Boys and Girls Great Train Robbery in Fillmore

I encourage anyone who is in town this weekend to attend. It will be a great event and all proceeds will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley.
If I were not out of town that weekend, I would be attending!
Support our Boys and Girls Clubs!

Taste of Simi & Mega Mixer

This last Thursday our Simi Valley YMCA Youth and Government Delegation was invited to partake in the Taste of Simi Valley & Mega Mixer. Michele Bennett, who is the Community Development Director with the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce was so kind in thinking of our delegates. The event consisted of our YMCA delegates collecting tickets form the guests who visited each food or wine vendor. This gave our delegates the opportunity to get invovled with the community while sharing their expereince and role as a delegate in Youth and Government. Food and Wine Vendors from all over Simi Valley attended. This was Simi Valley's 5th annual event which was held at Lost Canyons Golf Course.

Local restaurants offering scrumptious food
Best Western Posada Royale Hotel, The Boot,
California Pizza Kitchen, Chuy’s West Restaurant
Famous Dave’s BBQ, Elephant Bar & Grill, Giovanni’s Villa,
Go Fish Sushi, Lost Canyons Golf Club,
Neda Persian Cuisine, Olivios Bistro,
Scheck & Shay’s Rockin Diner, Spark Woodfire Grill
TuTu’s Hawaiian Shave Ice, Yolanda’s Mexican Cafe

Wine tasting offered from our local wineries
Cantara Cellars, Four Brix Winery, Four Sisters Ranch Winery,
Magnavino Cellars and Rancho Ventano Cellars


Our YMCA delegates were grateful to not only attend in such a fun event, but to granted a monetary contribution towards our program.

Thank you Michele and the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce for supporting our YMCA Youth and Government Delegation

Y&G has a great opportunity for Delgates!

When I received the email from Scott Caulsey (Y&G Program Assistant), I was beyond excited for this unique opportunity for our Delegates.



"We have been asked by Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Superintendent of Public Instructions Jack O’Connell (Two of Y&G’s biggest supporters), to let your delegates know about the initiative, the MyVote California Student Mock Election.
The MyVote California Student Mock Election gives students a chance to make their voices heard on the candidates and issues that affect them and their families, while an exciting election season is in full-swing. Once the votes are counted, students can compare their choices to those of their peers around the state, and then to the decisions made by adult voters in the statewide election held only a few days later.
The 2010 Student Mock Election will be held on Tuesday, October 26, 2010. High school and middle school students will have their say on who they think should be our next Governor and U.S. Senator, and on the ballot measures that will come before California voters in the November 2, 2010, General Election
To participate, delegates will need to register their school for the MYVote California Student Mock Election. We would like as many of your delegates to register their schools for this great opportunity.
School registration for the MyVote California Student Mock Election is at
www.sos.ca.gov/elections/studentmockelection.htm. There, they will also find a
Student Mock Election fact sheet, and all the tools and resources a school
needs to run a successful mock election."

Camp Oakhurst Day Seven

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The last full day camp is always bitter-sweet. For LITS, the last day of camp is a very exciting and eventful day. The LITS were split into four teams where for the entirety of the day would compete against each other through various activities. after breakfast the teams gathered in their assigned area where they were assigned a team color. It was up to them to come up with a team name, team flag, team song or chant, and a team slogan. They were very creative in their efforts. From this point forward they participated in the following activities; archery, human knot, limbo,GaGa Ball (form or dodge ball)and the final activity was a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt instructed the campers to find their activities all over camp. At each location they were to accomplish a task which was given to them by a counselor. This scavenger ended with a large mud pit in the GaGa pit. Then it was off to showers to get cleaned up and dressed for Formal Dinner. After dinner, we have a mini dance and camp slide show. Campfire was next on the agenda. Friday night campfire is more unique than any other campfire. This campfire is a little longer than usual and leads us to our Vespers. Vespers is a time where we have campers and counselor from each camp ready poems, verses, or stories from our YMCA books. Director Rick Shima, also pays thanks to each of the volunteer staff by calling them down and giving them a candle in which he light as a sign of his appreciation. Each year our volunteer staff grows larger and contributes to yet another amazing year at Camp Oakhurst.

