B-SAFE 2021 - Launched and Already Halfway There!

/
BCONNJULY1.png

By Liz Steinhauser, Senior Director of Community Engagement

B-SAFE 2021, St. Stephen’s Youth Programs 22nd year of summer programming, is launched and already halfway done! There is a reason everyone calls this a sprint! 

In the first 13 days of B-SAFE, young people across our four sites in Boston have..

  • Made new friends

  • Sculpted clay animals

  • Watched the IMAX movie Sharks! in 3D

  • Bowled spares and strikes at Boston Bowl

  • Run through the sprinklers at the Christian Science Plaza

  • Pet rabbits at Farrington Nature Linc

  • Learned about social identity through mask-making

  • Offered apologies and reconciled when they made mistakes or hurt another person’s feelings

  • Splashed at Ashland State Park

  • Interviewed neighbors and business leaders in the South End about their community

  • Sang along to In The Heights at the Coolidge Corner Theatre

  • Started their resumes to be ready to apply jobs

  • Created drip paintings and added positive affirmations

  • Explored the USS Constitution

  • Got a paycheck (a lifetime first for many of our teen Counselors-in-Training)

  • Ate a garden full of carrots

  • Had sooooooooooo much fun! 

Our staff and leaders from partner organizations have done BIG and IMPORTANT things--together--creating a supportive learning environment for young people, some of whom are rejoining groups for the first time in nearly 18 months, due to the necessity of quarantines during the pandemic. And all of this is happening during the rainiest July on record and when the climate emergency is creating algae blooms in the lakes at our field trip destinations. Rain plans and flexibility galore! WOW!

The theme for B-SAFE 2021 is “Brave Enough To Be It” from youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb.” Young people, teens, and adult staff have been brave enough to meet new people, taste new foods, go new places, and try new things. Parents have also been engaged through cook-outs, zumba sessions, and a workshop learning about the history of parent leadership in the Boston Public Schools (starting in the 1600’s!). 


It has been a brave and beautiful first half of the summer. BIG thanks to all who have put their love and energy into making this a safe, big, and connected first half of the summer. We cannot WAIT to see what happens next!