BAM! 2019/2020 Sessions Announced

Fall and spring sessions for Boys Achieving More (BAM!) Announced! Registration begins Monday, September 9th for Fall 2019.

Boys Achieving More (BAM!) is a FREE Outdoor Adventure Program for 5th Grade Boys Presented by the Junior League of Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT: August 15, 2019 – The 2019-2020 Boys Achieving More (BAM!) sessions have been announced. The fall session will take place on Saturday, October 5th, 2019 and the spring session will take place on Saturday, April 4, 2020. Both sessions run from 11:00am-4:00pm at the Seton Scout Reservation in Greenwich.

Registration for Fall 2019 will open on September 9, 2019 at the Junior League of Greenwich (JLG) website (www.jlgreenwich.org).

This is a FREE outdoor adventure program for 5th grade boys who are residents of, or attend school in, Greenwich. Participant selection for the fall session will be by lottery. ALL forms and signatures must be received by Friday, September 20, 2019 in order to be considered for the fall session.

BAM! was created by the Junior League of Greenwich to facilitate a discussion amongst 5th grade boys in Greenwich on the over-arching concepts of respect, trust, communication and leadership. Three facilitators from local organizations – Bob D’Angelo from the Greenwich YMCA, Bobby Walker from the Greenwich Boys & Girls Club, and TJ Ramirez Junior League of Greenwich www.jlgreenwich.org

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from ReachPREP in Stamford, along with the Greenwich Boy Scouts Council – work with the Junior League of Greenwich to design activities to engage participants in the desired topics of discussion.

Bob D’Angelo (YMCA) and JLG members create an “Amazing Race” through a portion of the Seton Scout Reservation where the participants walk in line through fallen trees in the woods, throw wood spears against a natural target, throw colored (environmentally friendly) paint powder against a rock, and fall off a log into a rope ladder held by the other participants. These activities facilitate discussions about trust, health and exercise, balance, focus, and respect for other people.

Bobby Walker (Boys & Girls Club) leads a “Survival Skills” workshop with JLG members where the boys hike through the woods, discussing leadership qualities, what it means to be a good leader, and how to get to know the people around you. The boys will become “lost,” choose a leader from amongst themselves, and find their way back to home base.

TJ Ramirez (ReachPREP) works with the Low Ropes course at Camp Seton and JLG members in a workshop focused on trust, communication and teamwork. Each “climber” will navigate the rock wall, focusing on directions from his peer “spotter” to locate the appropriate hand and feet grips, trusting that the spotter will guide him up the walls and through the course. Then, the entire group will go to the “Whale Watch,” a large wooden balance board, where they have to work as a team, communicating to balance the board for 60 seconds, then get off the board one by one without letting it touch the ground.