Yes Parent Guidebook

PARENT GUIDEBOOK

Free Day Trips for Military Youth YES! It is tough being a kid these days – particularly when dealing with the stress of belonging to a military family. Our Youth Development programs help kids cope while providing them with positive, fun opportunities to get to know themselves and each other.

YES! (Youth Enrichment Summer) outings afford children in military families, the opportunity to explore a variety of Southern California attractions. The Armed Services YMCA is delighted to offer the YES! program for the third consecutive summer to San Diego military kids. YES! youth trips, for children ages 7 to 12, include a day at YMCA Camp Surf and the Wild Animal Park. New this summer, a YES! teen trip for kids ages 13 to 15 to Disney’s California Adventure Park will be a great chance for military teens to meet and connect over the summer!

This Parent Guidebook has useful information to prepare your child for YES! as well as an overview of YES! policies and procedures. Please take time to review this with your child and get excited about YES!

Contents: Staff & Activities

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Preparing for YES!

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YES Policies

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San Diego Armed Services YMCA

Visit our website www.militaryymca.com for more information on

3293 Santo Road, San Diego, CA 92124

the over 40 free programs and services available to your family!

YES! Staff YES! staff are full time Armed Services YMCA Youth and Community Outreach (YCO) staff members that want to host an awesome summer packed with fun, adventure, and exploration!

YES! Outings: Disney’s California Adventure Park July 30th

Teens 13-15 years:

Military teens explore Southern California and connect with other military teens through a day long excursion to Disney’s California Adventure Park. Experience great adventures!

San Diego Wild Animal Park August 6th & August 27th

Kids 7-12 years:

Journey into Africa at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, make new friendships, and have a blast learning exploring this educational attraction with other military kids! Discover animal adaptations, explore different habitats, and get hands-on with scientific experiments.

YMCA Camp Surf

August 13th & August 20th Kids 7-12 years:

Kids will have a blast learning fun new activities including archery, wall climbing, boogie boarding and surf lessons. Children will have a water training and safety course prior to water activities and will be closely supervised by both Camp Surf lifeguards and ASYMCA staff when they are in the water.

Our staff is passionate about supporting military youth and take pleasure in maintaining a structured, educational program in an atmosphere of fun and excitement. The ASYMCA takes seriously the importance of child protection and safety. We have specific, tested policies and procedures for all staff that work with children. The following are some of our proven safety practices: 1. The ASYMCA has comprehensive pre-employment screening for staff members and program volunteers, including interviews, reference and nation-wide criminal history checks. 2. All staff members regularly work with school aged youth in informal educational settings and are certified in pediatric First Aid and CPR.

Preparing for YES!

YES! Staff

YES! Clothes YES! is fun. Occasionally fun can also mean messy! Dress your child in old clothes so they are ready to play hard and get dirty! Children are required to wear closed toed shoes and socks daily and should arrive to YES! with sunscreen already applied. Remember, YES! Is not a fashion show!

What to Bring It is recommended that you send your child with a backpack to keep all their belongings together. All belongings should be labeled with your child’s name before sending to camp. Please also be sure your camper has sunscreen and a sweatshirt.

What not to Bring Children may not bring electronic devices (cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, video games), toys, jewelry, or money to Camp Hero. The Armed Services YMCA is not responsible for any items that are lost or stolen.

YES!

Deposits

YES! registration forms and a twenty dollar refundable deposit will be required to register. Deposits will be available for return to parents the final day of the last registered YES! outing. YES! Eligibility YES! is open to children of military Should the family fail to cancel their child’s space at least two service members from all service weeks prior to the outing or the branches. The military service member must be rank E6 or below child not attend, the deposit will be considered a donation to the and assigned to a San Diego non profit Armed Services YMCA. military installation or San Diego based ship. Children must be Emergency Procedures between seven and twelve years old by August 1st to be eligible for Contacting YES! Kids Youth YES! and between thirteen If you should need to reach your and fifteen years by August 1st for child during YES! please call our Teen YES! There will be no age front desk at 858-751-5755. They exceptions. Priority will be given will take your message and get the to children who have not information to your child. participated in 2009 Operation Children are not permitted to Outdoors. bring cell phones to YES!

