Giving back

Seventeen more days; school will be out and my part time job will end. Having extra money for the last 9 months has been a treat that happened because I was in the right place at the right time or perhaps I simply knew the right person. Whatever, my next move is giving back.

June will mark the third year of the children's writing camp that popped into my head one day. Since then many people in the form of helpers have come and gone. The camp still exists. This year I have a wonderful partner who is a retired elementary teacher. Although are backgrounds are different our goals are the same. We want to inspire children to express their creativity through the written word. We also want to make it fun and hopefully increase the self-esteem of the students.

This year we will be combining some of the things that worked best in the past with some new ideas. Nothing is too foreign to try. I really believe that everything has a voice. One just needs to learn to listen. I also believe that every single form of writing has one thing in common; it tells a story. I recently saw a picture of three letters written in the sand on a beach, which led to the rescue of several people. Of course, those letters were- S.O.S.

As a retired teacher, my partner has some ideas about writing that are her own. On the first day of camp she tells the children that she is happy to report that teachers have failed. With a gleam in her eye her message to the startled group is, "They have failed to teach out creativity". She also encourages them to use 50 cent words.

Offering this writing camp is really fun and the fact that we are volunteering our time only means that we are giving back.