Camp Oakhurst Day Six

Word of the Day: Forgiveness

The morning started with Bad Hair Breakfast. Of course, it's always fun to make your hair look worse than it really does for this dress up day.

LITs activities for rotation were Rope swing, crafts, and final Lip Sync practice.
Rope Swing is really one Giant Swing where you are raised 60 feet into the air and dropped. It is a complete adrenaline rush.
Our final craft activity for the week was making delicious homemade ice cream.
Before Superhero lunch, the LITS had to do their annual "Bacon." In spirit of camp pranks the LITS get framed each year with a punishment of Bacon. Bacon is where they get to roll around in dirt and sand and sizzle like bacon while a hose gets they drenched. The LITS have such great spirit for this activity. I'm convinced that they really start to "love" dirt at camp! I of course joined them because we can't forget that it's "All for one and one for all!"
Our twilight activity for the evening was watching each cabin perform their Lip Sync.
Campfire was done by the amazing LITS.
The evening was concluded with a LIT campfire wrap up. We also asked the kids to break off into pairs of someone they don't know that well and have about a ten minute conversation. We periodically did this throughout the week. This allowed for the kids to take the time to get to know someone they haven't had the chance to sit down and talk with during the day.Then it was off to bed before our final full day of camp.

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Camp Oakhurst Day Five

Day Four Word of the Day: Joy!

Wednesday of camp was a mellow day. LITS got to enjoy the pool today for one of their rotations. They were also able to plan for their campfire. This itself takes lots of planning because the LITS hold the reputation for the best campfire of the week :)

The LIT also rotated to meet with Jeff Crow for an activity period. During this time Jeff talked about earth and space and everything else imaginable. Jeff is a very intelligent man with lots of knowledge in nature. He is a man that you could sit and listen to in awe all day any day. The LITS really enjoyed learning and hearing about what he had to share.

The evening twilight activity was our famous Rock of Ages Dance. The campers and staff all dress from their favorite era and we bust out our best moves on a grass field. This year I decided to be an Indian from the Village People. Five other staff joined me as we thought this was very YMCA appropriate :)

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Our Devotions consisted of splitting the males and females into two groups. The females were led by Jessie Ramos. She started the devotion by reading a children's book called Affirmation Weaver. Although a children's book, the meaning behind it was very powerful. This devotion really allowed us to focus on women empowerment. The LITS girls really seemed to find this activity worth while. After the story we split the girls up into their three cabin groups with the respective counselors. From there Dajon, Jessie, and I each handed our cabins beads. We sat in a circle and went around and said one nice compliment about ourselves and one nice compliment about each person in the circle. With a compliment each person is to give the other a bead. At the end of this activity you had enough beads to make a bracelet. The bracelet is to remind you of all the wonderful things people think about you when you are feeling down. It was a great feeling to see the girls proudly wear their bracelets the rest of the week.

Camp Oakhurst Day Four

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The LITS woke up and rallied for our annual Polar Bear Swim. At 6:30am the camp gathers for a morning swim and the bonus is your are allowed to eat otter pops while you swim. The LITS rotation of activities included; Crafts, Climbing Wall, and Activities for the Youth campers. Grafts is led by Tim Dennis and Katie Brennan. During the crafts activity period the LITS were asked to decorate a large puzzle piece that will be added to the Large Camp Puzzle. It will be composed of each cabin's piece. The LITS also had the opportunity to lead activities for the youth campers. We has counselors step back and let them plan and execute these activities as leaders, after all they are Leaders in Training. This gives them a glimpse on leadership and what it's like to be a counselor. This was then followed by Polka Dot lunch. This dress up day always turns into a war of who can cover themselves with the most dot stickers. The twilight activity is my favorite activity. Steve Wilmont, who is currently the CEO and President of Youth and Government, comes up every year for the day to host our Square Dance. After the dance and campfire, I led the LIT devotion. Pat Wallace has started the devotion by leading a Inner/Outer Circles. Pat has the girls sit in a circle and the boys sit in a circle on the outside of them. He states a topic and allows the girls to speak about it openly while the boys sit quietly and listen. Pat will then allow the roles to change by asking for the circles to switch. This activity was followed by a Date Rape Discussion that Chris Soury and I led. We divided the group into two groups, one male and one females. We separated them enough so that the two groups could talk without any concern for hearing one another. Chris and I both led one of the groups by opening up a discussion about the date rape topic. We guided the discussion with several question to keep them on topic. We then brought the male and female groups back together to discuss together the issue as a group.

