Monday, July 30, 2012

Ride, volunteer or sponsor the 6th Annual Camphill Challenge


Camphill Village Kimberton Hills,  Camphill Soltane, and Camphill Special School and are proud to announce the 6th Annual Camphill Challenge on Sunday, October 14, 2012


The Camphill Challenge is a memorable bicycling excursion through Chester County.  Riders will take in the sights of scenic farms and historic homes, set against a backdrop of autumn foliage.  Four routes, mapped out by professional cyclists, offer something for everyone!  All routes begin and end at the Kimberton Waldorf School.  50 mile, 25 mile and 10 mile routes are available as well as a short family fun ride to Beaver Farm, where children can visit with the farm animals. Following the ride, join us for lunch featuring live music, great food and fun for all. 

This is not just another fund-raising event – this is a friend-raising event! Your support in getting the word out to family, friends, and colleagues would be appreciated.

There are a number of ways to get involved:
•        Register to ride and/or invite friends, family and colleagues to ride. 
•        After registering, create your own fundraising page by clicking here - This is a great way to get all the people in your life involved in your ride while raising additional funds for Camphill.
Simply create your page, set your goal, and send the link around. 
•        Support Team Kimberton Hills – a team of riders made up of coworkers and villagers – by clicking here.
•        Become an event sponsor (many sponsorships include rider registrations and are budget friendly!)
•        Attend the post-event picnic
•        Volunteer at the event – we need a number of volunteers to make this a successful event. Find out how you can help by clicking here
•        Make a donation in support of all three communities.



Online registration is now open at www.camphillchallenge.org.  Details and a schedule for the day are also online.  Remember to also check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CamphillChallenge.

We hope to see you in October!  Thank you!

Village Profile: Dave Hamalian; In Memoriam: Arthur Herz


Every Friday morning I wake up around 6:30. I shave Jeffrey and brush his teeth. He tells me what he dreamt the previous night and, after a quick glance outside his bathroom window, his predictions for the day’s weather. I can call myself a “caretaker” during this brief moment.

I then proceed to prepare breakfast for eight housemates. It is a balanced meal of oats, yogurt, granola, fruits, and tea. Although this breakfast is a simple combination of ingredients and takes little time to prepare, I call myself a “cook” during this time. I wash the dishes after breakfast and call myself a “dish washer.” After some down time, I dress in my work clothes and head down the hill to the garden, where I call myself a “gardener.” In the afternoon I clean and cook dinner. I am now a “homemaker.” Before dinner, on some Fridays, I give a presentation for adult education: I’m a “teacher.” I sit down to play the piano after dinner. At this moment I am a “musician.” The last project of the day is soap making, where I am a “chemist.”

Camphill offers the possibility to live holistically. I can simultaneously be a cook, a gardener, a musician, a teacher (adult education), a chemist, a caretaker, and so much more. There is neither categorization nor separation of self, and there is no hierarchization of my various abilities or hobbies. In fact, “abilities,” “hobbies,” and “occupation” become one in the same.

There is something at work that is much bigger than my own personal development. When I care for Jeffrey in the morning, I am providing him with the healthy teeth that he needs to eat the nutritious breakfast that I prepare for him. This nutrition gives him the vitality to carry on his work on the farm. His work allows the village to have fresh milk every day. It also allows the outside community to have fresh milk, which spreads the word about the Camphill movement. When I wash the dishes, I provide my entire household with sanitary conditions that we all need to live healthy, productive lives. My work in the garden provides every individual in the village with delicious food. After I make soap, I distribute bars to the entire village.

Each of us is part of something much bigger than ourselves. Each of us is a part of a complex web of interactions that contributes to the living organism of Kimberton Hills. My existence here has little to do with the multiple skills that I can build, or even with my “multiple selves,” but has everything to do with how those abilities and those selves can best benefit the community as a whole.   -- Dave Hamalian


...

