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Our team of excellent Site Directors for the Summer Program!

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Announcing Site Directors for SSP’s 40th summer! Young adults - apply to work with these leaders. Youth - sign up to volunteer with them.

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#90 why to apply for SSP staff: “Because of the confidence you gain: in public speaking, in giving directions, in your own abilities, in preparing itinerary, in EVERYTHING.” - Laura Sieling

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Walker River Summer 2014 from the eye's of site director Nicole VanDewerker.

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Hannah Floren spent her summer as a Construction Coordinator in South LA. Read her story.

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The ssp summer is coming to an end! We have all made it through the best (and most tiring) summer of our lives. I am so happy that I got the pleasure to work with SSP this summer as a construction coordinator. But overall, my favorite part of the summer is all the friendships you gain. Right now at debrief I get to reconnect with all the familiar faces I met at training and it’s like we never left each other. I feel so blessed to have met these people and I want to thank SSP for bringing us all together.

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Waving Flag #energizer from #sspwalkerriver #juniorhigh #sspstaff

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After a joyous, productive, and exhausting summer on our various sites, the SSP staffs have reconvened in Sacramento, CA for a few days of reports, celebrations, and plans for next year. We are so grateful for Point Pleasant UMC’s hospitality, and for all of ways we have had the opportunity to speak up this summer—with our voices, our hands, and our hearts.

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Charli's view of staff life over the last 6 weeks. Well this is the last work day for teams in Chiloquin, OR, and its strange to see how fast the summer has gone. It feels like only yesterday I was looking for evening program and water day spots and doing the first safety presentation. I have gotten so close to the youth each week, and even closer to the staff. It is hard to pick my favorite time with them, free time when I get to listen to youth's stories, or during FREDs when I got to bond with the teams, or Spiritual Awakening when youth open up about Speaking Up for each other and for God. I can't wait to come back again as an SLC. I have so many pictures that I want to share but I had to narrow it down to just a few.

- Charli Lighty, Spiritual Life Coordinator

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Breakfast burritos for dinner!?! I think yes! Thanks to a fabulous camper this week, Nolan, for helping out and scrambling the eggs! Trying to enjoy every last moment before we leave Tsaile and head back to Sacramento on Monday. 

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Having campers and counselors come into the kitchen and help us cook is one of my favorite parts of being an SSP cook. This is especially true for pizza night. Giving campers the opportunity to be creative and have fun with the food they will be eating. Campers ask me what should they put onto the pizza, and I respond with “whatever you want” (within reason of course). It makes me so happy to see how proud they are when they see their pizza while going through the dinner line. This is why pizza is my favorite meal to make. Campers get to learn that they are capable of making delicious food for the rest of the camp. Can’t wait to see what the end of the summer holds in store! :).

- Amanda Weinland, Cook, Los Angeles

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Wow! What a cool project. To the right you see a beautifully finished ramp... but to the left you see an old awning. This awning was an SSP project from the late 90's and there it is, still standing, and home owner Elsie sits on it every afternoon!

However, the horses have eaten away at many of the old 2x4s. So SSP is back, fixing it up. This week we plan to take out the old, half gone 2x4s, add new railing, bumpers and balusters, and then stain it. It will look good as new and match Elsie's new ramp!

- Amanda Patt, Construction Coordinator in Tsaile, Arizona

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SSP has always held a special place in my heart, and the discussion topics on Thursday are a large reason why. It gives me a chance to appreciate all the beauty around us, both in my surroundings and in my peers. A helpful reminder of why I am here and why this organization has sculpted my future so many weeks in a row. 

- Dedrick McCord, Construction Coordinator in Chiloquin

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For the past weeks we’ve been experiencing on and off, unexpected thunderstorms. Many teams might flee the second it started sprinkling. On this day in particular, it had begun POURING rain. As I drove up to my site I had expected them to be long gone. But instead I see the entire team under the overhang just standing there with their arms crossed. I park and run over and tell them they can sit in their van until the storm passes. They simply replied “Nah we’re fine. It’ll pass soon, and we want to be ready to finish this ramp when it does.” Best team ever.

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Over the course of this summer, I have had the amazing privilege to work with incredible youth with great potential and ideas. Around the end of each week, the campers have the opportunity to drive through skid row. This picture was captured as we recounted that which they had seen on their drive.

Being able to hear the campers not only voice their unrest with the situation in Skid Row, but also hearing them speak on the actions that they can take to end homelessness was truly humbling.

Every week, I am more and more moved by the youth and their commitment to service. These campers are going to change the world, and I get to have a front row seat to their growth. I could not ask for a better way to spend my summer.

- Will Tipping, Construction Coordinator, Los Angeles

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One of the biggest blessings of being a cook in Smith River has been having the opportunity to prepare and serve locally grown, organic food. It is empowering to know where your food comes from and how it has been sourced. Growing up in dense suburban areas, I have not often known where my food comes from; however, in Smith River we pick up our eggs, beef, and produce from local farms, both within 15 minutes driving distance.

The first day at Alexandre Ecodairy Farms, we were given a tour where I snapped this shot of some chickens against the looming sky. I love chickens and was absolutely thrilled at the experience. I got the opportunity to personally thank these chickens who are feeding our campers and ensuring that local, organic, humane food is supported and at the forefront of every consumer’s mind. 

Nathan Theobald, Cook at Smith River

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Sometimes being on staff can be difficult. You have long hours, and hard work. But there are a lot of ways to get excited and relieve some of the difficult parts of being on staff.

For me, the best thing about being on staff is interacting with the campers. They know how to lift my spirits, and they don't even know when they are doing it. These two are a perfect example of campers that brighten my day. On the left is Abbey and on the right is Meg. Whenever they came around, I always got a smile on my face.

As a staffer, and as a cook, there is nothing more exciting than seeing campers come back from the work site, and coming into the kitchen for a snack and a chat. 

- Teddy Snyder, Cook in Chiloquin