Color Your Dreams
by 2nd year WIT Teen Lila
founder Creative Sanctuary
When I was younger, summer meant a lot of things- endless days spent donning my bathing suit 24/7, perpetually sunburnt skin, and copious amounts of ice cream- but my most fond childhood memories usually revolve around my days spent at summer camp. After many different summer camp experiences, I’ve come to realize the formative role my many camp counselors played in influencing the growth of my morals and values. My camp counselors served as mentors to me and taught me how to collaborate effectively with others, practice humility and kindness, and above all, selflessly give back to my community.
This summer I got to be a camp counselor, but not in the way I expected.
The beginning of summer I got to volunteer as a counselor at virtual Camp WIT and later at Camp Virtues. During these experiences not only did I become extremely close with the teens and kids I worked with, but I was able to offer them guidance and advice. I had become someone they looked up to and respected.
I shared this sentiment, along with my concern that so many kids weren’t getting a special camp experience, with my close friend, Naomi, who runs a non profit organization of her own. Together we decided to launch our own virtual art and mindfulness summer camp, Color Your Dreams, for kids aged 5-13. Our goal was to provide an opportunity for kids to explore their artistic sides, become empowered through mindfulness exercises, connect with fellow peers, and temporarily escape the stress caused by the pandemic. I reached out to Julie, the founder of Camp Virtues, with our idea, and she loved it. She posted a sign up sheet on Facebook and within days we had nearly forty campers enrolled in our new camp, Color Your Dreams.
Naomi and I immediately started planning. We determined a theme, affirmation, art project, icebreaker, and mindfulness activity for each day. By the time camp launched, we felt ready, albeit a little nervous. We logged onto our first zoom and were greeted by a myriad of expectant faces- some smiling, others looking a bit hesitant- all staring at me and Naomi. That first day, we realized we had built this extremely unique global community from all over- with campers coming from the West Coast, East Coast, Canada, and even Saudi Arabia!
Our themed art project the first day was a “Gratitude Jar,” a decorated mason jar intended to hold small strips of paper on which they had written things they were grateful for. Every camper volunteered to show their jar, and also unmuted their mics to offer praise for their peers’ work or explain how they had decorated their jar. Two campers, sisters Tara and Kayla, had decorated their jars with colorful, construction paper polka dots, Laetita had painted hers yellow, green, and brown to represent a pineapple, and one of the campers, Ruhi, had glued a lego to the lid of her jar! We then asked each camper to tell us two things they were grateful for, and immediately received an influx of unique responses ranging from “my swim teacher” to “my brother.”
The themes of Day 2 and Day 4 focused on developing self-love, building confidence, and identifying goals and dreams, and it was extremely rewarding to watch each camper break out of their shell and become empowered to share their hopes and dreams with their fellow campers. Some memorable moments from those two days included hearing Nadia, one of our campers, read affirmations that she had written on her self-love origami fortune teller such as “Reach for the stars” and “I am strong”.
Our last day was unforgettable. With donations from Color Your Dreams parents, we created 12 comprehensive art kits for children of refugee families at a local refugee center RefugeeNet, so that they could participate in a second session of the camp.. We also had each camper design a t-shirt and write a letter for the new campers. Each camper then got a chance to present their art projects, and it was so heartwarming to see that some of the campers parents had even completed the art projects as well!
The second week of camp was just as enjoyable and fulfilling as the first. The director of RefugeeNet informed us that it was a very special opportunity for the kids to be able to have an hour during the day where they were able to explore the creative possibilities offered by art, and this was definitely evidenced by all of the campers’ amazing artwork! For her affirmation canvas, one of the campers, Solange, painted a beautiful picture of the ocean complete with waves and a sunrise.
On the last day of camp we had each camper decorate fabric face masks with their favorite animal.ne of the campers, Mwamimi, drew a stunningly detailed picture of a bear, and Be-La, who loved wolves, proudly tried on his finished wolf mask for all of us to see.
Over the past few months I’ve come to realize that while I wouldn’t have thought it possible, virtual summer camp still gave me the chance to create special connections and bonds. It also gave me the chance to do what previous camp counselors had done for me- take on the responsibility of becoming a role model for younger kids. And during these trying times it felt really good to know I could make a difference in these kids' lives, and teach them that art is a gift that is meant to be shared, even if it means through a screen.