Summer Preparedness

Wondering what I'm doing these days? Here's a bit of a glimpse of projects on the go:

- GOLF FOR HOPE Golf Tournament, which I am the event coordinator for, will run August 17 (want to golf?) Our team is busy looking for sponsors, and designing a brochure and coordinating prizes for the big day.

- COMMUNITY BBQ - ICYA annually hosts a BBQ; it's a great way to keep connected with the families of the kids we work with, and also has often been a perfect opportunity to advertise for our summer programs & have kids get signed up for camp on the spot. This year I am again the event coordinator, and I'm stretching our vision a bit wider to include several other ministries in the North End. Our theme is: CELEBRATING WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THE NORTH END. It's partially a response to all the negative press we've been receiving lately, and partially a neat opportunity to highlight some cool things going on. We have 3 musical groups and 1 dance studio (all local) coming to showcase their talent on the outdoor stage & have invited other ministry-minded agencies to participate as well.

- SUMMER PREPARATION - this is a vast job that ranges from, well - yesterday Lori, Matthew & I had a 14 hour kayak trip. Our goal was to check out a new canoe route the younger kids will be taking on canoe trips. It'll be a 4 day trip for them, and we were trying to be time effective and scout the whole thing in one day. We did it - in the rain - and were cold & tired in the end, (but I admit it was pretty fun, too!) and now have a confident plan of where the kids will canoe, stop off points for meals, where to stop if it's a weaker group of paddlers, and opportunities for stronger paddlers, as well as emergency routes and fun places to plan to picnic at and spend a little more time playing in the water.

A lot of summer prep is much less exciting: like, registration - making posters, brochures and talking to kids and parents to get people signed up. Much of it is administrative in nature - arranging who gets which vehicle when and when dates for this trip has to be to still be able to run this program at this time, and who's doing what. There's also enough preparation work - planning 5 different crafts to use during Day Camp, then buying the supplies for 100 kids to do them, and sometimes even cutting pieces out, or creating easy-to-hand-out packets of supplies for each kid. It's tedious work, but well worth it when you have 50 kids all wanting to do a craft at the same time! Arranging out trips that work within our budget, finding volunteers for different weeks of ministry, soliciting cookies from churches to bring to camp... that kind of thing.

On that note - we're still looking for a BUILDING AND VEHICLE OPERATIONS MANAGER position, for 25 hours/week starting now until the end of August. Applicants must be ages 16-24 to qualify for grant. If you know someone who'd be perfect for the job, email kirsten@icya.ca!

- FALL THOUGHTS - We are hoping to make some changes come fall in several job descriptions, mine included. There are a few pockets of the North End that are not being reached by any evangelical organization, and we'd like to see that changed. We'd love to start some satellite programs out of ICYA that would reach into these neighbourhoods, and feel that with the current strong staff team, and solid volunteer base, the time may be ripe for such an endeavor. It's not a quick decision, though, so we are trying to be thorough and pray through and be wise about any ramifications this would pose.

And that's what's keeping me busy these days!