In Memory of Arthur Herz

Recently we learned of the passing of Arthur Herz, our dear friend and father of villager Eva Herz. Arthur and his wife, Hildegard, have been dedicated parents and supporters of Camphill Kimberton in many ways, including through their devotion to the Human Concerns Committee, as members of the Board of Directors and as innumerable wise and loving counsels.

Arthur’s wisdom perhaps comes from living an extraordinary life: one of early grace, then immense hardship, then hard work and diligent study and work. His humane outlook, twinkling humor and loving graciousness were great gifts to those of us who had the privilege to know and work with him.

His obituary stated that Art was a refugee from Nazi Germany, an Army Combat Photographer during WWII, Senior Research Scientist at Kodak for many years, and an active global citizen. What it didn’t state was that he was the son of a prominent Berlin publisher and an extraordinarily gifted mother. Following his mother’s internment at a Berlin prison because of the Nazi regime, the family was able to flee Germany via Cuba and then to Rochester, when Arthur was a young man.

All of us at Camphill Kimberton extend our deepest sympathies to the members of the Herz family.

Camphill Communities and AmeriCorps celebrate service




For more than 70 years, Camphill has been building communities around the world designed to meet the needs of children and adults with developmental disabilities through community life, the arts and work on the land. For the past 11 years, AmeriCorps members have played an integral part in those communities by working side-by-side with people with developmental disabilities.



Since 2001, Camphill Association of North America has grown its mission to build communities steeped in culture and environmental awareness and has been recruiting committed individuals from AmeriCorps. The decision to participate in the AmeriCorps program came from a growing challenge among Camphill communities in the region: a shortage of qualified American coworkers.

This Foundation-funded project helped create an abundance of dedicated and service-oriented individuals. There are currently 100 AmeriCorps members serving in 11 Camphill or Camphill-affiliated communities across seven states. Many are in their second year and some may join Camphill as long-term coworkers. The seeds planted by the Foundation’s investment in this project have grown into maturity, involving qualified and dedicated coworkers for existing and future Camphill communities.


“Combining the Camphill approach to community living, service, outreach and support with AmeriCorps members’ high level of commitment to civic engagement and “giving back” is a great match,” said Lauren Wolff, Camphill AmeriCorps Program Director.

An AmeriCorps position within Camphill is challenging but brings great rewards. Members have the opportunity to form deep and lasting relationships with others, and to experience significant personal growth. Public service work for organizations like Camphill or AmeriCorps can be a gateway to a variety of careers, including those outside public service. U.S. citizens and green card holders are eligible to join a Camphill community through AmeriCorps, and can earn an Education Award of $5550 after 11 months of service.
This may be applied to student loans, or to tuition expenses up to seven years in the future. Student loans are also put into forbearance during AmeriCorps service.


For more information, visit www.camphill.org.

with thanks to Kathleen Ferrari, Camphill Foundation

Extending our community: the impact of service volunteering

As an intentional community, Camphill Kimberton is home to more than 100 people, including adults with disabilities, long-term volunteers and their children, and one to three-year service volunteers and apprentices.

Service volunteers and apprentices, from across America and around the world, become part of our community for a short time, but the impact we have on each other is felt much longer. “I have gotten to know that I am able to not just work with people with disabilities,” said a former volunteer, “but have fun with them, laugh with them and help them wherever I can. There is not a single day I do not look back or think about my time at Camphill Kimberton. Sometimes I think, how can I ever give back to them what they gave me?”

Each year, 20-25 service volunteers choose to come to Camphill Kimberton and practice “life sharing in community,” living and working side by side with villagers. Approximately half of the service volunteers are from the U.S., mostly through the AmeriCorps program, and many come from all over the world, including Germany, Egypt, South Korea, Lativa and Italy.

