What exactly have LAJF program staff been up to over the past several months? We wrote all about it and are excited to tell you about our virtual programs and how they all ended up!
Virtual CRS in Review
We have concluded our first ever Virtual CRS, and our campers are excited to tell you all about it! Our Virtual CRS blog project group worked hard on putting together a daily recap, favorite VCRS memories from all campers, and topical articles for you all to learn from. If you’ve been curious what Virtual CRS looked like, now’s your chance to learn all about it!
CRS Program Highlight: Arts and Music
Today, in the final post of the CRS-Program Area Highlight series, we hear from Eva Stylianou and Sofia Logan, former CRS Art and Music Counselors. Creative expression is an integral part of the CRS experience, and providing a space for campers to engage in the arts and music, provides campers the opportunity to “explore music and dance as tools for social change, telling different cultural stories through artistic expression.”
CRS Program Highlight: Wilderness/Hiking
This week’s CRS Program Highlight comes from Amit Singh, a counselor on the 2017 Wilderness Team. He discusses how the Red Hook camping trip was created, and the lessons the campers learned. He also discusses the ongoing need for purchasing new camping equipment. “The biggest advantage of this trip was that the campers got to experience Red Hook, and it was no longer this mystical place that the counselors talked about.”
CRS Program Highlight: Instructions
This week, we learn more about Instructions time from the 2016 Instructions Counselor, Ritham Mehta (‘11, ‘14-‘16). Instructions are vital to the Rising Sun program. Instructions provide Campers an opportunity to demonstrate their leadership skills by teaching an instruction to their peers. It also provides alumni and friends an opportunity to engage with the campers, as they visit Camp for the day and share their professional knowledge.
CRS Program Highlight: Projects
This week, in our CRS summer staff series, we hear from Sonia Wargacka (‘10, ‘16, ‘17), the 2016-2017 Projects Counselor. Sonia discusses why she values projects, and how projects empower campers. “There is a lot to say about empowerment when we talk about hammers, table saws, construction, and painting. Enabling all of our campers to make projects happen and be the change they want to see first at Camp, and then in the world, is for me one of the most important elements of Camp Rising Sun.”
CRS Program Highlight: Kitchen/ Cultural Meals
Throughout December, we will be highlighting the stories of former Camp Rising Sun counselors to hear what they valued most in their program areas. This is to increase awareness and understanding of how donations make these opportunities possible. This week, Antonella Cornejo (CRS ’16-’17) reflects on two summers working in the CRS kitchen and the importance of cultural meals to the camp experience.