CAMP SEAFARER & CAMP SEA GULL: AFTER THE STORM

Camp Sea Gull for Boys and Camp Seafarer for girls are the YMCA of the Triangle's overnight camps located on the North Carolina Coast.

What a difference a week makes!

As Hurricane Irene pounded areas along the North Carolina coast, Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer staff were already planning for cleanup and recovery. 

Camp during the hurricane

Professional tree removal crews, engineers and contractors were dispatched to the area. Camp staff worked extra hours securing the property. After all, this is a special place for folks all around the nation. Just take a look at the progress they made in a few days.

Hurricane cleanup

Many of our Camp staff saw significant damage to their own homes. Yet, they’ve been more concerned about their neighbors and the community at large.

In fact, National Guard units set up camp at Seafarer on Monday.

“They just wanted a place to sleep and take a shower,” said Sarah Rhymer, Director of Community Programs for Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer. “They were so grateful.”

National Guard at Camp Seafarer

Since then, a number of groups have asked for our assistance. And, Camp Sea Gull and Camp Seafarer staff are very excited about the possibilities.

We'll keep you posted.

HIGH HOPES=BIG DREAMS

Camp High Hopes is a subsidized summer day camp funded through the YMCA's We Build People campaign. Jessica Russell and Sharlene Provilus, director and head counselor at the A.E. Finley Camp High Hopes, said, “We should do this.” So they did.

August 4 at the YMCA Association's Resource Center, two dozen Camp High Hopes campers, dressed sharply in business attire, met the eyes of college recruiters from ten local colleges and universities. They put out their hands for a handshake and then went with purpose to the business of talking education, college education.

Camp High Hopes College Day

Over the seven previous weeks of Camp High Hopes, Sharlene and her co-counselor, A.J. Johnson, coached and evaluated each of these students on etiquette, listening skills, leadership and an entire menu of skills for success.

The college reps reviewed the evaluations and grade point averages and then interviewed each student. The conversations were real and the students left with an envelope marked either ACCEPTED or DEFERRED.

The emotions were also real. Some students pumped the air and celebrated, others sat in serious discussions with their friends talking about the need to get higher grades to make their dream school a possibility in the future.

The whole experience really was a dream come true.
A dream that Jessica and Sharlene and A.J. made happen. Their vision has put a target in the future for these two dozen middle schoolers and that target is acceptance into college.

"It was like watching the light go on in two dozen pairs of eyes and with that light, a shot was fired at a target," said Patti Bryce, Finley's Outreach Director. "If you were lucky enough to be there, you know how I feel."

We cannot say thank you enough to these leaders!

CARY Y STAFF SAVE A LIFE

Bobby Sunukjian says being in the right place – at the right time – saved his life.

Bobby, Delynda and George

On October 31, the Sunukjian family heads to the Cary Y for an afternoon workout. Bobby and his wife, Rachel, drop off their two young children in the nursery. Rachel heads to her group fitness class. Thirty-eight-year-old Bobby hits the track.

When he’s done, Bobby goes to the Mens’ Locker Room to cool down.

Meantime, Cary Y staff member George Wait makes his usual rounds of the building. As he enters the locker room, George notices Bobby slumped over in a chair and unresponsive.

“Call 911 and bring the crash bag,” George exclaims over the walkie talkie.

That’s when Cary Y member Jeff Worthington walks into the locker room. Like Bobby, Jeff wants to fit in an afternoon workout. His plans change as he immediately helps George lower Bobby to the ground. By now, Bobby doesn’t have a pulse.

“One, two, three, four,” counts Jeff as George starts chest compressions on Bobby.

Delynda Ramirez-Carter works the front desk at the Cary YMCA on this Halloween. She hears George’s request over the walkie and rushes into the locker room with the automated external defibrillator or AED. George and Jeff step aside as Delynda places the AED pads on Bobby’s chest.

“Clear,” says Delynda as she administers the first shock of the AED.

Like intricate choreography, George immediately takes over with more chest compressions. Within 30 seconds, Bobby starts to become alert. George and Jeff place Bobby in the recovery position and give him oxygen.

As the fire department and EMS crew arrive, Bobby is talking and answering questions.

“Delynda and George care so deeply for the members of the Cary Y. I am thankful that I work beside such quick reacting, talented and compassionate people,” said Diane Hillsgrove, Cary Family YMCA Branch Director.

Bobby and Rachel Sunukjian have been regular members of the Cary Y. They know the faces and names of many of the friendly staff. But Bobby and Rachel didn’t know that many of those Y staff members are trained emergency responders.

“We are blessed to have staff members like George and Delynda on our team who are willing and ready to respond when life threatening situations arise,” Brad Emory, Associate Branch Director Administration, remarked. “God certainly used them on October 31 to provide the care that Bobby Sunukjian needed at that moment. “

In June, the Triangle Chapter of the American Red Cross presented George Wait and Delynda Ramirez-Carter with the Lifesaving Award for the Professional Responder, the highest award given by the American Red Cross. Click here to watch the presentation.

