Camp awesome (with video)
<p>Zoey Stark, 16, helps a blindfolded Katie Swan,16, balance on a log as she navigates around Hannah Swenson,15, so their team can arrange themselves in alphabetical order. Twenty-two groups participated in different team building challenges at Camp Lutherhaven for the Idaho Drug Free Youth (iDFY) Summit camp.</p>
<p>Members of his group spot Hank Showalter, 15, as he walks across a tight rope, one of the many challenges at the Camp Lutherhaven Challenge Course, for Idaho Youth Summit on Wednesday afternoon.</p>
Josh Chalich gazed up at the obstacle course dangling in the tall pines of Lutherhaven on Wednesday afternoon.
Wearing a safety hat and a harness, he listened to instructions as he and several campers prepared to climb up to what looked like a playground in the sky.
"It's just a blast," said Josh, 16, of Coeur d'Alene.
Josh is one of 200 youths from across the state who are participating in Idaho Drug Free Youth's annual Idaho Youth Summit, which began Tuesday and ends Friday. Campers finishing grades seven through 12 spend four days enjoying summer-camp activities such as swimming, singing and a talent show as well as participating in challenging and team-building trust activities, including the high ropes and obstacle courses, all in a positive, drug-free environment.
"Just because it's IDFY doesn't mean it's all about drug-free blah blah blah," Josh said. "It's actually quite fun. You meet new people and it's not just drug awareness."
IDFY executive director Greg Sommers of Coeur d'Alene said the goal each year is to empower and inspire students so they go back to their communities and reach out to their peers, a goal that is met by creating a strong bonding atmosphere for the campers.
"When students are connected in positive ways, they're less likely to turn to negative sources to get those same needs met," he said.
Kelsey Wood, 28, of Coeur d'Alene, hasn't missed an Idaho Youth Summit since she first went as a camper in 1998. Now, as the summit's co-director, she is able to pass on the positive experiences she had as a youngster to new generations of campers.
"You meet people here that you feel truly care about you, and you want to continue relationships with those people, and they want to continue relationships with you," she said. "Even after I left camp, I wanted to be around this positive energy of people just caring about you for who you were, and not because you were good at sports, or not because you were popular, but just because you were you."
About 30 of the campers hail from Kootenai County. Caldwell residents Alex Perez and Cruz Ayala, both 16, worked on decorating their "warm fuzzies" compliment bags in a main meeting room. This was their second time participating in the summit.
"It's somewhere where you won't feel judged," Cruz said. "It's a really free place."
Main themes of the summit are empowerment, acceptance, making good decisions and creating a sense of unity and family, which were apparent in many of the activities.
"It's just making sure that these kids have the best experience of their life," Wood said.
Info: www.idahodrugfreeyouth.org.