Responding in Oklahoma
We wrapped up our camp in Sulphur, Oklahoma yesterday after serving more than 300 children impacted by devastating tornadoes that ripped through the state over the last two weeks.
In many ways, it was camp as usual – there were gratitude circles, arts and crafts, and enough smiling and hi-fiving to fill everyone’s heart to the brim. We saw kids process their experiences together and a community begin to heal after the trauma of the past few days.
For Project:Camp, however, this camp in Oklahoma represents a shift in how we view our response work, and a new way to engage with more communities impacted by climate-driven disasters across the U.S.
The change was really a change of mindset: instead of looking at disasters and asking “does this situation necessitate a pop-up camp?” we saw the tornadoes that hit Oklahoma and asked “how can we help kids in this community?”
To help answer that question, we put our new Camps Manager Madeline McClelland on a plane (huge thanks to our partner Airlink!) and told her to see what the situation on the ground was like and if the community needed support in helping children and families impacted by the storms.
Within the first 24 hours in Sulphur, Madeline connected with local partners – including everyone from the Chickasaw Nation to Calvary Baptist Church – and helped set up and run programming for children at a block party held last weekend. Through these connections, Madeline met with Sulphur Intermediate School Principal John Mann, who jumped at the opportunity to create a trauma-informed program to help transition his students back to a learning environment.
In talking with John, our full-on, standalone day camp model didn’t seem like a great fit, but leveraging the school’s faculty and facilities combined with our curriculum was a great way to support impacted kids. That led us to implement a program during school hours for more 300 children each day this week, with all the normal steam valves and outlets that help them process what they’ve been through.
The whole process was a good reminder that we can always be looking for ways to provide resources for communities impacted by disaster, even if it means thinking outside the box.
With gratitude,
Mikey
Project:Camp Bulletin Board
We were lucky enough to present this week at the California Emergency Services Association conference for the second year in a row. We held a animated panel discussion with Merced County Emergency Services Manager Adam Amaral and California Fire Foundation Executive Director Rick Martinez, along with our own Mikey Latner and Jacque Nushi. Thanks to everyone for being a part of it!
Thanks to everyone who supported us during our fundraising efforts around Earth Day. We can’t make responses like the one in Oklahoma happen without funding, and really appreciate all the support everyone showed. If you didn’t get a chance to make a 100 percent tax deductible donation and would like to help us out, you can do so here.
