The Girl Scout Way
After learning about girls from another Service Unit who were unable to attend camp due to lack of finances and resources, Troop Leader Nichol Lee sprang into action and is now working to help every girl experience the magic of camp. Check out Q&A with her below!
Why do you think
it is important for girls to experience camp?
As a young girl, my parents sent me to church camp for a
week. I was so scared and didn’t know
anyone other than the girls from my church.
I was uneasy as I didn’t know what to expect or what we would be doing
all week. Since I didn’t know my
counselor, I was uncomfortable asking her what I was supposed to be doing with
some of the stuff my mom packed for me.
I didn’t know I was supposed to shower every day and change my
clothes. So needless to say, my laundry
load was pretty much clean when I got home.
Of course, my mom was not happy with me, but I learned my lesson for the
next year.
I attended church camp every year and even worked at the
same camp until I graduated high school.
I loved meeting up with old friends and making new friends every
year. Spending that time away from home
to spread my wings and make my own decisions was exhilarating!
I didn’t have the chance to join Girl Scouts when I was a
little girl as it wasn’t available where I lived. When my daughter was in 1st grade
she wanted to join Girl Scouts, and I became the Troop Leader. When my troop was in 3rd grade we
decided to try out the Service Unit camp out.
We didn’t have a good experience for our first year of camping. The next year there was an opening as SU Camp
Director and I immediately signed up to take on this big task.
I have a passion for making sure camping is available to
every girl. Camping to me is a great
experience for the troop to bond and work together as a troop. I know it can be hard for parents to send
their girls away for the first time, but with a little faith, their daughter
will be able to spread her own wings!
Tell us about your
experience at Camp Champions (i.e. what activities did you participate in, what
were some of your favorite memories)
When I started as the Camp Director for OHSU, I started
looking around for a camp ground that could handle a large service unit like
Oak Hill SU. After I interviewed Camp
Champions I immediately fell in love.
Camp Champions is an all-inclusive camp with wooden cabins, activities
for every level, a full service kitchen and was large enough to hold our large
service unit.
Every year I design the entire weekend around a
theme. This year was a Survivor
theme. I have a small team that helps
plan the event and we start a year in advance.
Although Camp Champions provides all the activities for Saturday, there
is a lot of work that happens behind the scenes.
Camp Champions has a full time staff that is always
willing to work with any accommodation we need.
Nowadays kids have more and more food allergies. I love that Camp Champions goes above and
beyond to make sure meals are provided for girls that are gluten free, vegan
and have a peanut allergy.
This year we tried a few new things while we had troops
checking in on Friday night. We provided
a water bottle for every girl and adult that attended. We also had a scavenger hunt. I came up with clues about the different
activities the girls would be doing and set them up all over the camp. Each troop won an award at the end. This year to go along with the theme, each
troop created a Survivor flag. Every
troop had so much fun and it was a great way for them to see where they would
be on Saturday during their rotations.
This year we did Skits & Smores on Saturday
night. I LOVE watching all of the girls
come out of their shell and work together on a skit or song. We had 343 girls/adults attend this year and
it is so amazing to see even the shyest girl get up in a big crowd and be
comfortable with her troop by her side!
To go along with the theme, I asked that the Skits/Songs
be about surviving. Yes, some of the
theme was about the show Survivor, but to me it is way more than that. At the SU camp we have girls in Brownies
through Ambassadors. Every girl can
face a different “Surviving” challenge in life. Many girls face new schools, new circle of
friends, families separating, family members getting sick, and even
bullying. I wanted the troops to really
think about where t
hey are in their journey and how they are surviving in their
everyday life not only as a girl scout but a girl.
One of my favorite skits was of my troop. I had seen them practice it, but I had no
idea how it would touch me at the end.
My girls are in middle school and they see bullying almost every day
occur. My daughter played the special
needs girl and the other girls in my troop were the popular girls making fun of
her because she has special needs and she is a little different. One of the popular girls was a little unsure
about following the others and didn’t really want to make fun of her. In the end, she convinced the others girls it
was not right to make fun of my daughter.
At the end of the skit, my daughter stood up in front of
the crowd and explained it was not okay to bully special needs kids or any kids
who are not like you. She told the crowd
she has special needs, she is dyslexic, and has ADD. Just because she is a little different,
doesn’t mean she is any different than the other kids in her school. I was SO proud of my daughter for standing
up in front of the crowd and speaking out.
