Old Cranleighan and former House Captain of North, Nick Fryer, will be meeting the challenge of running a holiday camp for people with learning difficulties in Oxford this summer.  Common Room member, John Carr (after a number of years leading the camps himself) first put Nick in touch with the organisation and he is delighted to hear that, after two years volunteering, Nick will now be taking on this exciting leadership role.

 

Running the camps is a 24 hours a day job for the week-long duration of the camp.  During that time Nick will be running day trips to take advantage of the delights of Oxford (punting, sailing and swimming), as well as going further afield to theme parks and maybe even the seaside.  Not only will he be responsible for giving the campers a holiday to remember but he’ll also be catering for their special needs and making sure the volunteers are well trained and supported throughout.  No mean feat!

 

John Carr interviewed Nick for a web-site exclusive:

 

 All the people who attend are great fun, both volunteers and campers, which gives the camp a really good atmosphere.  While the activities are good it’s above all the cheerfulness of the campers and the volunteers that stand out. 

 I imagine that the campers enjoy it because the camp is often their only holiday of the entire year and it puts them in a new environment where they meet up with friends from previous years and with all the volunteers new and old who proceed to spend the week entertaining them and ensuring that they have a good time.  No doubt the chance to do such a wide variety of holiday activities is also a big draw!

 My girlfriend actually led a camp last year and, because of very short summer holidays, would not have been able to lead again this year.  She was given the task of finding two leaders for this year and, no doubt, after exhausting all other possibilities, she suggested it to me.

 It is certainly hard to know where to strike a balance between letting the kids enjoy their holiday, doing whatever they want to, and ensuring that you don't reverse all the work of their carers and families encouraging good and cooperative behaviour.

Also, for a new volunteer it can be quite challenging having to look after the kids and know what to do in every situation when you have no prior experience of looking after someone. (Fortunately all the volunteers are very helpful and many of them have done Mencap before).

 It certainly seems that the campers really enjoy their time; after all they keep coming back!  As for the volunteers, it is not only a great experience that you never forget but it also means that you develop qualities in yourself that you never knew you had, such as teamwork and at times fearsome negotiating skills.  I think it can also make the volunteers quite keen to go on and do further voluntary work both at Mencap and elsewhere.

 

 A number of other OCs volunteer on the camps and the organisers are always looking for new people to sign up. In recent years some Cranleigh VIth Formers have also got involved. If you are interested please contact the volunteer organiser Gill Rogers on: gill.rogers@hotmail.co.uk