YMCA Rag Program

The YMCA Rag Program is one of the most effective counseling tools available to the camp counselor. It is designed to help campers take a closer look at themselves in relationship to their own strengths and weaknesses, their religious beliefs, and to those around them. It can be a major factor in creating an atmosphere in which positive change can take place. Counselors are also allowed to participate in the rag program. Most of the counselors have been campers and started their rag experience as a camper.




Each Rag means something very unique:
Blue Rag- The acceptance of the Ragger's Creed & challenge of loyalty to God, country & one's best self
Silver Rag- The acceptance or re-dedication to the Christian way of life and values
Brown Rag- A challenge of service to others
Gold Rag- A challenge of understanding and concern for others
Red Rag- A challenge of sacrifice of one's time, talent and personal will
Purple Rag- A challenge of noble living or to lead the best life possible
White- Complete dedication to a life of Christian service to youth

So you may be asking what really is a rag. "Physically, it is a piece of triangular cloth - with one of the 7 specific colors indicating the progression in challenges. A Ragger's emblem is affixed at the apex. The Rag is a challenge. It is given only at camp, but it is a counseling device that must carry over into post-camp living if it is to have maximum value. When a camper receives a Rag, he/she should be challenged to become a better person. He/she should be inspired to make camp better for all campers and this inspiration should be taken back to school and the community. The Rag is not an award. It is not something the campers can win or earn. It is different from awards for achievement which are given in athletics and competitive activities. The Rag is a counseling tool and a challenge. The Rag is not a ranking program. One Rag is not higher than another but the challenges build upon the previous Rag challenge. Rags must be taken in order. The unique part about the program is it doesn't matter what age you start because your maturity and depth of understanding dictate an individual meaning to you. No two Rag challenges are alike. It is very special to each individual. A Ragger's feeling of the Rag experience cannot be easily put into words.
Campers must be at least 12 years old before they may take a rag. Before the age of 12 they are encouraged to participate in The Leather Society is a program for younger campers who desire to try to work towards certain goals. The challenges are symbolized by leather emblems worn around the neck.
The Triangle is the first leather to be taken. The three sides of the Triangle stand for body, mind and spirit, forming together the strongest geometric figure known to man. The challenge is to begin to become aware of oneself and feelings.
The second leather is the Square, symbolizing the "four square life." Each side represents one facet of that life: physical, mental, social, and spiritual.
The Circle is the third leather and stands for the feeling of brotherhood and universal friendship which the camper should strive for.
The Golden Circle is the fourth leather and is a symbol of re-dedication and commitment to the goals of the triangle, square, and circle. The Golden Circle recipient is also invited to assist the counselor / CIT during leather ceremonies.
The Leather Society is not a "Junior Rag Program" and should be interpreted as a separate set of challenges better suited to helping younger campers begin to work at things like being better friends and being more in tune with their families and home life.

My favorite part about being a ragger is that I have had the opportunity to sit down with people who I look up to and get to share myself and my life with them. At the same time I get to look at myself and admit my strengths and weakness. This give me a chance to take inventory on myself and set goals on how to become a better person. I am currently a Red Ragger and have had my red rag for the last 5 years. It is definitely my hardest rag so far, but has been the most rewarding.
Being a counselor, i enjoy getting to sit down and talk with campers who are looking to take a rag. It's always an honor that they choose you to sit and share their life with. These talks tend to be emotional ones because you and that other person really get to open up and talk about every aspect of your life. It's an awesome experience!

