Help ALLEGANY BOYS CAMP

ALLEGANY BOYS CAMP

OLD TOWN, Maryland

Cause Description:
Therapeutic Camp in the Wilderness A therapeutic camp is a naturally stimulating environment which helps campers find social and mental balance. Allegany Boys Camp uses a wilderness setting to help boys who have not been successful in modern day settings of classrooms, doctor's offices, and even in homes. Living in tent cabins, cooking over open fires, and taking wilderness trips help every boy's desire for fun and adventure. More importantly, this outdoor experience provides a non-threatening atmosphere to work through the problems that have plagued these boys, despite the efforts of parents, educators, and medical specialist. When a group of boys works toward common goals in joint activities, problems will become obvious. At a therapeutic camp we simply stop what we're doing and address and solve these problems as a group, under the careful guidance of counselors. These counselors live with the boys 24 hours a day and build relations with them that allow them to counsel and model proper behavior in a way that is impossible in traditional institutions. In many ways Allegany Boys Camp is very simple. We emphasize the basics. Boys provide shelter by buiding their own tent-cabins. Groups prepare their own food two days each week and on wilderness trips. They build trails, cut wood for fuel, and clean the campsites daily. We also ask each boy to be responsible for his actions and their effect on the group, whether good or bad. We constantly teach the basic principle of personal responsibility and accountability in all areas of life. The Therapeutic Camping Program used at Allegany Boys Camp was developed by Campbell Loughmiller around 1950. While the basic principles are simple, there are many details that are important for helping a troubled boy successfully work through his problems to become socially and mentally well-balanced. The staff maintains a camp spirit of friendliness and helpfulness regardless of what our troubled boys do. When boys come to camp, they often display improper behavior. In the woods we can allow these actions to be expressed in a controlled manner. When this happens, the group sits down to evaluate the actions and their natural consequences. They work through the problem until the boy sees the value of proper responses. This process is repeated constanty for more than a year until bad habits fade and good habits are established. We work hard to keep camp simple and free of gadgets that would take away the neccessity for creative imagination. Those of us who work directly with the boys know that a boy appreciates and respects a structure he has built himself much more than something given to him with no effort on his part. At camp we call this concept "ownership." A good feeling comes from putting an adequate shelter over one's head. A boy has the satisfaction that he has met a very fundamental requirement of living. The therapeutic camping process at Allegany Boys Camp works by temporarily removing the boy from his environment and placing him in a new and challenging environment that is physically and emotionally secure. Surrounded by the outdoors and a network of caring adults, he learns to be a productive member of a group, gaining skills that will ultimately help him become a holistically integrated member of society. As an active member of a group, each boy has a voice in cooperative decision making and planning and assumes a personal responsibility for the group's success.

Type: Business/Professional
Listed on iGive since: August 2013
iGive members supporting: 4

Website: www.alleganyboyscamp.com

Raised through iGive: $6.00 across 1 check, October 2013 to October 2013.

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