A healthy and very happy Bobby Sunukjian was there for the presentation.

“I couldn’t ask for a better team that day,” Bobby said at the presentation. “George and Delynda were so well trained and in the right place. The right equipment was in place. But this was much more than equipment. When it all comes together it is a like a symphony. In this case, the symphony saved my life.”

SWIM FOR LIFE

Last year, Barry Bowling was searching for a way to make a real impact in his community.

"I told my wife there is something God wants us to do. I just didn’t know what it was," says Barry. “She said to pray about it.”

Barry got his answer as listened to a radio report on the way to the beach. Six teenagers drowned in Louisiana’s Red River trying to save a friend who slipped into deeper water. None of the teenagers or adults watching from the riverbank could swim. The tragedy highlighted a startling statistic. Some 70 percent of African-American youth can’t swim, and drowning rates for young blacks are far higher than for whites.

To Barry, swimming is a rudimentary skill he can’t even remember learning, like walking or riding a bike. He taught his children to respect and feel comfortable around the water at a young age. Hearing the report about the Louisiana drownings led Barry to what he calls his epiphany.

"The light bulb went off," says Barry. "You need to create a program that teaches parents, children, people of any age, how to swim. We have to provide that outlet for folks who don't have the opportunity or funds to pay for swim lessons. I was so excited going down the road. The first thing that popped in my head was the YMCA."

Barry has been a member of the Alexander Family Y in downtown Raleigh for nearly 20 years. He participated in fund-raising efforts, but says he wasn’t a heavily involved volunteer. That changed when Barry pulled to the side of the road and called Brad Davis, YMCA of the Triangle Vice President of Development.

Getting started

“I can’t give enough credit to Brad for turning the idea around and giving it direction. Jon Mills (the Alexander YMCA Branch Director) called me within days and we went to lunch,” says Barry. “I told him I’ll find the money somewhere. Let’s get going.”

Within weeks, the Alexander Y staff developed a business plan and solicited staff members who were experts in aquatics and outreach efforts. Barry made a few tweaks and solicited donors who have a real commitment to the community. Joe Davis (Davis Wealth Management) Ven and Lisa Poole (C3 Foundation) and Karl Blackley (Preston Development Company) now sit on the steering committee. Barry describes the whole process as “lightning quick.”

Swim for Life class June 13

In March, the first free Swim for Life session was held at the YMCA’s pool on Oberlin Road. Barry, his wife and two children were there. Barry got in the pool on the fourth day.

“I helped six adult women who were between 30 and 60 years old. At the end of the lesson, they were able to swim the length of the pool unassisted,” exclaims Barry. “One of the instructors told me that at the beginning of the session, they were terrified of the water.”

This week, more than 65 children and adults are participating in the second Swim for Life sessions operated by the Alexander Family YMCA. Staff and community volunteers say they’re learning as much as participants.

"It was moving to see folks who were afraid of the water get in and have fun." says Jon Mills, Alexander Y Branch Director. "I worked with six teens and children who started the session hanging on the side of the pool and ended up swimming halfway across the pool later in the day!"

And don’t think Barry is done dreaming about the possibilities.

“At the end of three years, I’d like to see this swim program folded into the annual We Build People program through the Alexander Family Y,” says Barry. “There are other people who have the same goal, but just don’t know where to start. Let’s make it easy for other organizations. Hold this up as a model to the YMCA of the Triangle, any Y and any other organization. Here’s a program that works, that’s tested and implemented.”

Community HOPE: Live the Dream

Too many students in our schools struggle to make the grade because they can't read. For years, our Y has been bridging the education gap through tutorial programs. One of our most successful literacy programs is Community HOPE, a one-on-one mentoring curriculum operated in the communities where children need extra educational support.

Read this end-of-school report from Jessica Russell, Community HOPE Director for the A.E. Finley YMCA. The Finley Y serves 55 children through two Community HOPE sites, Raleigh Gardens and The Oaks.

Our theme for the spring semester of Community HOPE was “Live the Dream.”

As our students met with their mentors each week, they had an activity in their folder that focused on developing their dreams - what they want to do and be in the future. Students and mentors talked about how being an independent reader is important to pursuing dreams. They also discussed why it is important to help others as we pursue our dreams.

While the activities directed our students to focus on their dreams, they also created the opportunity for mentors to get to know students on a deeper level.

Each week as we walked around the room, we would hear children say they wanted to be to become a dancer, a fashion designer or a surfer.

These conversations paved a path for a different future. Students learned that they have great potential. They also learned that there are many volunteers who want them to develop their skills, talens and goals.

