By: Kate Rentz
Work Crew welcoming their first group of the summer. Work Crew are high schoolers who volunteer a month of their summer to serve at a Young Life Camp.
Work Crew forming a tunnel as campers and leaders run through. After this, they unload their bags and help carry them to their rooms.
Camp staff, Jose Lazo and Sadie Smith helping carry snacks and drinks for campers to their rooms. These campers come from all over the Southeast region of the US.
Young Life staff getting ready to welcome more campers. Every summer, Young Life staff gets assigned to different camps across the world and have different jobs.
Young Life staff starting their skit as campers unload their bus. The two staff with the helmets on are doing the skit all week and the woman in the middle is the camp speaker.
The skit continues as campers gather around. They give a quick camp tour of everything Southwind has to offer.
Leaders are handed wrist bands and slips of paper with their names on them. The wrist bands display that they are 18+ and allowed to be on camp.
Leaders getting their pictures taken. These will be hang in the office for staff and interns to know who is leading or who is a camper.
The Kitchen Head, Terry Burley brings popsicles to the work crew since welcome is during the peak hours of the Florida heat. The work crew stays outside for two hours or more every welcome period for new campers.
The Rod and Reel is the snack bar and storefront. This is where a lot of middle schoolers spend their money.
Charlie's County Store sign sitting outside the Rod and Reel. Charlie is not actually a really person, the staff just chose a generic name for the sign.
This is the van leaders take their picture in front of. This van has been here for over 30 years.
Sandhill Cranes walking on camp property. These cranes are the camps mascot, they wander all over camp.
The Cove is a dorm where campers stay during their five day camp week. Each dorm has four rooms and two bathrooms, they can fit anywhere up to 21 people.
The waterfront shed stores all of the paddle boards and lifejackets for the lake. The waterfront is where most campers hang out during free time, due to the hot Florida weather.
Middle schoolers out on the waterfront. They play a game where they push each other off the floating dock into the water, the last man standing wins.
The Landing is the place where people come, hang out and eat their snacks. Towards the end of the week, leaders have one-on-one conversations with their campers and they sit here most of the time.
The oak tree on camp. This is where more one-on-ones happen.
Campers playing baseball across the walkway from the oak tree. This is where most of the nightly events happen throughout the week.
The gates welcoming visitors to Southwind. These gates remain closed to ensure the safety of campers throughout the week.
