Youth Odyssey had a pretty jam packed 2016 summer season but it was all for the benefit of the Coastal Bend youth and beyond (with our summer camps). This summer season we were able to complete 14 programs! Of those programs, four were our week long summer camps that were open to all youth ages 10-17, and six of those were held at local housing projects and complexes in the Coastal Bend area; the remaining four programs were held at local recreation centers. With only three facilitators to take on the programs, our 2016 summer was one of the busiest yet! This year we took on three more programs than the previous summer and were able to expand two of last year’s pilot programs into two full length programs this summer.
Our four summer camps spanned from June all the way through August and covered everything from, enjoying ropes courses and appreciating where our local produce comes from to learning how to canoe and backpack.
Our first camp was our Adventure Delta Camp and consisted of camping at the Nueces Delta Preserve and delving into ropes courses, kayaking and SCUBA 101 and fun in the sun on the beach of course.- Living Local Camp was our second camp and we partnered up with GROW Local South Texas to learn all about locally grown fruits and vegetables, how to harvest them and helped at the Corpus Christi Downtown Farmer’s Market. There was horseback riding and a trip to the Corpus Christi Food Bank to see how it all works.
- With our third camp, Canoe Camp, we headed to Martin Dies, Jr. State Park to learn and explore the ins and outs of how to
canoe. They also learned how to rescue a canoe and it’s crew if it were to tip over (trying to prepare them for any situation). - Our final camp was our Hit the Trail Backpacking Camp in the Sabine National Forest where we backpacked a little over 14 miles over a span of three days in over 100 degree weather and biting insects at every turn. Despite how that may sound, the kids all had a blast. They all said they’d go on the trip again and that it pushed them more than they expected. Because of that, they know that they can make it through any tough situation they may encounter in the future.
All of our camps were crazy successful, the participants and their parents had nothing but rave reviews about their experiences and the demand was so high for kids to attend our camps that we may need to add more camps next summer! (We shall see…).
Our housing projects and apartments programs were at Leeward Homes, La Armada, The Palms, Lantaña Square, Casa de Mañana, and Samuel Place.
Samuel Place and The Palms were brand new pilot programs. A true pilot program is only a week long program with a ropes course at the end of the week. Due to the newness of the programs and a lot of parents not really knowing who Youth Odyssey was we had regular attendance of about 5 or so kids. With each day the kids got more and more excited about Youth Odyssey and the activities we would play. One of the programs a participant invited her cousin to join even thought she didn’t live in the complex and they both loved it. At the end of the week both programs were wondering when we would be back and that next time they would make sure and invite as many kids as they could.
The rest of our programs were either two week long programs or full length programs.
At Lantana Square we had amazing support from their staff. They helped us reach out to the families, which turned into a very successful program. They are excited for another partnership with us in the future.- Casa de Mañana was a program that we used to hold a few years back but stopped due to low attendance. Admittedly this year, it started out with just a few curious kids coming but by the end
of our two-week program we were able have an awesome ropes course where the kids definitely got out of their comfort zones and couldn’t stop talking about how much fun it was. - Leeward and La Armada are programs we see multiple times a year and in every program we see positive changes in the kids and in the dynamics of the program
itself. Our Leeward program at the beginning of the summer was probably one of our most successful programs. The way the kids were able to focus and motivate each other was definitely reassuring as a facilitator and exciting for the kids because they were able to have a great ropes course and camping trip as well. Our La Armada program was a little hectic at times due to rainy days / hot days; so we did our best to accommodate the conditions and still have a fulfilling program. - Each summer we also partner with local recreation (rec) centers to expand our reach and impact. This year we were able to run programs at Lindale, Oso, Solomon Coles, and Oak Park Recreation Centers. Our Lindale and Oso rec centers were pilot programs last year
and they had such a positive response to our programming that we extended their programs to full length, three-week long programs this year. Being able to recognize kids from last summers program and seeing how they helped the newer kids understand the way Youth Odyssey runs programs was exciting. With the veteran participants and the new faces there was obvious growth with all of our rec center programs; and we are hopeful that we will be able to maintain those relationships and extend into even more centers for next summer.
On the topic of expanding our impact, we are currently working to start prorgams with the Flour Bluff school district this year, return to Richard Milburn Academy (RMA) and run a second Juvenile Justice Boot Camp this fall. These are all in-progress talks but we are aiming to start with the upcoming school year; if not this semester then spring semester. Flour Bluff teachers have been asking for our programs for years and we finally have enough resources and nailed down a face to face with the schools so we can better explain what we are and how we are making a difference in the Coastal Bend youth.
It’s all very exciting and we are optimistic about our returning and new programs this school year. A lot of growth is to be expected, so stay tuned for updates and opportunities to get involved!
