A window to the world’s opportunities awaits selected high school juniors through Long Beach Rotary’s Camp Enterprise event held each spring. For an overview and pictures from 2011 please review the gallery [ here] or the full 2011 Gallery [ here ].
At Camp Enterprise we bring together young people who are interested in the business related fields with Rotarian’s who are excited to share their knowledge and life experiences. The ideal student participant is one who may be still undecided about attending college yet shows an aptitude their teachers and counselors want to help them develop.
Campers arrive at the Queen Mary on a Wednesday morning with their sleeping bags and warm clothes. We all get to know each other and Rotarian’s share some of their personal stories about the path they followed in their careers. The Campers then join the Rotarian’s at their regularly scheduled lunch meeting featuring a speaker selected specifically to encourage and inspire the Campers. After lunch everyone boards a bus to Camp Oakes near Big Bear, California. More speakers, good food and new experiences continue throughout the next two days.
The Campers are assigned teams mixing schools and the sexes with Rotarian’s and YMCA Camp Counselors. The following day the teams participate in Team Building Exercises designed to spur confidence and encourage participation by everyone to accomplish a common goal.
In the afternoon the fun really starts. Teams work together with their Rotarian Counselors to develop a business, a plan for starting and running that business and a commercial to promote their business.
Friday morning, after a hearty breakfast, each team is selected in random order to present their business and business plan for judging. Then things can get pretty silly with the creative business commercials each team puts on for the group.
By the time lunch is over, Rotarian’s and Campers are exchanging contact information and networking like the professionals they are. We board the bus and return to the Queen Mary full of stories, enrichment and accomplishments.
Camp Enterprise leaves a significant impression on everyone that attends; Campers and Rotarian’s alike. For some it is the first experience away from home. For others it is the first experience in the mountains. And for most it is the first time they learn they can be significant contributors to the world using the skills they already know and they are anxious to learn more.