Financial Contributions

Child Illness or Injury If your child becomes ill at YES! The Armed Services YMCA is our staff will contact you to pick proud to provide over 40 free them up. Please have programs to San Diego military service members and their families arrangements to do so in a timely manner. If you child is injured each month. Should you wish to make a contribution to the Armed staff will take whatever steps are necessary to obtain medical care. Services YMCA in support of programs like YES! you may do so If we are unable to reach you and your child needs medical attention by sending your donation to the they will be transported to the Armed Services YMCA at 3293 Santo Road, San Diego, CA 92124 hospital by an ambulance. All expenses for emergency medical or call 858-751-5755 for more care are the responsibility of the information. parent.

Karena Vigliotti: Program Director Beginning her third summer at the Armed Services YMCA, Karena comes to us from Massachusetts and is a graduate of St. Lawrence University with a degree in Psychology. Her energy, enthusiasm, and love for working with children of all ages has made her time at the Armed Services YMCA a tremendous thrill. Karena discovered a love for camp her first week at the Armed Services YMCA and is excited to see YCO youth summer programs grow!

Andrea Fields: Program Leader Andrea joined the YCO staff last summer for YES! and is excited to begin her second summer at the Armed Services YMCA. A Southern California native, summer has always been her favorite season! Andrea is a senior at San Diego State University, pursuing a degree in Women’s Studies and Social Work. She looks forward to directing her passion for empowering youth and their families into meaningful summer programs for military youth. Lyndsay Calhoun: Program Leader Starting her first summer at the Armed Services YMCA, Lyndsay is a San Diego native and graduate of University of California, San Diego with a degree in Sociology. Her passion to reach children of all ages through education and recreation, has brought her to the ASYMCA from Vilseck, Germany where she worked with military youth and their families. She is eager and ready to embark on the fun exploration of Southern California!

Field Trip Transportation YES! participants will travel by Armed Services YMCA buses. The following are some of our transportation safety practices: 1. Each bus driver is a Armed Services YMCA staff member who has completed comprehensive pre-employment screening including interviews, drug and alcohol testing, and reference and nation-wide criminal history checks. 2. Each driver is required to perform a pre-trip inspection for their bus before transporting passengers. 3. Each Armed Services YMCA bus is outfitted with seat belts and routinely inspected by the California Highway Patrol. We do our best to maintain a reliable schedule of departure and arrival times and accomplish all planned activities. Please do your part to help by arriving on time to YES! and ready for the day’s activities. We appreciate your understanding that trips are subject to change as necessary for health or safety of the participants and staff.

Important Times 8:00 a.m. YES! opens for drop off

8:30 a.m. Buses begin leaving for field trips

4:00 p.m. Buses return from youth YES!

4:30 p.m. Youth YES! Pick Up

7:15 p.m. Buses return from teen YES!

7:30 p.m. Teen YES! Pick Up

Camp Policies Drop Off YES! opens for drop off at 8:00 a.m. each day. YES! buses begin to leave at 8:30 a.m. YES! participants that arrive after field trip transportation has departed can not be accommodated.

Pick Up

Behavior Management Guidelines It is the Armed Services YMCA’s goal to provide a healthy, safe, and secure environment for all day camp participants. Children who attend the program are expected to follow the behavior guidelines based on the four core values and to interact appropriately in a group setting.

All YES! participants must be Behavior Guidelines: picked up and signed out by an adult listed on the authorized pick- 1. We will care for ourselves and for those around us. up list. Please show courtesy to 2. Honesty will be the basis for YES! staff by arriving promptly for all relationships and pick up. YES! participants not interactions. picked up within 30 minutes of the 3. People are responsible for schedule pick up time will be their actions. supervised by ASYMCA staff and 4. We respect each other and the every attempt will be made to environment. contact parents and emergency contacts. If within an hour the Our staff is trained and is expected parents are not reachable, Child to resolve behavior problems in a Protective Services will be called. positive manner. In the event Attendance problems persist the child may be YES! is a full day experience. YES! suspended or dismissed from the participants that are late, or YES! program. Some acts may absent will be dismissed from result in immediate suspension or remaining YES! outings. Deposits dismissal including but not limited will not be refunded for those to: fighting, intentionally harming dismissed from YES! If you child is others, theft, and possession of for whatever reason not able to weapons or drugs. Deposits will attend please contact the Armed not be refunded for those Services YMCA as soon as possible dismissed from the program due so that a waitlist child can be to a behavior problem. invited.