Parade of Horses, Camp Run Free, July 2023 What Is It Like to Staff One of Our Camps? Our own Becca Randolph organized a team from her church, Grace Bible Church, to staff our Camp Run Free week in Rhea County. We typically need about 20 people to staff one of our camps: ten volunteers for each of our ten horses (each volunteer is paired with a horse), then we assign volunteers to the teams of kids and to activities, such as crafts, Bible study, and lessons for the kids about understanding their value and purpose. So, what does it look like for a volunteer? Natalie, a member of the youth group from Grace Bible, had no prior experience with horses. We gave her an hour-long training the weekend before the camp began (camps run on Monday through Friday), then she showed up on Monday morning around 7:00am (non-horse volunteers get to start at 7:30am). She was paired with Trigger, one of our more assertive horses. While she was never required to ride Trigger, she did need to lead him around, and she quickly learned leadership skills to be effective with Trigger. It was fun to watch her grow in this way over the course of the week! Natalie and other volunteers would finish up the day with a half-hour team meeting around 2:15, then spend maybe another 30 minutes with final horse duties before calling it a day. She and the other volunteers got fed breakfast, lunch and a snack. She also got to participate in "Family Night" on Friday at the end of the camp. Most volunteers, like Natalie, are glad they did it. You or your church group can staff one of our camps, too! We love working with youth groups from around the country to impact those youth as well as the campers. If you're interested, reply to this email, or you can email me directly at blazinghopeTN@gmail.com. Thanks again to the volunteers from Grace Bible. Next year, it could be YOUR church group having all the fun! |
