Sunrise Leadership & Challenge Recognizing the need for continued support throughout the year, the YMBL Sunshine Camps supplements the Sunshine Camps aid to adolescents with the Sunrise Leadership and Challenge Programs. The Sunrise  Programs bring approximately 47 Challenge participants and 36 Leadership participants, ages 12-17, together for study skills and test-taking workshops, course-based tutorials with mentoring professionals, along with personal goal setting sessions focused on achieving long-term education and training goals. In addition, the Sunrise Leadership participants engage in a variety of community service projects and receive assistance in locating summer jobs.

Experienced campers from the Sunrise Leadership program become hired as Junior Counselors (JCs) for the Sunshine Camps. Junior Counselors provide assistance with both Zilker Park and Lake Travis facilities during sessions and incorporate professional and civic concepts such as job-skills training and mentorship to campers.

In addition to the mentoring and tutoring opportunities offered by the Leadership Program, students are given the chance to qualify for the Junior Counselor Program, which is steeped in service learning projects to impart the much needed idea of giving back to the community so that it is a cycle of opportunity rather than poverty. Junior Counselors work at the camps over the summer to assist camp counselors and act as role models for camp participants. Through this program, students establish their first job experience and training, as well as receive other valuable training including CPR, First Aid and conflict resolution.

Leadership Program

ASC is committed to the concept that academic success is the key to creating life opportunities for participating students. The students must earn at least 400 points in each academic year in order to become a junior counselor, and attend Holiday, spring break and end-of-year trips. Points can be earned by establishing the following measurement standards:

• Eighty percent of the students must complete at least 30 hours of community service (1 point for every hour).
• Participation in at least 60 percent of ASC-sponsored activities (50-100 points): weekly tutoring sessions, retreats, family nights, boys and girls nights and field trips to concerts, UT athletic events and shows.
• Students are required to pass all classes and are required to turn in report cards each reporting period in order to monitor GPA, and classroom conduct and attendance (up to 40 points).
• ASC strives to have at least 97 percent of the eligible seniors graduate from high school. Since 2001, 100 percent of the eligible students have graduated from high school.
• To have at least 90 percent of our Leadership students attend either a 2-year technical or a 4-year professional college. Since 2001, 100 percent have attended post high school classes and again in 2007, all graduating seniors attended higher education classes! *
• Other factors that are measured and students can earn points include: Leadership skills, behavior and ability to get along with others (5 points for each one)

Challenge Program

Sunrise Challenge Program as a prepatory development module to identify and nurture youth leaders prior to their advancement into the Sunrise Leadership Program as high school students. We recognize that the younger a child is placed on the path to personal achievement, the greater the degree of the achievement. As is the tradition with all Austin YMBL Sunshine Camps programs, the experience is provided at no cost to the participants. Program participants must meet the following criteria:

• The member’s family income qualifies him or her to participate and/or the member is in foster care.
• The member has participated in the Sunshine Camps summer programs.
• An Austin YMBL Sunshine Camps (ASC) director, counselor, or program manager recommends the young person for participation.
• The young person has exhibited qualities such as motivation and compassion.

The Sunrise Challenge Program is unique because it targets an underserved population of children who may or may not excel academically and are therefore often overlooked for advancement by the school system. These children display some potential to become exemplary citizens; they are simply lacking the opportunity to succeed due to their challenging circumstances.

The Sunrise Challenge program is a rolling two-year commitment to selected campers that will focus on education through experience while working on establishing and reinforcing identified and targeted internal and external assets. We will do this through the use of: Support, empowerment, clear boundaries and high expectations, as well as providing a constructive use of student time, the life skills young people need to be independent, capable, and competent, and positive identity. These are identified as key components to success in an ever-changing global community. The message here is direct: everyone can learn the components of success; it is only through executing the plan that one achieves success.

At the completion of the school year the members will attend a specially designed Camp session. The experience is tailored to bolster self-esteem, to foster cooperation and communication skills, and to promote the leadership qualities of these young adults.

The Sunrise Challenge program enables the members to serve the Sunshine Camps and the greater Austin community, to improve problem-solving skills, the ability to work cooperatively, and hone the social competencies so necessary to fully achieve their potential. This unique approach combines education, community service, and being placed in situations where they must navigate both intellectual and social hurdles to achieve goals, culminating in a positive experience that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.

The Austin Sunshine Camps, in an effort to quantify student growth and program effectiveness, request participants to complete surveys at the beginning and the end of the program to measure changes in perception and program efficacy. The goal is to see a 10 percent increase in each of the following areas (surveys available upon request):

• Supportive Relationships: Measures the perceived degree of guidance, emotional and practical support children receive at home, at school and at camp by peers and adults.
• Safety: Measures children’s feelings of emotional and physical safety at home, at school, and at camps.
• Youth Involvement: Measures children’s views towards school, learning, and their ability to lead and make decisions for the group.
• Skill Building : Measures children’s interest in school, learning and whether or not they are intellectually challenged by teachers, parents, counselors and activities on which they work with each of these adults.