At the Y, we  strengthen the foundations of our community. Through our “Live the Dream” theme this semester, there was tremendous growth in the depth of relationships shared between mentors and students.

Children and volunteers learned the small steps we take each day help us live out our dreams. 

The YMCA of the Triangle serves nearly 150 children through four Community HOPE sites in the Triangle. Click here to volunteer as a Community HOPE mentor through the Alexander Family YMCA. Click here if you're interesting in serving through the A.E. Finley YMCA.

Spring Break Offers Lasting Lessons

This article by Stacy Chandler appeared in the May 17 edition of the News & Observer's Thumbs Up section.

While many of her classmates were looking forward to getting a tan on spring break, Kim Geiger was eager to get something else during her time off from school: perspective.

With about 40 fellow members of the Leaders Club from YMCAs across the Triangle, she traveled to Washington, D.C., for a volunteer mission to help that city's hungry and homeless.



Feeding Others

 
The volunteers packed meals and toiletries and served dinners, but their work went beyond handouts. They also engaged with the people they helped, sitting down for one-on-one conversations that helped pass the time but also told the stories of lives gone off-course.



YMCA Spring Break

 "Over my trip I learned that these people grew up maybe not just like I did, but similar, and one bad choice and they ended up like this," Kim, 16, said a couple weeks after returning to her home in Cary. "So I learned that these people were not any less of a human than I was, and I really appreciated that fact by the time I was heading home."

The Leaders Club students worked hard during their trip, but Kim said the hardest part of their mission was when the work was over. 

"The hardest part was walking away," she said. "We would be doing something that was really beneficial and really making a person happy, and then the activity was over and they would go back to being on the streets, not knowing when their next meal would be."

One night, she added, the volunteers cooked dinner for a group of homeless people.

"When we walked home that night, back to our hostel," she said, "we saw some of the people who had eaten dinner with us still with their nametags on, sleeping on benches."
 
Heartwrenching as that scene was for Kim, she knows she gained as much from the trip as the people she was able to help.

"I feel that if I'm helping another person and helping to benefit another one's life, I've done something with my life that's meaningful," she said.

The YMCA of the Triangle's Leaders Club provides middle and high school students with opportunities to receive leadership training that enhances personal growth while teaching the importance of social responsibility and service to others. Click here to learn more.

After the Storm

When a devastating tornado swept through Raleigh on April 16, the Kerr Family YMCA was there to help. Under the leadership of staff member Shannan Feldbusch, the Y partnered with the Red Cross to provide transportation for storm victims living in a temporary shelter at Heritage High School in Wake Forest.

Using YMCA buses and personal vehicles, Kerr Y staff drove victims to their jobs, to meet FEMA inspectors and to doctor’s appointments all over the Triangle. This is just one way the Y answered the call to help. Read Shannan’s account.

I was privileged to be able spend several days with the tornado ravaged residents of Stony Brook Mobile Home park. They were so appreciative of any help. Very simply, they felt helpless. 

Common sight along our route



So many of them said how blessed they were to come out of this storm with their whole family. Some residents in Stony Brook were not so lucky.  

I arrived at the school at 6 a.m. and all the men were ready to go. They were up at the crack of dawn ready to work, even willing to miss breakfast provided by the Red Cross. Despite all the damage, they were determined to get to work on time.

As I took one gentleman to Brentwood Road and Capital Blvd. to get his car, we were amazed at the damage. Some roads were closed. The open roads were filled with trees. Trees on homes, trees on cars. Trees everywhere.

The second man worked for a landscaping company on Aviation Parkway in Morrisville. When the storm hit, he grabbed his wife, his seven-year-old daughter and the rest of the family. They huddled in the bathroom at the middle of his mobile home.

He says the whole house was shaking and it was hard to breathe. They couldn’t see anything because it was pitch black. He said it seemed like forever from the start until the end. In reality, it probably lasted 15 minutes. Later, his wife went to the hospital because her chest was hurting.



More devastation

The third gentleman I spent the most time with is a leukemia survivor. Before he was diagnosed, he was a superintendent of a construction crew that built many familiar structures in Raleigh. He was part of the crew that built Wal Mart and Lowes on Highway 64.
Three years ago, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He finished all his treatments. Thanks to a bone marrow transplant, he's now in remission.

He takes about 30 pills each day. He lost all of them in the tornado. He is very weak from his treatments, but somehow found the strength to hold onto the people he loves. His neighbors across the street lost two children and their mom. When the storm passed, those children were found in a tree. When he closes his eyes, those images and memories haunt him. 


All that is left


Two months ago, he tried to insure his home. The insurance company said it was just too old. He figures he lost everything.

Trees smashed the two cars his family owns. His wife can’t go to work because the windshield is gone and mirrors are cracked.

What a huge blow. She provides the only income in their family.

Even though the family lost so much, he says he's blessed.