Camp Oakhurst Day Three

Day three started off with Pj Breakfast! It was nice to be able to sleep in and roll out of bed for breakfast. Shortly after breakfast and Chapel (word of the day: Humble) our LITS were off to Group Building activities led by Chris Soury and Derrick Shima. Derrick ran an activity that had the kids bargaining for items around camp with the ultimate goal of the most creative, valuable, and biggest item. It was neat to see the difference in items and what holds more value for one person that it may for another. Chris lead two activities. One activity's goal was to get a ping pong ball out of a PVC pipe using water. The trick was the pipe had holes all over it allowing water to link. This challenged the campers to think as a team and come up with the most efficient way. The next activity used a tennis ball in which all the campers had to touch the ball in an order that they picked. The challenge was how fast they could accomplish this. After this, the LITS started their rotations of the following activities; High Ropes, Pool, and Lip Sync Practice. The evenings Dinner was Disney themed. All the campers dressed as their favorite Disney characters. This happens to be on of my favorite dress up days because I absolutely love everything about Disney and Disneyland. The LIT staff decided the 7 dwarfs was most appropriate. I was bashful which was comical to most because I am far from bashful. During dinner we played all the classic Disney songs and the campers and staff did not hold back from singing on top of their lungs. Our twilight activity for the evening was 4 corners led by Dajon. In this activity Dajon would read a statement in which the campers had to choose a corner that represents their view or opinion on the statement. The 4 corners were labeled-Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strong Disagree. They were given about a minute to discuss with the people in their corner. Then each corner is given a moment to share their reasons. This provides another appropriate time for the campers to positively and respectfully share and debate their beliefs.
The campers were able to head back to their cabins after and gather their sleeping bags and belongings for an on site overnight. After campfire the whole LIT groups gathered on the volleyball court for an overnight as a group. Before headed to bed the whole group participated in a Blue Rag Ceremony. (Please see above blog post for information of the Rag Ceremony details)

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Camp Oakhurst Day Two

Each morning we start our day with a Chapel. The second day of camp the LITS were assigned Chapel and our word of the day was Love. The purpose of camp chapel is to get everyone excited about that days activities. The campers base their chapel songs and activities all around the word of the day and encourage the other campers to use that word throughout their day. Chapel is followed by breakfast and then the camp starts their assigned activities. LITs were split into three groups and rotated the following activities; Low Ropes, Mask Making, and Nature Crafts. Low Ropes is a ropes course designed to challenge groups with their team building and teamwork skills. With these activities they are encouraged to use effective and positive communications skills while trying to accomplish the task at hand.
Our Mask Making activity was lead by co-counselors Jake King and Dajon Kwiatkowski. They lead the campers in creating and decorating a mask. They left those simple instructions for them which would lead to an evening activity that became much deeper.
Nature crafts was lead by Lisa Quartararo this year. Lisa lead a fantastic activity called Knots

for Nets led my United Nations foundation. This was awesome that campers were able to give back to an organization through something so simple and fun to do. Please view the YouTube video that I think is really neat to share : http://youtu.be/u81zAbz7kEs .

After our activities, it was back to the cabins to dress up for dinner. The dinner theme was pirates which always make for some interesting outfits. It sure was fun. After dinner and before campfire the whole camp participated in what we like to call a Twilight activity. LITS activity was a beach ball led by Jessie Ramos. She had the group sit in a circle and pass around a beach ball with numbers on it. When a camper caught the ball they had to share the number that happened to be under their finger. Jessie then asked them the assigned question from the list. This activity is one of my favorites because the questions are a wide variety of subject. They range from silly questions to controversial issues as well as touching on very personal beliefs. This allows for an individual to share as much or as little as they would like, but learning how to be confident is sharing what they believe may be right or wrong. The rest of the group is allowed to share their beliefs or open the floor for a respectful open discussion. The kids have a fun time with this activity. Shortly after the whole camp attended Campfire and then the camps split back up for the Devotion activity. Jake lead this in which he started the activity by asking all the campers to place the masks on their faces. He asked each camper to stand before the group and to share the persona of the mask they made, This was left up to them and they were able to create a persona with whatever characteristics of their choice. They interesting part was to see how many of them created a persona that resembled them and how many created a persona of someone with characteristics they desire to have. After this we all nestled in our cabins for a good night rest for the next day.

