Greetings from New York City! For the past 16 summers, mission teams from across the country have come to New York City to help create quality, Christ-reflective, fun experiences for children in New York City. C.L.U.E. Camps (Children Living the Urban Experience) occur in 2 separate locations - one in Midtown Manhattan/Hell’s Kitchen at Metro Baptist Church and the other in Crown Heights, Brooklyn at Greater Restoration Baptist Church. Each camp site comes with its own unique character, cultural diversity, and set of 40 plus children in grades 1-6. We are currently looking for teams to partner with us to make our 17th summer a reality. If you are interested in bringing a team next summer, please continue reading.
Quick Facts
· Teams are needed to partner with local staffs to lead a day camp for inner city children living in low income neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
· Your entire group will stay in the dorms at Metro Baptist Church but will be split into two teams, one serving in Manhattan and the other in Brooklyn each day.
· Your group would need to arrive in NYC by Saturday afternoon/evening before your week of camp and check out by 10:00 AM the following Saturday.
· Each team must attend church at their respective camp site on Sunday followed by an afternoon orientation.
· Teams participate in camp Mondays through Thursdays (with a Friday option at Brooklyn site).
· Each week of camp includes one field trip to a location in one of the boroughs of NYC.
· Evenings are free for your group to do as you please. Groups in the past use this time for exploring the city, further preparation time if needed, and group devotional time.
Applying for CLUE Camp
After reading the below guidelines, if you would like for your church/group to apply to lead camp next summer, you can download an application here or email CLUEcampNYC@gmail.com. Applications must be received by October 16, 2011 for consideration. The CLUE camp staff will meet to select the teams for summer 2012 from those that have expressed a desire to serve. We often have more teams interested than we have weeks available. We try to get a mix of veteran and new teams to share with the kids each summer, as well as expose the children to diverse groups (denominationally, geographically, generationally, etc.) You will hear from us one way or another no later than the end of October.
Guidelines for Partnering with CLUE Camp 2012
Availability for service
The following are the camp dates for next summer. When filling out an application, you’ll be asked to rank your team’s preferences in order. Dates are listed Monday-Thursday even though there is a Friday option for the Brooklyn camp.
Week 1: July 2-6 (no camp on July 4th)
Week 2: July 9-12
Week 3: July 16-19
Week 4: July 23-26
Week 5: July 30 – August 2
Week 6: August 6–9
Commitment to preparation
One of the most wonderful aspects of serving with CLUE Camps is the opportunity it provides for teams to creatively and uniquely plan and lead camp, bringing their own spark and reflecting their group’s nature to urban children. Groups must commit to thorough training & planning prior to arriving in NYC for their camp week. A detailed camp notebook (70+ pages) will be provided with curriculum (summer theme, weekly Bible verses), guidelines and ideas. Teams have the freedom to come up with activities, crafts, games, skits, etc. that work with their assigned theme. The notebook also includes important community, church, and cultural information that we believe is imperative for our mission partners to have knowledge of as they plan. Suggestions of books and articles for team members to read are also included as the mission trip serves just as much as a cultural immersion and introduction to issues such as urban living, poverty, homelessness, and cultural sensitivity as it does a week of putting on camp for children.
Financial Agreement
· Mission teams must pay a $2,500 mission fee that covers the group’s housing the week of camp, cost of t-shirts, background checks for entire team, as well as helps to greatly defer the cost of camp for the children attending. If circumstances require for a group to bring more than 25, an additional cost of 50.00 per person is added. Such requests must be approved by the CLUE leadership team prior to camp.
· Your group is responsible for travel to and from NYC, travel while in the city (at least a $4.50 subway/bus card is required per person for field trip day), meals and entertainment.
Attendance at Camp Director’s Meeting
Mission teams must send at least one group director to a site visit and orientation meeting. This meeting is designed to provide an intensive orientation to camp policies, locations, themes and curriculum, as well as allow for collective brainstorming and support, so team leaders are able to effectively prepare their groups for each week of camp.
CLUE Camp Director’s Meeting is scheduled for February 17, 2012.
While only one director per team is required at this meeting, we strongly encourage each site leader (Brooklyn and Manhattan) to both be in attendance. Lodging, two meals and a single day subway/bus pass for each leader are provided for the orientation. Transportation to NYC, other meals and any entertainment are at the expense of the leader/church/group. While the orientation will take place only on a Friday, we are likely able to offer housing free of charge for a few days before and/or after the orientation if team leaders would like more time to explore the city (details to be determined once teams and leaders are confirmed).
Team Logistics
· Teams must have at least 15 participants who are 9th graders or older, and teams of more than 25 participants must be approved before arrival.
· If you intend to bring a youth group, we request that you have at least two adults for each camp site (at least 4 adults total).
Adherence to Insurance Requirements.
Each participant is required to fill out an individual volunteer application and must agree to a national criminal background check to be conducted through Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries (cost is covered in mission fee).
Thank you for reading over all of the guidelines. Please consider your group’s involvement with us next summer. If you are interested in applying, download the team application here or email CLUEcampNYC@gmail.com and it will be sent to you. Throughout the years CLUE camp has proven to be an amazing experience for both the campers and the teams. We hope you will consider joining us!
Sincerely,
CLUE Camp 2012 Leadership Team
Ronnie Adams
Ken Bogan
Coralie Gumbs
Alan Sherouse
Tiffany Triplett Henkel
All of the above information can be downloaded here.
Check out this video of Immanuel Baptist Church at CLUE Camp