Inner city Kids camp turns 5!!

July 28, 2006

By Jessie Stone. Learn more about Jessie.

Why does time go by so quickly in the summer?? Do you ever feel like you want to put on the brakes and make everything stop?? I always feel that way this time of year, and I want to savor every moment, it?s just such a fun and carefree playtime. During our kids kayaking camp this past week, I felt that way more than ever. First of all, it was hard to believe that we have been doing the camp for 5 years! That time has gone so quickly and its really wonderful to see so many kids who have no idea what whitewater kayaking is wanting to try it. This is one reason our camp keeps going, so many kids and adults want to learn to kayak.

We always begin our camp by asking the kids what they hope to get out of the week with us. Most say that they want to learn to kayak, but they also say they have never seen kayaking or even a kayak for that matter, so I love the fact that these kids are so open and willing to try something that they have no idea about. It is always a reminder of what its like to be a beginner and start from scratch. I definitely forget about that when I am not teaching and it?s so important to keep that in mind.

Each year, we get new students and returning students from The Harbor?s Upward Bound program. These kids want to go to college but come from low-income single parent homes in inner city New York. Most have never left the city so every day of the camp is a new adventure. This year was even more of an adventure because all of us instructors were camping out in my parents? house; we had no power or phone for the first few days of the camp thanks to a big storm earlier in the week.
We had returning instructors Margie and Hayden Glatte from Oregon, and Emily. Emily?s boyfriend and awesome instructor, Nick, came down from Canada to help. Despite cancelled planes, bad storms, and having to sneak their kayaks onto a train, Emily and Nick made it to the camp! We missed EJ, Kristine, and Dane but hopefully they will be back next year. Emily and Nick are the same ages as many of our students so it was great to have them teaching and working with kids they would never otherwise meet and vice versa.

We had three returning students from last year, Jessica, Yahira, and Mathew who had been a non- swimmer last year and after camp last summer was inspired to learn to swim, so he did. Yahira has given herself the nickname Water Witch (which I take as a very good sign). Jessica came back and was rolling right away despite no practice during the year.

Our camp begins in a swimming pool at The Harbor, which is in lower Harlem in New York City and progresses to the Farmington River in Connecticut. In between, we paddle in the Hudson River with Eric Stiller and the Manhattan Kayak Company at Pier 63 in NYC, and we visit a beautiful beach in Long Island where there is flat water and surf. At the beach, the kids see all kinds of birds and sea creatures (besides surfers) like horseshoe crabs, mussels, and clams. For most of them, this is their first beach experience.

This year we had 6 girls and 8 boys and 2 returning teachers, Anthony and Rosanna. By the end of the week, just about everyone was rolling their kayaks, successfully moving their boats around and catching eddies. Some students were learning even learning to surf. When we got to T-Ville, we had lots of help from local paddlers like Kate and Bob Taylor, Dave Saaf, Paula Flack, Rob and Mason, and Scott Barnes. This meant that we had a really good student teacher ratio on our last day. Elizabeth, one of our new non-swimmers, went from being scared to get her face in the water to paddling through all the biggest waves at T-ville! Jordan, Johnny and Crae were surfing the small waves like they had been doing it for a long time instead of just one day! Julio and Hector appeared to be growing gills they liked the water so much. Julissa liked the rapids so much she went down through one extra riffle. Rochelle had a perma grin on her face from start to finish. Marquis paddled through the meat of the biggest hole on the river and stayed upright like it was nothing. Jason got a crash course in kayaking because he missed one day and paddled like a champ. Rosanna rediscovered her love of the river, and Anthony was working his hand roll and I am not talking about sushi. Most importantly, everyone was having fun! It was very cool to see. In fact, when it came time for the kids to leave Farmington and head back to NYC, no one wanted to get out of the water!

This year we really lucked out! Keen donated shoes for every participant in the camp. This has been a big issue in the past because the kids never had good footwear for kayaking; often they would lose their water socks or end up barefoot, definitely not optimal for walking around next to the river or anywhere else for that matter. So this was a HUGE help! You have never seen such big eyes as when we handed out the shoes. My favorite quotation about the new Keens came from Mathew who asked after we had passed out the shoes, ? Can we keep these?? As in years past, Jackson Kayak donated kayaks, T-shirts and visors that were fantastic, and Shred Ready donated more helmets. Dermatone donated sun block, chap stick and hats. Luckily all our AT Paddles and Astral Buoyancy Lifejackets were in great shape. All the kids and instructors alike were very grateful for the ongoing support from our sponsors. And me, well I am still so amazed and thankful that enough people out there help me keep this dream alive. When you see the big smiles and all the fun and adventure these kids are experiencing, it?s magical!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Jessie