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Camp Oakhurst Day One

The first day of camp is always an exciting one. Volunteer staff gathered the parking lot at 7:30am as we prepared for the campers to arrive at 8am. After check in, luggage loading, and final registration the camp cabins started to organize themselves on to their assigned bus.Once buses loaded, the anticipation and excitement raised amongst the staff and campers as we embarked for what was going to be another life changing week. Camp Oakhurst is a camp that I have been attending since the age of 9. For the last 7 years I have been a counselor and program staff volunteer. This program is so close to my heart. The power that one week of camp holds to change lives of children and staff is truly incredible. This year we had q large volunteer staff of 73. For many of these volunteers, they use their only vacation time from work to come up to Camp Oakhurst. I am honored to be one of the volunteers for this program which I believe in so much. After our 6 hour bus ride to Oakhurst, Ca, the camp gathered their luggage and started to settle into their cabins. The rest of the day was spent participating in swim testing, a camp tour, and cabin unity time. Our lovely directors lead us in campfire for the evening. As a camp, we were able to reacquaint ourselves with the camp songs and see some skits which were oldies, but always goodies. This year, I spent my week as one of the 7 staff for our LIT program. LIT's is our leaders in training program and is designed for high school students (grades 10th and 11th). After Campfire I lead out first LIT devotion which was Brutal Dyads. This is a super powerful devotion for the first night because it really breaks the comfort level in for each camper. During the activity the campers are facing their partner knees to knees. I then instructed the campers to make eye contact without talking or breaking that contact. After a few minutes I instructed the campers to take turns feeling each others hands. Not only did this challenge the campers comfort level, but really forced them to think about what simple things such a eye contact or feeling some one's hand can say about a person. I then had them take turns touching each other's face. This is always a really tricky one because you can see the honest discomfort most of them have. I then wrapped up this activity by bring the whole LIT group together to discuss. We had an open discussion which I lead with guiding questions such as the following; 1) What did you think of this activity? 2) How did you feel during this activity? 3) What were you thinking when you were looking into your partner's eyes? 4) Which part was hardest for you and why? 5) Why was this difficult/uncomfortable?
This really sets the tone for the week. This allows the kids to get a glimpse of what the week will consist of. For our LITS, we really challenge them all week to forget what is back at home and to become one at camp. We encourage them to set an example for the rest of the camp. We challenge them to speak and share their options as well as listen to others with respect. The whole camp program is an amazing one, but I truly love working with the LIT's.

Mrs, Miss and Teen International Pageant

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This last month has been a whirlwind of activities and I have not had the chance to update all the great events I have been able to attend. Thursday July 21st, I flew out of Burbank Airport and headed to Chicago to join my best friend Dedria Brunett. Dedria is currently Miss Teen California Int'l 2010 and was honored with a unique experience to compete for the title of Miss Teen International. It was such a privilege to share this experience with her and her family. I flew in very late Wednesday evening and was up the next morning bright and early to join Dedria at her hair appointment. I had the chance to meet Jordan Skipper and her mom Tammy. They are from Alabama and were so much fun to get to know. They shared all the fun facts about Alabama , taught me how to say "momma" with an Alabama accent, and of course encouraged me to remember that bigger hair is much better. Thank you for all the laughs and kindness you two shared during the week. I also was able to meet Clay Span and Joey from Alabama. The next two days were filled with rehearsals for Dedria. During this time, I was able to meet and talk with lots of ladies and their families. It was so inspiring to hear all the hard work these ladies have committed to their community service. I was also able to spend time with Eddie Peterson, who is the California International State director. He always has such kind words to share and encourages your to never stop following your heart.
This was also a great time to spend with Dedria's family and her very supportive boyfriend, Andy. Thank you for letting me join and share this experience with all of you.
Dedria did extremely well in pre-lims, earning her spot in the top ten which was announced at the beginning of Finals Night. Dedria again did an amazing job during finals and made everyone so proud. California could not of had a better teen represent our state. Dedria has worked so hard and made a large difference with her organization, Luggage of Love. You can check out all the neat things she has been doing on her blog at missteencaliforniaintl2010.blogspot.com.
Congratulations to Mrs. California International 2010, Ashley Pavletich an Miss California International 2010 Gretheel Olvera for both making top ten.
Congratulations to the 2010 International titleholders; Mrs. International Shannon Devine, Miss International Ashley Smith, and Miss Teen International Juliana McKee.