Day 1 at the shelter!

Suprises
Today, we woke up, ate breakfast (just cereal), and headed to the Stenton Family Manor, a shelter on 1700 East Topulhogan Drive. We soon met Ms. Stephanie, the activities supervisor, and learned that unlike prior years, there would not be any camp after we left, as well as severe budget cuts to the programs. These cuts were very evident due to the un-mown foot high grass in the play area, as well as the 2-3 foot high weeds covering the playground. Sadly, the playground was unusable due to the lack of an appropriate layer of mulch, locked with a chain and padlock. As a group, we hope to rectify these issues as soon as possible, mowing tomorrow. 
While the field was in bad shape, the kids were not deterred. From the moment we arrived, Umar (one of the boys) came out to greet us. The boys love basketball, while the girls tended to stick to the artsier activities, such as sidewalk chalk, drawing, and Uno games. Everyone helped make themselves nametags, as well as decorating ours.
Condensed Status Report:
Christoph-- played 5 hours of basketball, and really enjoyed it
Noelle-- she felt especially happy when a small boy said "we really have something to do today"
Grace-- felt especially empowered when a small boy (Deshayn) quit a game when he lost, she intervened, telling a story of how Michael Jordan never quit, despite losing; she also loved a boy (Ischmail) who drew probably at least 10 beaches
Kami and Emma-- they both loved spending time in Brightspace, the area for 2-5 year olds, and interacting with the younger children in the morning; Kami also remarked how although Ms. Stephanie had been there for only a few weeks, she had already developed a connection with the kids, calling them her "horns", who spread the word about our program this morning.
Brodie and Trey-- they also spent some time in Brightspace, in the afternoon, tiring the kids out before their nap, playing as the 'monsters'; Trey also had fun giving high fives to Deshayn after he cheered up, showing how high fives can make anything better
Ms. Emily-- when Umar's mom came as we were leaving, and stated how much fun he had.
Scott-- a high was when a small 8 year-old asked if we were paid for this. Scott replied no, and the boy simply said "you are incredible"
Mr. Paul-- he spent time and talent working on both the computers and helping with the mowing difficulties to get started tomorrow
Ms. Susan-- she worked on the challenge of the lack of mulch, and hit it right on the head, taking over. the mulch will arrive wednesday (Thank You Susan)
A low point for us though was when a young girl said "i remember you from last year", making us realize that she had spent a year or more in this shelter. Also many of us noticed that a large majority of the kids have issues with 'losing', and how that will be something we work on this week.
One final thing: we are all dismayed when Ms. Stephanie had no staff at all - Mr. Al mentioned that we could start 'training' the older kids to help out later this summer. She loved the idea!
Courtesy of:
Justin Burns and Al
"Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime."