EPIC End of Best Summer Ever 2018 Summary - EPIC Leadership ...

EPIC End of Best Summer Ever 2018 Summary

        EPIC has just completed its many summer programs, which can only be described as
epically successful. To sum it up, “A good and meaningful time was had by all.”

       Our Elementary Camp students were left with the best memories of their summer. Dr.
Joann Yabrof and EPIC Program director Patricia Cowan packed as much fun as possible into our
week together. We made artificial snow and four different kinds of slime (a huge hit!), “tie-
dyed” our t-shirts, cooked our own snacks, and played team-building games. For art, we
embellished 4th of July hats, made sculptures from recycled materials, painted with negative
space, and created iridescent silhouette projects. Science “eggs-periments” caused quite a few
oohs and aahs.
This year we had almost as many middle and high school helpers (leadership interns) as we did
younger participants! They demonstrated what they have learned in their years with EPIC,
being proactive in making things run smoothly. They plan to continue mentoring during the
school year in our art workshops and two days a week of tutoring/homework help.

       Our Bike Camp has opened up the community for eight Middle and High School
students. Now kids can ride their bikes to the library, the Kimball Water Park, and nearby cities.
We’re grateful that Bike Ventura continues to meet with campers. In August, 10 kids in Cabrillo

Village rode their bikes to The Collection in Oxnard for ice cream. “I never knew Oxnard was so
close,” declared one student. Bike Ventura plans to ride with these kids and add even more in
the months ahead.

         Our Surf Lessons literally opened the sea world of Ventura County to enthusiastic
middle and high schoolers. In their wildest dreams, our EPIC youth never thought they would
learn to surf! In safe and wholesome surfing lessons, each youth got up on borrowed boards
and surfed the waves - each of them more than once. EPIC kids left the lessons with their heads
held high and bubbling over with enthusiasm for their next surfing adventure. Their confidence
is building, their enthusiasm growing each time they return to the beach. We trust this will
carry over into their school work. On September 1, the first meeting with the Pure Stoke Surfing
club convenes near the Ventura Pier. Twelve students from Cabrillo Village are joining the Club.
Pure Stoke has everything these kids need to surf once a month throughout the year. Character
training, ecology and becoming a better citizen for the larger city of Ventura is an integral part
of EPIC students’ DNA now.

        Running Camp was so much more than running off energy and burning calories for nine
of EPIC’s high school girls. The focus of the camp was building emotional confidence and
preparing for their academic year and future. Dr. Patsy Wright and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
senior, Emma Wright, held additional fabulous fun evenings that included films, dinners, and
deep conversations about moral and ethical issues. College counseling was central to the
running experience.

EPIC ended the summer with a Style Camp, based on The Confidence Code for Girls. Our
amazing colleague, Dr. Deborah Loyd, came from Portland again this year to provide the kind of
life coaching we all wish we had had as teens. We had twenty young women who attended the
camp, where they learned how to build confidence and express it in their personal style. After
learning how to build a wardrobe, these young women shopped together in thrift stores and
then participated in a fashion show.

The culminating event on the last day was each student creating their confidence code which
included:

       1. Actions they would take to build their confidence;
       2. Attitudes they would drop that would interfere with building confidence;
       3. A statement of the kind of person they would be for the following year.

What EPIC wanted to give the children and youth in Cabrillo Village was a summer they
would never forget - with people they would always remember. We did it!
We all owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Dr. Christine Wood, EPIC’s founder, for her
tireless efforts to arrange these life-enhancing experiences for the kids of Cabrillo Village.
                           We are making a huge difference!
Now, as we enter the new school year, EPIC students do so with the anticipation that EPIC will
continue to be their support, inspiration and practical help throughout the coming year.

                  Your generous investment will help us to continue
                        offering these valuable opportunities,
             working together to build a peaceful and healthy community.
                        THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!