Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2014, Page 121

Description:	ONE Sophomore Emily Williams leads ascavenger hunt at Camp Emma Lou. Thescavenger hunt took place in Tylers Treehouse, aplay area built in memory of Tyler Frenzel. TWOAn emu peeks through its enclosure in the pettingbarn at Camp Emma Lou. The camp had avariety of animals including goats, cats, andalpacas. THREE Junior Ann Gillard playsPictionary with students from Binford ElementarySchool. The game was chosen to encourageteamwork among the elementary students.FOUR Binford students complete a scavengerhunt at Tylers Treehouse. The centerpiece ofCamp Emma Lou, Tylers Treehouse, wasconstructed in memory of Tyler Frenzel, a nine-year-old leukemia fighter. FIVE Camp EmmaLou, which serves as a weekend retreat fordisadvantaged families, has four cabins as wellas a lake. PHOTOS BY LUCILLE POWERSThroughout the spring of 2014, Bloomington High School South Panther Activity Councilmembers attended Camp Emma Lou, a retreat for disadvantaged families, with Monroe CountyCommunity School Corporation sixth graders to learn about leadership and making a difference.On a cool, clear morning in April,Bloomington High School SouthPanther Activity Council (PAC)members, along with sixth gradestudents from Binford Elementary,boarded five yellow school buses andtrekked to Camp Emma Lou for a dayof leadership and learning. CampEmma Lou, owned by former probaseball player Scott Rolen, wasfounded as a retreat for disadvantaged families as part of Rolensnon-profit organization, the Enis FurleyFoundation.Inspired to create the foundationafter visiting terminally ill children withcancer, Scott purchased a plot of landnear Bedford for the camp. Scottsnephew, freshman Gage Rolen,explained: The camp has four cabins,a lake, and a lodge where families cango for a long weekend and forget theirtroubles. In between family visits, thecamp hosted field trips for MCCSCsixth graders and PAC members, whofacilitate the activities.Among the most memorable ofthe events supervised by PAC memberswas a treehouse scavenger hunt. Thecenterpiece of the camp, a largetreehouse in the woods, was built inmemory of Tyler Frenzel, a nine yearold boy with leukemia. Tyler raised$1,000 on his own and donated it tothe camp to build a treehouse, Rolenrecalled. The treehouse looks like acastle, and it even has a fireman pole -- basically everything Tyler loved.The scavenger hunt, led by PACmembers, taught elementary studentsabout Tylers legacy. Running aroundthe treehouse to find Tylers favoritethings, they were learning about howhe continues to make a difference eventhough hes gone, sophomore EmilyWilliams explained, and how Tylerwas thinking about other kids insteadof himself when he donated the moneyfor the treehouse. When Tylerdonated his money to the camp, hewas thinking about kids like him, withother serious medical conditions, notthe hundreds of MCCSC sixth gradersand PAC members who take field tripsto the camp each year.We [PAC members] taught thesixth graders about Tyler so they couldunderstand that even though theyrekids, they can still make a difference,explained Williams. Tyler Frenzelmade more of a difference than heever thought when he donated$ 1,000, and thanks to Scott Rolen andCamp Emma Lou, his legacy liveson.-LUCILLE POWERS
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/9227
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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