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On YSOP’s
Overnight Workcamps, students and adult volunteers work, learn
and reflect on their experiences in a warm, supportive
atmosphere. Each Workcamp brings 20-40 students together
to serve homeless and hungry people in various settings.
By spending time away from home without the distraction of
friends, TV or family, participants can focus their attention
on service to others. Each Workcamp is guided by two YSOP
Workcamp Leaders who are responsible for the content sessions
and supervision of the Workcampers. Additional adult
volunteers also participate as mentors for the student
participants.
A YSOP
Workcamp typically begins with an immersion service experience.
YSOP Workcampers prepare an evening meal for homeless people
who sleep in church or synagogue shelters nearby. The
shelter guests and YSOP'ers come together for a relaxing dinner
and social time. This relatively brief service project
gives all Workcampers a common experience and begins to break
down stereotypes about homeless people. Later in the
evening in an orientation session, students meet with a
resource person, someone involved in direct service to homeless
and hungry people or advocacy. In sharing frontline
experiences and reflections, the speaker draws the YSOP'ers
into a discussion on the causes of homelessness and hunger,
society's response to homelessness, and the students own
feelings about these issues.
Part of the YSOP Workcamp experience involves living in a
simple manner. Participants sleep in sleeping bags on the
floor, eat simple meals and do without showers. Simple
living gives the students a greater ability to focus on the
service work and its meaning in their lives.
On the next
day the Workcamp begins with a discussion about volunteering
and preparation for serving. Each participant, youth and
adult, shares what he or she will bring to the service work for
the day. We also emphasize measures to assure the safety
of all participants. Then the Workcamp group is divided
into smaller teams, each with an adult mentor. The teams
travel on foot or public transportation to service sites in
neighborhoods throughout New York City.
YSOP volunteers
prepare and serve meals at soup kitchens; they help at clothing
and furniture banks; they provide recreational activities and
companionship to young children; they distribute food and
supplies at food pantries; they socialize and bring snacks to
people in drop-in centers. YSOP carefully and regularly
monitors all worksites to ensure that the sites are organized
and safe, that YSOP volunteers are utilized efficiently and
that everyone is treated with respect.
Everyone returns to YSOP to share impressions of the day.
Each team describes its work and challenges faced. Team
members answer questions from the group and make comments.
In a final gathering, each Workcamper, student and adult, is
encouraged to reflect upon and then share with the group their
impressions of the Workcamp experience. Participants are
encouraged to think of ways in which they can connect the YSOP
Workcamp experience to their daily lives.
An Overnight Workcamp
experience is from 4:00pm one afternoon until 5:30pm the next
evening. Overnight Workcamps can take place during the week or
over Friday and Saturday.
If the group is large enough (20 or more
people), we can schedule a Workcamp just for your group. For individuals and smaller groups, we offer
Open Workcamps where students from a variety of schools and
youth groups join together.
Back to
YSOP Workcamps
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