Et cetera : Camp Director Talks About the Importance of NCCC Team

Maple 4 Team Leader Ted Sweeney mills lumber for the goat barn.

It took the team only three days to complete the foundation and framing of the barn.

The AmeriCorps NCCC team Maple 4 is spending their second round with One Heartland, a Minnesota camp and retreat center with a mission to improve the lives of children, youth and families facing significant health challenges or social isolation, including AIDS/HIV and poverty. The team is spending the month of May helping with several projects on the campgrounds including the construction of a goat barn for four Nigerian Dwarf goats that will be used for camp programs. In June, members of Maple 4 are acting as counselors for two camp sessions. 

Maple 4 Corps Member Jill Ament spoke with One Heartland’s Camp Director Jill Rudolph, who talked a little bit about NCCC’s presence at the camp and the Maple 4 team.

J.A.: Why is this an important time for NCCC to be at One Heartland?

J.R.: I think the timing is great first of all, because the team gets to come and help us with projects we need to get done before the summer so we can better facilitate a lot of our programs. This team is in an ideal situation where they get to benefit from the hard work and effort put into these projects, but we do too. Especially with only having two and a half staff members here on site, we would never get these projects done. This summer alone, the goat barn project would never come about because there’s no way we would be able to get all of that created.

J.A.: What qualities does an NCCC team like Maple 4 bring to One Heartland?

J.R: I love when NCCC comes in and brings in a different perspective of the communities we serve and really what it means to serve, no matter what, even if you’ve experienced it or not. I think that’s always been eye-opening for our traditional summer staff. It’s an amazing blend. It’s crazy how the concept of the team grows throughout the summer and kind of adapts to what the needs are for the camp. I always say, there can be a camp anywhere, but it’s the people who run it that really make the program.

J.A.: What about Maple 4 stands out to you?

J.R.: Maple 4 really has come together as a team and work off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Even though there’s one leader in a green shirt, there are a ton of other leaders who can really motivate and get people driven. And that’s obvious because you guys have put up a goat barn structure in a week and a half. I think those kind of people are what runs and motivates campers to participate and get 100% out of the program.