Camp Textbook

Well, we are three weeks into Summer Vacation and two of the last three weeks have been spent at school helping my own kid finish his volunteer hours.  This is the first summer in the past 5 years that I haven't worked.  I was unable to find a job.  I decided to let it go.  God must have other plans for me.  Boy, did He ever.....

My son needed 62 more hours to reach the AICE program's requirement for the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.  I signed him up to volunteer at the hospital which required a TB test ($45), the purchase of a uniform (more money), my skill at sewing a patch on his red polo shirt, a trip to HR for a name badge, a HIPAA test (which he passed) and a tour of outpatient surgery, where he would be working for six weeks this summer.  All of this for 24 hours towards his goal.

I also signed him up to work at a sports camp at the local university.  That process required that he be finger-printed, have an FBI background check, we get an "Affidavit of Good Moral Character" notarized and make several trips to the university to drop off paperwork.  He also gave up his paying job for 2 days to train for this volunteer experience and get certified by the Red Cross in CPR and Basic First Aid.  He worked the first week of said camp only to discover that the hours he was putting in would not count because "the students paid a fee to participate in the camp."  Needless to say, I pulled him out and found another volunteer opportunity for him.

We finally landed at "Camp Textbook." My assistant principal said she needed help bar-coding books and would give him volunteer hours if he would assist.  We were getting 2000 new textbooks this summer that had to be bar-coded and moved to the Media Center from the front office.  Today was Day 6 of Camp Textbook.  What began as a bar-coding party turned into a "re-organize the book room, crate old books for pick-up, shelve bar-coded books for scanning, move empty boxes, fill empty boxes, walking, pushing, bending, full-body hurting" kind of party - definitely an Advil and ice pack kind of party.

There was so much to be done, I had to call in reinforcements.  As of today, the Drama teacher, my son, my niece, my cousin and myself have "enjoyed" Camp Textbook to the fullest.  We have sweated together as a family should.  (The Drama teacher felt sorry for us and has shown up every day to help.)  We are enjoying it so much, we will return again next week for more fun at Camp Textbook.

I told my son that he would have his hours by the end of this summer.  And, by sweat equity, he will!

Until next time...