Free Day Trips for Military Youth

YES! (Youth Enrichment Summer) outings afford children Its tough being a kid these days in military families, the particularly when dealing with opportunity to explore a variety the stress of belonging to a of Southern California military family. Our Youth attractions. Development programs help

YES!
PARENT GUIDEBOOK

YES!

kids cope while providing them with positive, fun opportunities to get to know themselves and each other.

We are proud to offer for the third summer, a YES! teen trip for kids ages 13 to 17 to Mission Bays Belmont Park. It will be a great chance for military teens to meet and connect over the summer!

The Armed Services YMCA is delighted to offer the YES! program for the fourth consecutive summer to San Diego military kids. YES! youth trips, for children ages 7 to 12, include a day at YMCA Camp Surf and the San Diego Zoo.

Contents:
Staff & Activities Preparing for YES! YES Policies 2 3 4

San Diego Armed Services YMCA

3293 Santo Road, San Diego, CA 92124

Visit our website www.militaryymca.org for more information on programs and services that make military life easier.

YES! Staff
YES! staff are full time Armed Services YMCA Youth and Community Outreach (YCO) staff members that want to host an awesome summer packed with fun, adventure, and exploration! Our staff is passionate about supporting military youth and take pleasure in maintaining a structured, educational program in an atmosphere of fun and excitement. The ASYMCA takes seriously the importance of child protection and safety. We have specific, tested policies and procedures for all staff that work with children. The following are some of our proven safety practices:
1. The ASYMCA has comprehensive pre-employment screening for staff members and program volunteers, including interviews, reference and nation-wide criminal history checks. 2. All staff members regularly work with school aged youth in informal educational settings and are certified in pediatric First Aid and CPR.

YES! Outings:
Mission Bays Belmont Park
August 2nd Teens 13-17 years:
Military teens explore Southern California and connect with other military teens through a day long excursion at San Diegos home of the wooden rollercoaster known as the Giant Dipper, Belmont Park. Teens will enjoy unlimited rides on the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, Octotron, Beach Blaster, Control Freak, Speedway Bumper Cars, Tilt-a-Whirl, The Liberty Carousel, Vertical Plunge, Krazy Kars, Crazy Submarine, and Thunder Boats. There will be no access to the beach and Wavehouse Attractions (Wave House, Plunge Pool, RUSH Laser Tag, RUSH Arcade, Midway Games, Lazer Maze Challenge, Sky Climb, Sky Ropes Adventure). Get ready for a fun day in the sun!

YMCA Camp Surf

August 9th and August 23rd Kids 7-12 years:
Kids will have a blast learning fun new activities including archery, wall climbing, boogie boarding and surf lessons. Children will have a water training and safety course prior to water activities and will be closely supervised by both Camp Surf lifeguards and ASYMCA staff when they are in the water.

San Diego Zoo: The Inside Scoop

August 16th and August 30th Kids 7-12 years:
While visiting the World Famous San Diego Zoo, kids will have an opportunity to get an insiders perspective of the park. With a tram tour and a special behind the scenes look at an animals habitat, theyll leave the San Diego Zoo with insider knowledge.

Preparing for YES!

YES! Clothes
YES! is fun. Occasionally fun can also mean messy! Dress your child in old clothes so they are ready to play hard and get dirty! Children are required to wear closed toed shoes and socks daily and should arrive to YES! with sunscreen already applied. Remember, YES! Is not a fashion show!

YES! Staff
Lyndsay Calhoun: Program Director
Her fourth summer at the Armed Services YMCA, Lyndsay is a San Diego native and graduate of University of California, San Diego with a degree in Sociology. Her passion for working with children of all ages has made working at the ASYMCA an incredible experience. Lyndsay is ecstatic for the fourth year of Camp Hero and pumped for the new improvements this year!

What to Bring
It is recommended that you send your child with a backpack to keep all their belongings together. All belongings should be labeled with your childs name before sending to YES! outings. Please also be sure your child has sunscreen and a sweatshirt.

What Not to Bring

Children may not bring electronic devices (cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, video games), toys, jewelry, or money to YES!. The Armed Services YMCA is not responsible for any items that are lost or stolen.

YES! registration forms and a ten dollar non-refundable deposit will be required to register. Should the family fail to cancel their childs space at least two weeks prior to the outing or the YES! Eligibility child not attend, their child YES! is open to children of military service members from all would become ineligible for Armed Services YMCA service branches. The military programming. service member must assigned to a San Diego military installation Emergency Procedures or San Diego based ship. Children must be between seven Contacting YES! Kids If you should need to reach your and twelve years old by August 1st to be eligible for Youth YES! child during YES! please call our front desk at 858-751-5755. and between thirteen and They will take your message and seventeen years by August 2nd get the information to your child. for Teen YES! There will be no Children are not permitted to age exceptions. Priority will be given first time YES! participants. bring cell phones to YES!

