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January 28th trip to Bear Mountain State Park On Saturday January 28th, the Sarah Powell Huntington House (SPHH) group made its inaugural trip led by Craig Meisner and assisted by myself (Mike Sadowski), Jeremy Marin, Rachel Perla, and Jill Stein. We led a group of 13 boys and girls, ages 5 through 16, to Bear Mountain State Park for a day of ice skating, sledding, learning (at the zoo), and snowball hurling. Huntington House counselors Tony Orta and Lisa joined us as well, which made the trip more enjoyable and trouble-free. This was my first experience co-leading a trip, and only my second ICO outing, and I had a wonderful experience with this group. From the time I met these kids at the pre-meeting, I could see how excited they were to be getting out of the city for a day. When I arrived at the SPHH on Saturday morning 15 minutes before our scheduled departure, about half of the kids were decked out in their cold weather gear, ready to go. Their enthusiasm did not wane as they hit the ice for a skating session, and for the other activities we did that day. During the visit to the zoo, the kids had loads of questions for our guide, from "what do they eat?" to "why are they in these cages?" We were also treated to a sighting of a resident brown bear, who came out of his hole for a short stint, as well as a bald eagle. Based on the children's reactions to many of the animals, I would guess that this was the first time they saw these creatures. What most impressed me about this group was the sense of family that permeated it. For those of you who don't know, the SPHH is a temporary residence which was created to help women who are leaving prison to rebuild their lives and families. Our goal, in this home of 37 women and 20 children, is to become an integral part of these women and children's growth and transition. On our trip, the older kids looked after the younger ones, picking them up after a fall on the ice. When several of the boys got into a somewhat heated argument, an older girl got in between them and made them resolve the issue and apologize to each other. Tony was fantastic with the children, exercising the right amount of discipline to keep the group safe and orderly and also allowed them to have fun. I eagerly look forward to the next outing of the Huntington House, which Craig and I are in the process of planning. If there are any volunteers that want to work with an enthusiastic, inquisitive and delightful group of kids, please contact us for information on the next trip.
Pictures coming soon.
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