By Gary Dickson —
One of the best days I have experienced since moving to Lakeport in 2008 was the one I spent as a Challenge Day volunteer at Clear Lake High School in September of last year. I have normally shied away from group exercises; especially with strangers. Originally, I had put my name on the list as an alternate from the Record-Bee, figuring that my chances of needing to attend would be low. As the event neared, all those ahead of me dropped out and it came down to my participation or no one being there from the newspaper. I have always tried hard to keep my promises, so I went, and I am glad I did.
The first few group games seemed a little hokey to me, but I should have known that the coordinators had to get the students and adult volunteers warmed up and adjusted to interacting with each other. It became clearer as the day went by that the Challenge Day agenda was well-planned because during the second half of the six and one-half hour program I experienced and witnessed powerful changes in myself and others due to the orchestrated interactions between all participants.
The vision of the Challenge Day organization is that, “?every child lives in a world where they feel safe, loved and celebrated.” Its mission is “?to provide youth and their communities with experiential programs that demonstrate the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth, and full expression.”
For me the most emotional exercise of the day was the small group breakout. Each small group contained students and volunteers. I became amazed at how, after we became better acquainted with each other, everyone became more willing to share our innermost feelings. The tears flowed from each of us more than once as we discovered that we all face tough issues in life and support from others can be very soothing. It was a real eye opener for all of us that we had so much in common, even though there were decades of difference in the ages of some of us volunteers and students.
But, not even all that transpired in the group discussions prepared me for the uplifting moments at the end of the day. Students were given an opportunity to voice what was on their mind or what they would like to get off their chest. During the course of that Challenge Day I truly feel that we all went through a transformation, but, of course the program is primarily for the benefit of the students and, based on their comments, it was clear that they grew because of their Challenge Day experience.
Students stepped forward and apologized to fellow students that they had bullied or had been unkind or unfair to, in some cases over a period of years. It was a joy to observe those teenagers who had walked into the gym earlier that morning with one mindset leave that afternoon with a very different set of assumptions.
More Challenge Days are coming soon. One is scheduled for Clear Lake High School on Nov. 7 and 8 and at the middle school on Nov. 9. None of these would happen without the efforts of Lakeport marriage and family counselor, June Wilson. It was her dream to bring the first one here last year and now her goal is to see that Challenge Day happens every year.
I may not have been totally committed in the beginning, but after spending a day as a Challenge Day volunteer I”m sold on the value of the experience, for both the adult volunteers and the student participants. If you would like to help, contact June Wilson at 262-0291, Bob Mayer at the high school at 262-3010 or Amy Wind at the middle school at 262-3007. You won”t regret it.
Gary Dickson is the publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. Email him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