After the evening was over, several leaders and girls camp up to her and
gave her a hug. They also said they were
so thankful she spoke up because, they too have been bullied for their learning
disabilities.
How did the idea
of sponsoring camp for another Service Unit come about?
I was sent an email from my SUD Janessa Glenn about a
service unit needing some help to get camping started in their service
unit. After several emails with their
SUD, I learned they have not camped in over 3 years. They used to have an older girl scout
organize the event for them, but unfortunately, they couldn’t keep that
going.
About a month after corresponding with the other Service
Unit, I quickly learned they needed more help than I could offer them at that
time. I was also in the middle of cookie
season and planning for our SU camp out.
When I discovered what the girls could afford, I quickly
reached out to my SUDs. I had this idea
of inviting this other Service Unit to our camp out. I wanted to make sure it was okay with my
SUDs before I reached out to the other Service Unit. When I explained the situation to my SUDs,
it meant we would have to sponsor some of the girls in this other Service
Unit. They immediately said yes.
Within a few days of talking to my SUDs, I contacted the
other Service Unit and pitched my idea.
They were beyond thrilled. They
were concerned that many of their girls would need assistance financially. I reassured them, that no matter what we
would figure out a way to make sure each girl that wants to go, will be able to
go.
After talking to the other Service Unit, I contacted our
MDE Anita Braun to find out what I need to do to get the funds to help these
girls. I learned there is a process in
which the girls have to go through to receive financial aid from council. Although the girls that went didn’t get all
the funds they needed for camp, Oak Hill Service Unit sponsored the rest of
what was needed.
When I learned the girls that went have never camped
before, it broke my heart. In March, we
had an upcoming Service Unit Leader Meeting.
For the past few years, I’ve had troops ask me about why they should go
to the Service Unit campout. This year I
put together a presentation about the big event. At the end of the presentation I wanted to
approach my Service Unit for help to sponsor these girls.
I am not a person who “cries” in public. At the end of my presentation I was
overwhelmed at all the Leaders who had stepped up and donated. They have never met this other Service Unit,
but I could feel their compassion for my cause to help these girls.
Tell us more about
your efforts to help make camp more affordable and accessible to more girls.
When I first discovered why this other Service Unit
stopped camping, I reached out to council.
I wanted to know why it costs so much for Service Units to use the
council camps. I had explained to KJ
(Council Camp Director), we have got to find a more affordable way for underprivileged
service units to be able to use the council camp facilities.
We began really digging into what each camp facility
offers and going over what it would cost for them. At most of the council camp facilities,
service units have the option to bring in their own food and cook it
themselves. We brainstormed a way for other
service units to purchase three different camp packages based on their
needs. They can purchase a basic
package and plan the whole weekend themselves, all the way up to allowing the
camp staff to plan their weekend.
I wanted to bring awareness to council that there are
other service units in our council that can’t afford to camp at a council
facility due to the cost. Another
problem is there are service units that are not big enough to have a service
unit camp on their own. Some facilities
require a minimum number of girls so the camp can pay their staff.
This year, we not only had the other Service Unit with
us, but we also had two other smaller service units join us. I welcome as many Service Units that want to
join us. However, I also want to design
a fall and a spring camp for these smaller Service Units and have one big camp
each season.
What did you/your
girls learn from this experience?
I believe everything happens for a reason, and all of
this started with one Service Unit reaching out for help. Through this experience, I have learned that
we all need help. I am so thankful to be
part of a much bigger circle of leaders within in my Girl Scout community.
I never knew how much my love for camping and my passion
for making sure each girl in not only Oak Hill Service Unit, but all of the
surrounding Girl Scout Service Units would widely spread. I just wanted to be a voice for this other
Service Unit, and make council aware of some changes that needed to be
made.
It wasn’t until we were leaving on Sunday to head home,
had this whole experience really touched me.
As we were checking troops out, one of the Brownie troops from the other
Service Unit and a Brownie troop from OHSU told me they are going to be sister
troops. When I asked them what that
meant to them, they said “We are going to continue our friendship and plan
events together”. It was then, that I
realized reaching out to the other Service Unit was the best decision I ever
made.
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