YES!

Deposits

Kristen Mihalko: Program Leader Kristen is sun-screened and ready to go for her first summer at the Armed Services YMCA. She is a military child who grew up in San Diego, Guam and Japan. She graduated with a degree in Family Resources from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Kristen has worked with youth of all ages since 2007 and is looking forward to using her creativity and fun personality to make this a fun and inspiring summer for military youth. Cathy Tann: Program Specialist Cathy could not be more excited about kicking off her third summer with the ASYMCA! Cathy is a Texas native with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and an Elementary Teaching Credential from the University of North Texas. She is pumped to be using her background working with youth both in and out of the classroom to make this the best summer yet! Donnabelle Buban: Program Leader
Donnabelle is thrilled for her second summer at the ASYMCA. Donnabelle is a graduate of El Camino College and Cuyamaca College with degrees in Child Development. She holds a Child Development Teachers Permit from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and is looking forward to using her background working with young children to create a more meaningful summer this year!

Financial Contributions
The Armed Services YMCA is proud to provide programs and services to San Diego military service members and their families each month. Should you wish to make a contribution to the Armed Services YMCA in support of programs like YES! you may do so by sending your donation to the Armed Services YMCA at 3293 Santo Road, San Diego, CA 92124 or call 858751-5755 for more information.

Child Illness or Injury

If your child becomes ill at YES! our staff will contact you to pick them up. Please have arrangements to do so in a timely manner. If you child is injured staff will take whatever steps are necessary to obtain medical care. If we are unable to reach you and your child needs medical attention they will be transported to the hospital by an ambulance. All expenses for emergency medical care are the responsibility of the parent.

Field Trip Transportation

YES! participants will travel by Armed Services YMCA buses.
The following are some of our transportation safety practices:
1. Each bus driver is an Armed Services YMCA staff member who has completed comprehensive pre-employment screening including interviews, drug and alcohol testing, and reference and nation-wide criminal history checks. 2. Each driver is required to perform a pre-trip inspection for their bus before transporting passengers. 3. Each Armed Services YMCA bus is outfitted with seat belts and routinely inspected by the California Highway Patrol.
We do our best to maintain a reliable schedule of departure and arrival times and accomplish all planned activities. Please do your part to help by arriving on time to YES! and ready for the days activities. We appreciate your understanding that trips are subject to change as necessary for health or safety of the participants and staff.

YES! Policies
Drop Off
Youth YES! opens for drop off at 8:00 a.m. each day. YES! buses begin to leave at 8:30 a.m. Teen YES! opens at 8:30am and buses leave at 9am. YES! participants that arrive after field trip transportation has departed can not be accommodated.

Behavior Management Guidelines

It is the Armed Services YMCAs goal to provide a healthy, safe, and secure environment for all day camp participants. Children who attend the program are expected to follow the behavior guidelines based on the four core values and to interact appropriately in a group setting. Behavior Guidelines: 1. We will care for ourselves and for those around us. 2. Honesty will be the basis for all relationships and interactions. 3. People are responsible for their actions. 4. We respect each other and the environment.

Pick Up
All YES! participants must be picked up and signed out by an adult listed on the authorized pickup list. Please show courtesy to YES! staff by arriving promptly for pick up. YES! participants not picked up within 30 minutes of the schedule pick up time will be supervised by ASYMCA staff and every attempt will be made to contact parents and emergency contacts. If within an hour the parents are not reachable, Child Protective Services will be called.

Youth YES! Important Times 8:00 a.m.

YES! opens for drop off

Teen YES! Important Times 8:30 a.m.

YES! opens for drop off

8:30 a.m.
Buses begin leaving for field trips

9:00 a.m.
Buses begin leaving for field trips

4:00 p.m.
Buses return from Youth YES!

4:00 p.m.
Buses return from Teen YES!

4:30 p.m.
Youth YES! Pick Up

4:30 p.m.
Teen YES! Pick Up

Our staff is trained and is expected to resolve behavior problems in a positive manner. In the event problems persist the child may be suspended or dismissed from the Attendance YES! is a full day experience. YES! YES! program. Some acts may result in immediate suspension or participants that are late, or dismissal including but not limited absent will be dismissed from to: fighting, intentionally harming remaining YES! outings. Deposits others, theft, and possession of will not be refunded for those dismissed from YES! If you child is weapons or drugs. Deposits will not be refunded for those for whatever reason not able to dismissed from the program due attend please contact the Armed Services YMCA as soon as possible to a behavior problem. so that a waitlist child can be invited.