INDIANAPOLIS — As temperatures climbed last week and tested the resolve of Hoosiers, campers and staff at Jameson Camp watched as one of their own scaled a 40-foot wall in the blazing heat to celebrate a victory for the camp.
Tim Nowak, program director at Jameson, climbed and camped overnight atop the camp’s climbing wall after Jameson Camp succeeded in doubling its Facebook friends.
Jameson launched a campaign back in May to boost its online following from the 250 fans it had. As an incentive, Nowak pledged to spend the night on top of the 40 foot wall if the camp was successful in doubling that number.
Campers and staffers took that as a challenge and as a result, Jameson’s Facebook following now has more than 500 fans.
“We wanted to get to at least 500 and now we’re up to 599,” Nowak said.
The camp uses Facebook as a means to communicate, inform, and update the community about happenings at the camp.
True to his word, Nowak scaled the 40-foot wall last Tuesday, as temperatures hovered near 100 degrees. Prepared to spend the night, he had a cooler, pillows, and blankets.
“It’s like his own little pad,” Counselor Chris Bailey said.
Nowak spent two days and one night atop the climbing wall.
“The night went pretty well,” he said. “I slept better than I thought I would out there.”
Campers and staff stopped by periodically to visit and chat with Nowak during his stay. Some, like Bailey and camper Trayvon Cobbs, even climbed the wall to visit with him.
“It was pretty fun,” Cobbs said of visiting Nowak. “I loved it.”
Campers brought by buckets of ice to help Nowak beat the heat and stay cool.
“I had big plans to get some paperwork done and take care of some stuff up there,” he said. “By the afternoon I realized it was far too hot to do anything but sit there.”
Nowak’s overnight experience coincided with Wellness Week at the camp and served as a lesson in maintaining personal wellness, even in extreme heat. He committed to the date at the commencement of the campaign and stuck with it, despite temperatures being in the upper 90s. He did, however make concessions, including bringing a tarp to serve as a shield from the sun.
Andrew Watson, an Americorps member serving at the camp, said that conveying lessons in wellness are about teachable moments, such as Nowak’s experience.
“We try to emphasize that it can be fun,” Watson said. “It’s all about doing things that you want to do and feeling better for it. Wellness is about emotional, social, and physical health. It’s about getting kids to do what they want to do, in a way that they’re receptive to it.”
Jameson Camp is a non-profit youth facility based on the west side of Indianapolis. It provides a residential summer camp and year-long leadership programs focused on service learning and building leadership skills.
For more information on the camp, visit the website at www.jamesoncamp.org.
courtney.essett@flyergroup.com
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