Weekdays are structured with morning and afternoon work sessions and three family-style meals are shared in each of the houses. Service volunteers usually work half of the day helping take care of a household. The other half of the work day is spent in a workshop such as the garden, dairy, or weavery, where they continue to work side by side with villagers. In the evening, everyone returns to the homes that they share, where relationships and caring continue. Service volunteers attend weekly meetings with their assigned mentor and other peers. Once a week, there are two hours of Orientation training, focused on a specific topic led by an outside expert or by a long-term coworker. During Orientation, they become certified in Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED training, and they are educated on other topics such as sexuality policy and issues, cooperative living, Camphill values, artistic expression, and personal care. In the fall of 2011, we created a formalized Social Therapy Seminar available to all resident volunteers in their second year and beyond, which provides a deeper understanding of the Camphill values that they practice and allows them transferable college credit.

Service volunteers gain an invaluable and unique experience that they most likely could not gain anywhere else due to the Camphill approach to community life. Life sharing allows them to develop healthy, respectful relationships with people, no matter what their differences might be. “Camphill Kimberton is a wonderful community,” said one volunteer. “While it certainly taught me strength - giving me challenges I never thought I could master - it also taught me to soften. I am softer towards myself and others, being more open and forgiving of whatever unique abilities and disabilities we may have. “ It is our hope that volunteers who leave Camphill Kimberton take the special skills they have learned and integrate them into the next phases of their lives, making a difference in the world around them. As another volunteer put it: “The taste of service I got at Camphill Kimberton made me want to serve others.”

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Mark your calendar for the Camphill Challenge: Sunday, October 14, 2012



Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, Camphill Soltane, and Camphill Special School and are proud to announce the 6th Annual Camphill Challenge on Sunday, October 14th, 2012. We invite you to take part today with budget friendly sponsorships starting at just $100 and registration for riders at just $30!

The Camphill Challenge is a memorable bicycling excursion through Chester County.  Riders will take in the sights of scenic farms and historic homes, set against a backdrop of autumn foliage.  Four routes, mapped out by professional cyclists, offer something for everyone!  All routes begin and end at the Kimberton Waldorf School.  50 mile, 25 mile and 10 mile routes are available as well as a short family fun ride to Beaver Farm, where children can visit with the farm animals. Following the ride, join us for lunch featuring live music, great food and fun for all. 

This is not your typical fundraising event. One of our goals is to emphasize community and collaboration.  To that end, we are counting on your support in getting the word out to family, friends, and colleagues.  Become part of the team!

There are a number of ways to get involved:
•        Register to ride and/or invite friends, family and colleagues to ride. 
•        After registering, create your own fundraising page by clicking here - This is a great way to get all the    people in your life involved in your ride while raising additional funds for Camphill.
Simply create your page, set your goal, and send the link around. 
•        Support Team Kimberton Hills – a team of riders made up of coworkers and villagers – by clicking here.
•        Become an event sponsor (many sponsorships include rider registrations and are budget friendly!)
•        Attend the post-event picnic
•        Volunteer at the event – we need a number of volunteers to make this a successful event
•        Make a donation in support of all three communities

Online registration is now open at www.camphillchallenge.org.  Details and a schedule for the day are also online.  Also consider checking us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CamphillChallenge.

For those considering sponsorship, visit www.camphillchallenge.org to learn about the many opportunities available. If you have any questions, please contact Bernadette at 610-935-8660 or by email.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Camphill Kimberton’s dynamic and caring community. We hope to see you at the Camphill Challenge!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Camphill Challenge online registration is now available

Are you ready to take the Camphill Challenge?

The Camphill communities in Chester County will host the sixth annual Camphill Challenge cycling event on Sunday, October 14. Camphill Special School, Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, and Camphill Soltane provide life sharing and educational opportunities for children, youth, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In just a few years the Challenge has grown from twelve cyclists to close to 400. The bike ride begins and ends at Kimberton Waldorf School in Kimberton and offers fifty, twenty-five, and ten mile courses for all ages and ability levels as well as a family fun ride.

Cyclists will wind their ways through Chester County during peak autumn foliage with astounding views of farms, historic homes, and covered bridges. A picnic and music will round out the day.

Proceeds of the Camphill Challenge benefit the three Camphill communities in Chester County. For more information about the Camphill Challenge, to register for the ride, become a sponsor, or set-up a personal or team fundraising page visit camphillchallenge.org.