By Anthony Lam
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a camp at Woodlot0007 in Maple Ridge planned by Scouter Gloria Ng and her team from the 180th Pacific Coast Scout Group for 23rd Elsie Roy Scout Group and 28th Richmond Scout Group – two local scout groups that we support. Right from the start, I can tell what this camp is trying to promote – creating new friendships amongst two different groups of youth, and enhancing teamwork skills through fun activities. As with the many camps that we have planned before, there is a story line attached to it created by the planning team.
On Saturday morning when youth members arrived, they were immediately whisked away to play a quick game of Jeopardy. In earning points, they were able to trade them off for “minions” from Despicable Me, who were actually leaders. Leaders were tasked to help each team through all their activities, and for the most part, we did – but of course, there is always a catch. Teams who win each activity were given clues and these clues ultimately add up to hint at the fact that all leaders are actually “evil minions” who have teamed up to conspire against youth members. Needless to say, there were gasps of surprise when camp participants finally figured out that leaders are nothing but evil minions!
As always, the best part of being a Scout leader is to know that you are positively influencing the lives of youth members, and the best part of any camp is to know that youth members are leaving happy after they have had a weekend of fun. The opportunity to be able to work with young members of scouting and seeing their faces light up with happiness when they finally figure out something – now, that is truly priceless.