Gitchi Gumee Project 2014

 

Gitchi Gumee 2012 Zorbari: I’ve never seen stars before! Andrea: Zorbari, you’ve never seen stars before?! Zorbari: Andrea, no! I’m from Chicago. Of course I’ve never seen stars before! Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium, 2012. Zorbari had rock-climbed and kayaked with Chicago Adventure Therapy for several summers; the inaugural Gitchi Gumee Project was her first time camping. – and her first time seeing stars, at her first campfire, with her first s’mores.

Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium, 2014. Zorbari was at the Gitchi Gumee Project, this time as a staff member with Chicago Adventure Therapy. With friend and fellow Youth Leader Fred, she managed the loading of the trailer through multiple venue changes in the course of the symposium, organized the troops to cook several meals, assisted coach Lori Stegmeir as an assistant guide on the Grand Island tour, and with Fred presented a trip report about their kayak camping trip on Grand Island in June with Greg, another Gitchi Gumee alum. (There were plenty of s’mores on the trip, and Zorbari got to build her first fire.) The Gitchi Gumee Project is a three year old collaboration that brings urban, under- served youth to the Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium. It all started in August of 2011, when Bill Thompson of Down Wind Sports (the organizer of the symposium) and Belinda Lee (paddling coach from Detroit) said to Andrea Knepper (Chicago area coach, and founder of Chicago Adventure Therapy) – “We have an idea. We want to have a beer with you before the symposium is over.” Bill and Belinda’s idea was to ...more