From Hope to Impact: My First Year as Camp Lucy Manager
Written by Patti Buck, Camp Lucy Manager
As I approach the end of my first year as the Camp Lucy Manager here at the GPRF, I am filled with gratitude. I knew that this was a special program from the start: making a difference in what the “typical” rower looks like, plus supporting young people in their social emotional growth? Count me ALL the way in.
When I applied for this job a year ago, I was searching for hope. I needed something to fill me with joy and passion, something that would align with my values. I didn’t know it then, but I needed Camp Lucy.
The work I am privileged to do is some of the most rewarding I have ever done. I get to spend 10 months out of the year planning an amazing summer camp, and the other 2 months executing the sessions. I often hear, “It’s JUST a summer camp? What do you DO during the year?” While I don’t have room here to share everything, I hope this can provide a quick look behind the curtain.
This year, I worked through the Camp Lucy curriculum, editing it as I saw necessary, but mostly making sure I was familiar enough with it that I could train Camp Lucy staff appropriately. I met with our partner boathouses twice a month to support them in hiring, registration, and scheduling. I spent a LOT of time searching for the perfect color beads to use in friendship bracelets, and agonized over fonts in Canva. Most importantly, I ran training sessions for Camp Lucy staff so that they were comfortable teaching the curriculum and so that they knew how to best show up for the youth we served. I can’t thank the coaches and counselors enough for the work THEY did. Camp Lucy is not possible without the literal blood (shout out to Ruby), sweat, and tears of these incredible people.
It’s due to the tireless work of the coaches and counselors at all three of this year’s sessions of Camp Lucy that I am able to celebrate the successes we had, and there were many! In addition to a record number of campers who plan to continue rowing, the personal growth from these youth was inspiring and incredible to see.
We surveyed all the campers at the start and end of camp in order to see what impact, if any, we were having on them. (If you’re interested in learning more about what we measured, reach out to me! My email is pattib@pocockfoundation.org, and I could talk about it all day.) Some of my favorite statistics from this year include:
93% of our 50 participants reported that they felt strong feelings of belonging at camp.
Every single camper said that they felt supported by peers and adults at camp.
We found a 7% increase in campers who felt a greater sense of positive identity at the end of camp than at the beginning.
For a 10-day program? That’s pretty amazing. And it doesn’t even begin to touch the magic of camp.
Middle school is a tough age range. You couldn’t pay me to go back to seventh grade! Young people’s brains are exploding with social pressures, looming high school and college aspirations, the natural (but mostly awful) changes of puberty, and so much more. It’s through programs like Camp Lucy that youth are given the time and permission to feel their feelings, try new things, and create identities that are all their own, all while still being kids.
How incredible. How life-changing. How… normal?
That’s really the beauty of Camp Lucy, I think. All this incredible, powerful work that the campers get to do is packaged with a fairly classic learn to row in a summer camp setting. Rowing, intentional workshops about communication and self-esteem, and summer camp fun like games and swimming are so well woven together that I don’t think the campers always know how unique it is. But I do, and you do. Camp Lucy is a program like no other.
It’s an honor to be a steward of this program, and it’s a joy to do this work. Cheers to year one, and to many more to come.
