Doesn’t it break your heart when you see appeals to take in homeless mutts or sponsor cute-but-pitiful Third World children? Bless you if you’ve risen to these challenges! But if you feel a bit guilty because you haven’t been able to invest the time it takes to adopt a pet or the money it takes to sponsor a child, consider this:
There is another group of adoptable young people, young enough to be your children in a lot of cases, who live in Third World conditions, who are far from home, preparing meals over a fire in the rain, drinking water from suspicious sources, cut off from the luxuries of modern society, forced to wear the same clothing day after day, and often in desperate need of grooming; but who are (for the most part) already housebroken and who don’t require your daily care! You know who these poor unfortunates are! You empathize with them! Because you were once one of them!
These are the Philmont Summer Staff. They need your help to maintain contact with the real world, ease their sense of privation, raise their spirits, and survive the rigors of another summer in the wilds of northern New Mexico. You can help show these youth that they are remembered and cared about. You can, with only a modest investment of time, money, and creativity, adopt a group of current Philstaffers and show them that you remember what life was like and that you care.
The PSA Adopt-a-Staff program is here to help you reach out to this year’s staff. It’s easy and you can have a lot of fun with it. The adoption process is simple. There is no rigid fee structure. You don’t have to submit to a background check or medical exam. And you don’t have to see that your adopted staff members are licensed or neutered.
Just pick a staff or part of a staff: you can adopt French Henry, East Tent City, or a Ranger Training Crew, for example. During the summer, send your staff some goodies that will make their summer more enjoyable. When you adopt, you’ll be sent a list of ideas, but you’re encouraged to be creative: think back to your days on staff and what things from civilization you missed most, things that would have made your job easier, or things that just would have been fun to play with during those dull moments.
You can send one big care package or spread your generosity out over the summer. A lot of previous adoptees have said that a number of smaller packages are better because it means more mail!
To select a staff for adoption (sorry, no photos available), visit our website www.philstaff.com, or contact:
Jan Gimar
jgimar@bsamail.org
(505)892-2967
At a loss for words? Here’s a suggested format for a letter to accompany your Adopt-a-Staff Care Package:
Dear [insert name of staff or department],
Greetings from a [year(s) on staff] Philstaffer! I treasure the time I was able to spend in God’s Country working with some of the best people imaginable. But I also remember hitting a point each summer when I really missed some of the stuff I left behind in the civilized world. I hope this package helps you through those doldrums.
Those of us who have had the privilege of working at Philmont share an unusual experience and outlook. We have had opportunities to develop skills and friendships in an unusual setting. Someday your non-Philmont friends will wonder what planet you came from when you share some of these experiences. Tell them a story about [drop in an appropriate anecdote or reference here] and watch their jaws drop or their eyes roll!
Only those of us who have shared the frustrations and exhilarations of serving on the Philmont Staff can appreciate fully what these experiences have meant in the shaping of our lives. That’s why the Philmont Staff Association was formed: to allow current and former staff to maintain their links to each other and the unique place that is Philmont. Stop by the PSA office in the Beaubien-Miranda building at PTC to learn about the Staff Association and how you can be a part of us. Down the road, when you begin to yearn for the smell of Ponderosa and the bear in your adventures has grown from a 150-pound cinnamon to a 500-pound Grizzly, you will appreciate the ability to reconnect with others who share those memories.
Enjoy the Care Package. Enjoy your summer. If you can find the time, let me hear from you. I’d love to hear about the challenges, frustrations, and successes that mark the lives of today’s Philstaffers.
IWTGBTP,
[Your Name Here]
Share any memorable moments from your days on staff. It may make you feel like an old f**t, but the current staffers will get a hoot out of it. Who knows, you may inspire some of them to recreate your “achievements.” Be sure to include your contact information (legibly printed name, address, etc.) inside your package.
Keep the amenities already available to your adopted staff in mind. Basecamp Staffers have access to electricity; the Cypher’s Mine staff doesn’t. But the Basecamp Staffers aren’t able to do their own cooking. Rangers will appreciate stuff that can make their HQ time more pleasant as well as “trail aids,” but Rangers are also harder to get stuff to as a group.
From the responses of former adopted staffers:
Upgraded staples: decent toilet paper; gourmet coffee, tea, hot chocolate, drink mix (variety flavors and better than the standard bug juice), spices and seasonings, tobasco sauce, etc.
Diet Enhancements: cake or cookie mixes, nuts, beef log/summer sausage, different pastas, dried fruit (something other than banana chips and pineapple), quality canned goods, etc.
Snacks and goodies: chocolates, gourmet potato chips (packing challenge), cookies, candy, snack cakes, popcorn (stovetop for the backcountry—microwave for HQ), etc.
Reading material: Anything! Magazines related to the camp or department (photo mags for NPS, Guns & Ammo for Sawmill, REI Catalog for the Rangers), paperbacks, comics, Uncle John’s, Darwin Awards, stuff that can be passed around.
Games, puzzles, SODOKU, crosswords, cards.
Other diversions: squirt guns, rubber band guns, Nerf-anything, Indoor Basketball, disposable cameras, harmonicas or other small instruments, Playdoh, coloring books, paint-by-number, hand-held electronics.
Personal comfort: moleskin, lotion, sunscreen, Chapstick, foot powder, wet-wipes/towelettes, Rolaids, Airborne Cold, eye drops, etc.
Remember, most staff say they appreciate a series of small packages instead of one big one (they get more mail), so start off small and ask what they’d find most helpful in a future delivery. That will help you get a response from your adoptees and give you some ideas for what they’d appreciate most later in the summer.
This list regularly, but not instantly updated; a group listed below as available might not be at the time of your contact.
BasecampThis list regularly, but not instantly updated; a group listed below as available might not be at the time of your contact.