Tag: Catalyst Foundation Culture Camp

Vietnam Culture Camp — Unforgettable

ATG’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Aivy Nguyen, returned for another summer volunteering as camp counselor for Catalyst Foundation‘s Vietnamese Culture Camp. Here is her recap of her weekends.

“Two weekends. Two cities. One sad ATG’er who’s sad another year of camp is over.

Yet another wonderful year of camp has passed with more memories and stories with the kids, parents counselors and staff at Catalyst Culture Camps in Northfield, MN and New Haven, CT. With two camps back to back, my culturally fused weekend was a blur of kids, play-time, snack-time, arts, crafts, circle painting and the infamous never-ending piggy back rides.

Midwest Catalyst Culture Camp
East Coast Catalyst Culture Camp

This year, I was lucky enough to be chosen as camp counselor for both the Midwest and East Coast camps. Double the fun. Double the excitement. Double the amounts of lost sleep. All the while, it was very much worth every minute, because each Vietnamese adoptee I meet is a reminder of why I love doing what I do for ATG — providing ways to help raise funds for the orphans still in Vietnam so that they can hopefully one day have the same opportunities as the children I meet at Catalyst.

Day one of Minnesota camp is always a joy, as it gives the opportunity for many of the campers and parents to meet and get to know the counselors on a more one-to-one level. They also have their chance to dunk their favorite counselors during the Catalyst Carnival.

This year also reunited myself, Jack Nguyen and our incredible improv emcee skills for the counselor talent show. I was very impressed to see such an array of skills in acting, dancing, fiddle-playing and most impressively — song writing. Catalyst Culture Camp finally got its theme song, thanks to the counselors from Group 4 who re-wrote the lyrics to Katy Perry’s “California Girls” for culture camp. To see/hear a real treat, visit the Catalyst Foundation Fan Page.

The addition of Circle Painting and Vovinam also brought different cultural learning lessons to camp. The kids learned how to build onto each other’s creativity with painting, as well as the great art of martial arts and self-defense with Vovinam.

With more activities that filled the day than I could imagine, the best of all of them was getting to bond with the kids. Each one with their own story, their own history, their own personalities and ability to adapt. Every year I return, I grow more impressed and attached, not only with the kids, but the parents who have given a piece of themselves to share their lives and love. To the parents and kids, I thank you again for another great summer.

To see more of Aivy’s camp adventures, be sure to visit our ATG Fan Page and check out our photo albums!

A Camping We Will Go…

Catalyst Culture Camp

Aivy Nguyen at Catalyst Culture Camp
Last year’s experience as a camp counselor for Catalyst Culture Camp was such a wonderful one, so I’m returning as a veteran counselor for not just one camp, but both! This weekend, I will be working my first year with the St. Olaf camp in Minnesota. The kids and parents from last year’s east coast camp in New Jersey left such great memories and stories to remember. Three days of meeting families, cultural craft making and bonding made me appreciate what Catalyst does for the adoptees here, and it only motivates and inspires me more with ATG to provide for those in need overseas.  I eagerly wait to meet more inspiring families at St. Olaf!
— Aivy Nguyen, Dir of Marketing/PR

Colorado Vietnamese Heritage Camp

Jared Rehberg at Colorado Vietnamese Heritage Camp
I always look forward to Colorado Vietnamese Heritage Camp during the summer time. This special weekend in Colorado is filled with new music for all the campers, presenting life stories with my adult adoptees friends to the adoptive parents and last and certainly not least, bonding with the young generation of adoptees.
This year I will also be screening the film Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam. DVDs will be available at the screening. I love catching up with the campers I’ve met since my first camp over 6 years ago. We have drinks and share our joys and sorrows from the years past. I’m especially excited to bring new adult adoptees to share their stories at our adult workshops. It’s quite a trip for many, but well worth it in the end.
— Jared Rehberg, Dir of Community Outreach