Helping teens connect and build community by creating a safe space for them to thrive.
Our teens at summer camp learn the importance of teamwork, and lifting each other up - both literally and figuratively.
Becoming Part of a Team
We had 52 youth and 14 mentors at our 6th Annual Summer Leadership camp this year, making it our largest group yet! We were and continue to be grateful for all of the work and hours our mentors put in each day of camp. The four days away at camp are packed with fun activities, obstacle course challenges and recreation experiences. Additionally, we make space for intentional time with each team - or “tribe” as we call them - in which the camp mentors spend time talking with the kids each evening in their cabins. At the end of each day the campers & mentors reflect on the events of the day together, walking them through winning and losing, making new friends, and how the team members supported and encouraged each other throughout all of the day’s challenges. These moments are formative for our young men; moments of failing and disappointment, moments of growth and overcoming, and moments of amazing wins and huge successes.
Nature’s Effect
““David Sawyer, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Utah, coined the term [3-Day Effect]. In a 2012 study, Sawyer studied a novice backpacking group immersed in nature for 4 days. The study roughly indicated a 50% increase in problem-solving skills among participants after the immersion. During the study, Sawyer observed that right around the 3-day mark is when participants received a sort of neural reboot and reported being more creative—hence the term 3-Day Effect.” ”
Together We Become Stronger
Three years ago, when our first 8th graders were moving on to high school, we began a special tradition that has taken root and become one of our favorite moments and traditions of summer camp, a Knighting Ceremony. In this ceremony we emphasize how far the boys have come, and how much more responsibility high school will be. It is a special time for them to feel strengthened and empowered to become men and to face the new road ahead with courage. One of our mentors and directors, David, has a Celtic sword we use in our knighting ceremony. The high schoolers knight the soon-to-be freshmen and hang a Stone of Hope Youth scarf around their neck, as a symbol of leadership. The students feel a great sense of pride and belonging when they wear their scarf to events throughout the year. It is an incredibly meaningful event met with tears and reflections of how the boys have felt supported throughout the years and the recognition of how much they have grown as individuals.
Instilling Self-Worth
““...adolescents who think of themselves as valuable are more likely to be willing to try something new. They believe they can be successful and are more likely to set goals or have ambitions. Next, teens that have a sense of their own self-worth are more likely to stand by their own convictions and beliefs and tend not to be swayed by others. Adolescents who understand that they have value are more likely to handle the disappointments and discouragements that come with growing up. Teens who know that they are ’worth something’ are less likely to feel ’worthless’ when they occasionally fail or suffer a disappointment.””
Consistency is Key
One of the reason we hold weekly mentor sessions is to create consistency for these youth who often live in unstable and tumultuous home environments. That consistency has paid off and students are feeling the love. One of our students who is a Junior said of Stone of Hope. “I can’t believe what we put you through [when we started in elementary] and you still stuck with us.” With almost 20% of students dropping out of high school at the school our SOHY youth attend, we believe we can help increase the graduation rate by 5% over the course of 5 years. We will be cheering on our students and continuing to speak into their lives, encouraging them to do their best, to go to class and to finish strong. Next year we will be ushering in our first Senior class! Most of these boys have been with us since 5th grade. This means we will get to see our dreams of providing partial scholarships for college or trade school come to fruition. We were thrilled this year to receive a large grant that will go towards a future endowment that will grow and be available to our students for years to come.