“Butt moving,” blindfolds and bizarre photos rang in our third BC Buddies gathering of the 2016  year. On November 19, 2016 we kicked off event with 10 students aged 10-16 years old. The overall goal of the day was to continue to foster peer relationships and to push the students outside of their comfort zone.

We started off the day with icebreakers to allow the youth to feel more comfortable with each other and the leaders. Intense battle rounds of rock-paper-scissors and follow the leader had ripples of laughter throughout the room. However, the “move your butt” icebreaker was a highlight. In this game everyone sits in a circle while one person stands up outside of the circle. The person standing says something about themselves after they say “Move your butt.” For example, the person would say “Move your butt if your favourite food is pizza.” Then everyone in the circle who loves pizza would have to find a new seat in the circle and the last person to find a seat would be the next person standing up. It was inspiring to see the shyer youth feel more comfortable standing up and talking as the game went on. This icebreaker allowed youth to learn more about each other while also practicing their public speaking skills in front of new people.

Next we introduced the youth to a blindfold trust game where everyone was blindfolded and  organized into a single file line where they placed their hands on the shoulder of the person in front of them. The group had to work together to navigate an obstacle course while the non-blindfolded adult leader at the front whispered directions to the person at the front of the line. That front person then had to relay the message to the person behind them. The directions trickled down the line like a game of telephone. After we discussed the challenge of communication without visual aid of signing or lip reading and how this made the youth feel. Moreover, this activity helped youth embrace a group challenge and to learn how to trust your teammates.

We finished the day off with a photo scavenger hunt of over 90 items of wacky and bizarre photo items the two teams had to take. The wacky photo items pushed the youth outside of their comfort zone (e.g. take a picture of the group imitating a famous dance move in front of a stop sign). Individual personalities shined bright during this activity and helped the group bond with each other and the leaders. The best part was ending off the activity by viewing all of the photos and seeing how creative each team was.

Throughout the day there was a strong sense of community, acceptance and friendship. This reinforces the idea that there is a strong need for BC Buddies which inspires us to keep striving to connect to more students. We would like thank our sponsor Caldor Foundation, as well as Burnaby South Secondary for allowing us to use their facilities. We look forward to returning in the spring!