Sponsor Spotlight
Sierra and camper, Patti, swimming in the pool at camp.
Meet Sierra Bloemsma. Sierra is a high school senior, applying to colleges in California and Canada. Right now, she wants to become a K-12 teacher and has an interest in Special Education. As it is for any 17-year-old, school takes up most of Sierra’s time, but she does find time to enjoy photography, hiking, rock climbing, camping with her family, and Irish dancing.
Sierra’s discovery of philanthropy and thoughtfulness for others began ten years ago, when she joined Girl Scouts in second grade. She’s currently in Burbank’s Girl Scout Troup 365. Throughout her journey with Girl Scouts, she’s learned about goal setting, hard work, and the importance of helping others.
Starting out as a Brownie, Sierra learned to focus her Award projects on others. In elementary school she designed and built a toy chest with her troup for the playroom in her local children’s hospital. In middle school, she worked with two other girls from her troup to build a climbing structure for the goats at Golden Heart Ranch a ranch in Agora Hills dedicated to providing an inclusive space for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Sierra also designed structures and built toys for the many other farm animals at the ranch, including chickens, cows, and rabbits.
As our luck would have it, last year Sierra saw a random post that one of her school counselors made about a volunteer opportunity at a summer camp for people with disabilities: EasterSeals Camp at YMCA Camp Oakes. Although none of her friends applied, she made the bold move to apply to be a Counselor In Training (CIT) at camp!
Even though it was only her first year at camp, Sierra jumped right in. By the end of day one she was like a sister to her fellow CIT’s, and a best friend to the campers in her assigned cabin. She even memorized each of her campers’ unique morning tea orders by the end of the week! Sierra was tasked with helping campers get ready in the morning, serving and cutting up food for campers, accompanying them throughout the various daily outdoor activities, and helping them get ready for bed at the end of the day. She also used her years of experience with service projects and her positive attitude to work kindly and encouragingly with campers, often holding the hand of campers who walk slowly to encourage them to walk faster with the group, and figuring out the best way to console a frustrated camper. Joel Hubert, director of the Counselor-In-Training program, says that “this was the first year Sierra volunteered at camp, and she immediately made a powerful impact within the Counselor-In-Training program and the cabin she worked directly with. Her positive approach to life is infectious, and we cannot wait to see how Sierra grows within her role at camp!”
One of Sierra’s most cherished memories from camp is swimming with two of her campers who were too short to touch the bottom of the pool. She would hold them up and help them float around. One of the campers was non-speaking, but communicated loudly with the biggest smile on her face while they were swimming together.
Her experience at camp prompted her to think of Access Granted, Camp for All to donate $2,000 to help campers to continue to experience the outdoors, nature, and personal growth. It is Access Granted, Camp for All’s first major donation, and we are touched that it came from Sierra.
But, it’s not like Sierra has money growing on trees. In reality, Sierra raised the $2,000 by selling Girl Scout cookies! Every year she sells at least 700-1000 boxes just by herself. And, collectively, her troup donates a portion of their cookie sales to local nonprofit organizations. All those years of sales allowed Sierra’s troup to donate $2000 from around 2000 boxes of cookies that Sierra has sold over the years. So if you’ve ever thought twice about buying a box, do it; they are delicious and provide donations to the Girl Scouts, their programs, and making impacts in the community.
We cannot thank her and her troup enough! We look forward to next summer with Sierra and many more to come.
