Submitted by Jessica Downing ~
The first day is always a bit intimidating. I’ve arrived at headquarters and met the trip leader and the other volunteers. We start sorting gear and loading a car. Then the van shows up. Five teenage girls tumble out (yes, tumble would be extremely accurate). After more sorting and passing out gear, we’re on the road to the Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming. And so starts one of the most rewarding weeks of my summers.
This past August was my third Big City Mountaineers trip as a volunteer, and each one is remarkably different from the next. Not only do I get to spend some precious time backpacking (which I rarely make the time for otherwise), I get to share a bit of my life knowledge and experiences to these kids who often have little positive adult influence. Not that I have all the answers, but there is something rewarding about demonstrating how to set up a tent or safely ford a stream, and empowering them to tackle it on their own. BCM is not intended to transform these kids into outdoor enthusiasts. It’s a program that takes them out of their daily comfort zone and challenges them to be who they really are – not who society or friends or family or school has told them they are. Every year I am fully blown away the confidence that is created, as well as the appreciation for an outhouse on the last day…
A Kid's Hope 2009
I always volunteer to carry the water pump. It is my favorite “camp chore.” Sitting by a lake or stream with the rhythmic motion of the pump is calming. It’s also revealing. My best conversations take place by the water. Separate from the group (the others are either preparing meals, scouting for bear bag trees, or other camp duties), even more barriers come down. With the swish, swish, I learn of heart-wrenching stories but also the hope in their voices for future possibilities. We ve talked of hard things like abuse and neglect to regular things like looking for a job and school work to the joys of simple things like putting on a pretty dress and dancing around the house (yes, I’ve done that too). It may seem like we are light distances away from each other in our places in life, but the similarities in the daily emotional and relational struggles reverberate deeply.
My story isn’t so different though. I was an Angel Tree kid. While seemingly normal from the looks of things, my growing up years were anything but. My parents divorced when I was young, and when I was in junior high my dad was arrested and then convicted. I spent my tender and insecure years on welfare while my mom tried to figure out how to make do. Unlike a lot of these girls I’ve met over the years, we were fortunate to have a strong support system around us. The bright yellow Jeep my mom’s friend let us borrow indefinitely when ours was towed away by the bank; my grandparents reaching into their savings to help my mom go back to school for a career (she’s now a massage therapist); someone from our church showing up with a meal just at the right time when things got really tight. While the difference I can make is small in comparison, it is only my hope that I’ve helped to spark something that inspired or encouraged or made one of them realize that life can be what they make it, not what was handed to them.
It is these conversations that inspired me to sign up for a Summit for Someone climb in 2008, and drag a good friend along with me. We raised the required fundraising dollars through creative venues like “Grilled-Cheese-A-Thons” and selling reusable Chico Bags, knowing that we were providing the opportunity for five teens to attend on a trip the next summer.
The experience on Mt. Olympus was just as amazing as the volunteer trips. Not only was I getting to go mountaineering on a glacier, I was fully outfitted with gear and had a guide! And as we trekked through the rain forest, we got to stop and share our adventure with others along the trail. Summit for Someone was a great way to challenge myself in the way I am able to challenge the BCM girls, and it made me even more excited to get back out with them in upcoming years.
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The day I got home from my BCM trip in August, I boxed up my hardly-worn party dresses and sent them to the group home where the girls live. This one’s for you Bethany. Put on a dress and twirl like the princess you are!
