post, it took me a while to figure out Blogger! After my first week at my SOS site, I can truly say it's been so much fun! I've met so many different people, made lots of connections in my community, and have learned a lot of leadership skills! My SOS site is at my local YMCA of the Suncoast in Palm Harbor, FL. I volunteer 6 days a week from 8am-4pm between summer camp for 5-17 year olds and the kid zone day/evening care center.  We just finished up our first out of ten weeks of summer camp this past week, and it was very successful! Each day I helped my youth & teen director, Jackie Citarella (who is just plain awesome) , with parent sign ins and escorting kids to their camps whether it be adventure camp, art camp, sports camp, golf camp, or tennis camp! We played many games during the day, such as the human knot and heads up seven up, had pool parties, held competitions, and had fun themed Fridays! Although the first week of summer camp was a blast, a lot of work and preparation went into it! The week before camp started, Jackie and I worked together and created files for all 75 children, made records of special needs/medications that children may take, created sign in/sign out sheets, pick up authorization forms, field trip forms, daily schedules,  and typed up roster forms.  I really liked gaining office experience and of course working with children! It's so great that I am giving my time to such a great organization that has something for all ages! The fellow camp counselors I work with are truly amazing as well! There are 12 counselors for each camp, they are Ann Marie, Kylee, Molly, Emma, Dylan, Brandon, Meg, Devonte, Brittany, Nicole, Katie, and Stephanie! Even though I have known them for a short time, they have really showed me the ropes with the summer camp program! Most of them are in college like me, so it's great to communicate with people my age and learn new things from them! Words cannot explain how much I really enjoy my time at the Y, and I can't wait for the many adventures that await me for the next nine weeks!

Hope all of you are enjoying your service sites and I'll talk to you guys later! :)