Lighting a Lamp: SkillsUSA O & C's Service Project
By Cameron Hooks, junior Auto Technician
“If you light a lamp for someone else, It will also brighten your path.” ~ Buddah
The weekend of October 18th was a time for service with smiles for LCCTC’s SkillsUSA Opening and Closing Team.
FIRST TASK
After an after-school pizza dinner, our first task was to clean and organize the New 2 You clothes closet, a place where students can find dress-code approved clothing for school, interviews, and sometimes special occasions. When we surveyed the room, we decided to empty the space of every shirt and blouse, coat and hoodie, pair of jeans on the shelves, pair of shoes on the rack, and in bag after bag after bag of donated items ready for shelving.
Our first round involved removing any item that did not fit the dress code, was damaged, or had gotten dirty. Each member soon found their strengths in the cleaning process -- sorting, organizing, inspecting, and so much more. During the second round, we organized the remaining articles into sizes so students looking for something nice to wear would be able to quickly find something they liked. Our final step was to take an inventory on the remaining items -- particularly the number of jeans, a typical area of need with many in our student body. During the following week, we intend to “finish” the New 2 You project with a quick trip to the mall to purchase jeans of all sizes and styles.
Already exhausted, we left the school with a sense of great accomplishment. We all had so much fun just working side-by-side as a team; we were tired from hustling to get the job done in time, and we did.Once again, we worked together to load the van, and within minutes we were on our way to camp.
AT KON-O-KWEE
Winding down the road, sun setting in the distance, the golden leaves waved us onward. The ride there was a lot more fun than I expected. After only a few hours, our friendship was growing with joke after joke. Though we were all from different home schools and in different shops and by the time we reached the YMCA Camp Kon-o-Kwee archway, we soon realized that we have so much in common.
Driving through the camp, we could see why previous O & C teams were drawn to this place. Rustic cabins dotted the wood’s edge and acre after acre of sprawling lawn made the setting seem like something out of a dream. Charlie Deer, Director of Kon-o-Kwee’s sister camp, Camp Spencer, warmly welcomed us, and we instantly loved her. We witnessed her work as a leader who works side by side with the staff to make sure the job at hand gets done; needing a few extra moments to help finish cleanup in the kitchen, Charlie invited us to pop down on the lower level to greet another group also visiting the camp to quilt together.
NETWORKING
Downstairs, we “raided” the board game shelves to keep us busy during some down time at the cabin. During this time, we were able to meet with Jessie L. Kamerer, Ed.D, interim director of Robert Morris University’s nursing program. Prior to earning her Doctorate of Education, we were inspired to learn that Dr. Kamerer began her education at a vocational school -- just like US!
BONDING
With “Dog-opoly” and Would You Rather games in hand, we made our way back to the massive stone fireplace, the central focal point of the sprawling dining room. There, with the fixins for s’mores in hand, was Charlie -- ready to escort us to Spencer for the night. After setting up our bunks in the cabin, big enough to sleep 50, we dug into the snacks.
Charlie’s staff was kind enough to build us a roaring campfire to keep us warm as the temperatures dropped, and we made our way outside to enjoy toasted marshmallows. The fire crackled under the night sky and the team-bonding continued. It all started with Charlie asking us simple questions: “What’s your favorite color?” and “If you had a million dollars, what is the first thing you’d buy?” Maybe it the chill of the night that drew us closer to the fire, or maybe it was that we sensed that we were all among friends, but we were all soon sharing our stories. The support was real, the laughter was real, the knowledge that we were safe to just be ourselves was real, and our friendships grew into one big, diverse family. As the fire died down, we returned to the cabin, ready to get some good sleep for the big day of work ahead of us.
READY TO WORK
The sun rose over the frosty, foggy landscape, and we made our way back to the dining hall at Kon-o-Kwee for breakfast. After warming our hearts with coffee and hot coco and filling our bellies with fresh fruit and sausage gravy over biscuits, we were ready to help.
Charlie escorted us to the Trail of Courage challenge course. Our task: To move mulch under each obstacle so it would help ensure that every child who accepted each challenge it would be safe. The obstacles, designed to help young campers develop independence, courage, and problem solving skills; looking across the trail, we could see how this could be accomplished with the climbing, low rope bridges, and monkey bars. With the laughter of children camping nearby, we could feel the importance of our service.
“It made me happy knowing I was helping others out,” says Katie Bober, Veterinarian Assistant sophomore.
Shovelful by shovelful, we filled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow, and we took turns running, dumping and spreading mulch. Before we knew it, the once enormous pile disappeared -- all with teamwork!
NOT QUITE READY TO LEAVE
At noon, we cleaned up and returned to the dining hall, sweaty-dirty, and feeling good that we did something to help others. The fried chicken, lovingly prepared by Charlie and her staff, was simply delicious, and they spoiled us with a slice of blueberry pie!
Though we missed our families back home, we all hoped to remain together just a little while longer. Through the hard work of service, we still had so much fun -- together. We hope to soon return to the camp to knock off the second giant mulch pile or whatever task where they need fourteen-extra hands.
Initially, our thought was to travel to the camp to complete a service project, but through our service, we gained so much. It is true: by “lighting a lamp” for others, our lives were brightened.
The Opening and Closing Team from LCCTC’s Chapter of SkillsUSA would like to say, “Thank you” to the YMCA staff at Kon-o-Kwee and Spencer for opening their doors to us for the weekend, we’d also like to especially thank Charlie Deer for all she did to welcome us once again. And we’d like to thank our wonderful coach for organizing this event that brought us together through friendship and service; we started the weekend acquaintances and ended it by forming a “second family.”