Camp Rosenbaum 7/22/2012

Life is not measured by the breaths that we take,

But by the moments that take our breath away.

Yesterday was one of those moments!

Blanket waiting for a child at Camp Rosenbaum

Project Linus has been giving fleece blankets to Camp Rosenbaum, at Camp Rilea on the Oregon Coast near Seaside, for the last three years and this year we provided 180 blankets through Jan Perkins and her son-in-law, National Guardsman Rick Henderson. This was our first year to be present on the opening day and it was amazing and heartwarming and totally uplifting to see 165 children greeted by nearly 200 cheering, clapping, welcoming adults. The energy from the volunteer camp counselors, cooks, medical teams, administrators and helpers filled the space with happiness and a positive sense that this week would be an experience well beyond anything the children’s life had ever been or perhaps would ever be again.

But these few days with these fine people might just make all the difference. And we were there to see the faces and feel the energy and help and have our breath taken away. We stood with all the other adults from the camp in a double “conga line” (sp?) to cheer and greet five buses filled with kids, to hold out our hands to be touched by the small fingers as they passed through and entered the Club House meeting room.

Here’s a section from their website home page that tells it all:

For 42 years Camp Rosenbaum has given more than 6,000 underprivileged children a memorable overnight camp experience many of us take for granted. A unique summer camp designed especially to serve their community.

This is no ordinary camp. The 9 to 11 year-old boys and girls who attend each year come from low-income, currently living in Housing Authorities throughout Oregon and SW Washington.

In addition to making sure the kids have a magnificent experience, the mission of Camp Rosenbaum is to show these children they can choose to live a better life away from the troubled paths of dropping out of school, crime, gangs, drugs and violence.

Camp Rosenbaum’s goal is to empower children to take responsibility for their lives, make the right choices, and turn away from the allure of trouble. What we reinforce is the hope and direction for a better future. http://www.camprosenbaum.org/

Our warm blankets, along with a new pair of shoes, a shirt and a sweat shirt keep the kids warm while they spend a night camping out, or during an evening on the beach making smores or riding horses or just sitting around the cabin talking with the counsellors about being a good citizen, friend or human being.

It doesn’t get any better and Project Linus is certainly in the right place at the right time helping the right children.

Jodene and Walter

Portland/Vancouver Chapter Goes to the Linn Co. Fair 7/20-21/2012

The Linn County Fair in Albany invited Project Linus to be a part of their event this year. In addition to the usual quilt competition categories, quilt makers can enter their quilts in a special Project Linus category for judging and then their beautiful quilts are given to our chapter to be given to children. We were onsite all day Friday – a very big thank you Pam Roesler, and Julie and Lou Pottratz for helping sew and iron and talk with the kids and their parents; the sewing machines never stopped and they were wonderful ambassadors – and all day Saturday with Shirley and Karl Schultz; Karl surely gets the prize for the fastest iron in the West! During our two days we finished close to 10 tops – totally wonderful! We were so busy we couldn’t finish the last couple so Shirley took them home to finish sewing them together – thanks, Shirley. Thanks to Shirley and Karl for returning to Albany today to gather our display.

 

 We were a hit with kids and parents and people walking past and had a chance to talk about what we do and why we do it. It’s always wonderful to chat with someone who has been a recipient of a Project Linus blanket and to see how they have been touched by our work. I have a feeling that we will be asked to return next year. Fair organizers and Colleen Robert in particular were extremely accommodating, supportive and helpful. They truly made us feel welcome.

Check out the pictures; we have to be careful not to photograph kids for privacy reasons so our selection is limited.