Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County-KidsCamp held an all-day event called "Silence Against Violence" to stem the hurt caused by bullying and negative words. During the event, held on July 11, 2013, each member earned a dot on their team's board for every minute they were silent. In order to receive points, a member had to remain silent for an entire minute. The focus of the event was to show kids how important it is to show kindness to everyone.
A total of 98 members participated in the day of "Silence Against Violence". Members at the Valparaiso site earned 975 points, South Haven earned 1,300 points and Portage earned 2,675 points. Combined, they were silent for 4,950 minutes! The winning team was rewarded with a pizza party for their dedication to silencing hurtful language and helping to end the violence.
Throughout the week, KidsCamp held another program about how to treat others. The program, "Learning to Care", was led by two KidsCamp staff members, John Kravis and Kayla Middleton. They traveled to all three sites and had some fun activities for the members as well. One activity involved blind folding a member while another member led them through an obstacle course using only their voice to simulate what it's like to be blind. In another activity, members tried to communicate through lip-reading to simulate being deaf.
Sarah Tharp, a speaker from Accessabilities, delivered a presentation about bullying and how to treat people with and without handicaps. In her message, she stressed that although people are different, we should accept them for who they are; a very important message to teach our kids so that they can grow up to be respectful adults.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County has been serving youth since 1971. The Clubs provide high quality programs for over 4,800 boys and girls in the areas of character and leadership development, educational enhancement, career preparation, health and life skills, the arts and sports, fitness and recreation.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County offers a wide variety of summer camps and programs. For more information on membership, volunteer opportunities or to make a tax deductible donation to Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County, please contact your local Club, call (219) 464-7282 or visit www.bgcpoco.org. Great Futures Start HERE.