Andrew was convinced that he should have gotten off of the bus.
“As soon as he started driving, I was thinking of telling them to stop,” Andrew remembers. “I wanted to go back home.”
He was used to keeping to himself and handling things on his own. He had faced challenges that hardened his view on life.
So when his mentor, Mr. Hill, invited him to join Camp for All Kids’ Four Star Fellowship at North Star Camp, Andrew wasn’t sure it was for him. Even after he got on the bus, he wasn’t convinced.
Over the course of the week, something began to change. He discovered people who genuinely cared about him and wanted to see him succeed.
“I think it’s ’cause people really care,” Andrew says. “They really want to see us move up.”
One of those people was Ron, his fishing counselor, who helped him catch his first fish. At the time, Andrew didn’t know much about Ron’s story, but on the final night of camp, Andrew heard it shared at the Council Ring. The story included the challenges and losses Ron had faced throughout his life and the resilience that brought him to North Star as a counselor.
Andrew was stunned. “I would never expect all those problems that happened to him,” he said. “It’s crazy ’cause I remember when I was fishing with him, and I didn’t think he had that history.”
For Andrew, seeing Ron was a glimpse of what might be possible. Seeing somebody who had faced difficult circumstances, kept moving forward, and returned to camp to help young people like Andrew, allowed Andrew to see himself in a new light.
“I just want to better myself, and I just want to better my community,” he says. “I want to try my best.”
Andrew and all of the participants are back home after an incredible week at camp, but the feeling of empowerment they earned will stay with them through both their friends and mentors. The Four Star Fellowship gives participants the confidence and role models that are inherent in the camp experience, and it helps to build a community of support that stays with them along their life journey.
“This camp gave me a different perspective. It gave me more courage, confidence. A lot of things I wish I had before, but that’s why I’m really grateful, because now I have it.”
Thank you for helping young people like Andrew discover that they are capable of more than they may have imagined, and that they don’t have to discover it alone.
With gratitude,
Andy Shlensky
Owner/Director, North Star Camp for Boys
