Camps train counselors for ministry
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published July 14, 2006
Camp Ozanam program helps ease young adults into leadership roles
At Catholic summer camps near Port Sanilac, youngsters learn to get in touch with God through nature, and young adult camp counselors take home lessons that will serve them a lifetime.
Port Sanilac – When Stephvonie Anderson first started going to St. Vincent de Paul's Camp Ozanam when she was 8 years old, she gave her counselors a little grief by showing them some attitude.
Now, several years later, the shoe is on the other foot as Stephvonie — affectionately known at the camp as "Sweetie" — is training to become a camp counselor herself.
Ramsey Ave supervises campers during a swimming activity at Camp Ozanam. | "I've found out that I'm having the same troubles with the kids as the counselors had with me – with the attitudes and the not wanting to participate," says Stephvonie, a Redford Township resident. "I see the outside of stuff that happens that the kids don't know."
Such are the lessons being taught and learned at Camp Ozanam's Counselor in Training (CIT) program. Camp Ozanam primarily serves children and teenagers from low-income families in Southeastern Michigan. Each week at camp, several older campers, ages 15 to 17, take their first steps toward becoming camp counselors. They work with the staff and the counselors — who are ages 18 to their early 20s — to become role models, helpers and, of course, friends to younger campers.
"The CIT is part of what happens with camps when they want to train campers to work with kids who want to come up here," says Michael Allen, program director at Camp Ozanam, who during the school year promotes mentorship programs to troubled school students.
So far, eight campers at Camp Ozanam have gone through the program about halfway through the month-long summer camp schedule.
Ramsey Ave of Detroit, a 16-year-old training to be a camp counselor, chats with 8-year-old Caitlyn Urick on the beach at St. Vincent de Paul’s Camp Ozanam. | Allen says the counselors-in-training learn everything from face-to-face, heart-to-heart talks with campers, to all the legal aspects of camp that are put in place to ensure the camp's safety.
"Keep fun in front of them, and keep it safe — that's what we train them to do in a week," Allen says.
A lot goes into creating the safe, fun and faith-focused atmosphere of the camp. For example, the counselors-in-training learn to ask for help when they need it and teach the younger campers that, if they look for it, they'll always find help from the older friends, and comfort from the Lord.
Most of the campers-in-training are seasoned veterans when it comes to camping. Sixteen-year-old Ramsey Ave of Detroit, for instance, has been going to Camp Ozanam since he was 8 years old.
He knows what a lot of the younger campers are going through and helps give them comfort.
"Some just have problems at home," Ramsey says. "We see what they need. … Some of them are from broken families or whatever and come here to camp as a chance to meet new people."
Boys at Camp Ozanam play touch football on June 6. |
The best part, he says, is to help the campers have fun. Important, too, he adds, is the central focus of the St. Vincent de Paul camp – to bring kids into a Godly, healthy and nurturing environment.
"The Bible says you're to love your brother, and so you're working with others to get them to know God," he says. "Here at Camp Ozanam they try to teach them about God and about Christ and how Christ is working in every day life and in nature."
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