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Summer day camps aim to empower girls

Staff photo by Nick Daggy

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer 1:13 AM Monday, May 31, 2010

LIBERTY TWP. — After nearly two decades devoting herself to her children and volunteering for everything from Girl Scouts to the Census Bureau, Carol Sabatalo decided to do something for herself.

“It was just time for me to start seeking what I want to do,” said Sabatalo, a Liberty Twp. mother of four. “My youngest is finishing up fifth grade, and I just felt like it was time to embark on my own career at this point.”

Even with her new endeavor, Sabatalo will be helping others.

Her B-Unique summer day camp for girls will operate with the mission of “empowering girls to be different by living courageously, creatively and compassionately.”

While weaving those traits into fun camp activities, Sabatalo will operate B-Unique out of Union Elementary, the school where her youngest daughter, Lynn Marie, attends, and where Carol spends many hours both volunteering and working as a substitute teacher.

“I’ve always wanted to work with children,” she said. “That’s where I find joy and meaning. This was the direction I was going in already. I’m just falling back on my experience as a Girl Scout leader and the idea just kind of developed a little bit over time.”

Offering both half-day sessions for girls ages 6-9 and full-day camps for girls 9-12, the B-Unique camps will begin the week of June 14-18, and run through the summer until Aug. 6.

“It’s going to be my job, but my heart is in this not because I have kids of my own, but because I’ve worked with kids so much and I’ve seen the other side,” Sabatalo said. “I see that girls have different needs, and there are tools they need to make their lives a lot stronger and easier.

“It’s just a building-block type of thing,” she said. “And the more exposure they get to these types of things, the better.”

Combating mixed messages

Sabatalo is well aware of the mixed messages that blitz the minds of young girls these days.

So she’s decided to counter all of the negative stimuli with a series of summer day camps that she promises will be equal parts entertaining and empowering for young girls ages 6-12.

“With everything these girls are exposed to today, there’s so many temptations and challenges aside from just peer pressure,” Sabatalo said. “Any means we can come up with to help them make better choices will help them be better individuals in the long run.”

Sabatalo is launching her B-Unique Camp this summer, offering a “fun and engaging opportunity to equip girls with the courage, creativity and compassion they need while at the same time having a blast.”

Girls ages 6-9 will attend half-day camps from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. or 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., while girls ages 9-12 will attend full-day camps from 8:30 a.m. to

3:30 p.m.

“Each week has a different girl-inspired theme invisibly interwoven with B-Unique’s core principle of empowering girls,” Sabatalo said.

Among the themes are:

B-Amazing Artful: Girls can share their differences and strengths through a variety of art forms in addition to creating a group piece that will be showcased in the community.

B-An Adventurous Jetsetter: Campers will be immersed in international culture through music, crafts, activities and food.

B-A Drama Queen: A chance for girls to take part in skits and plays, either on stage or behind the scenes, to experience confliction resolution from all points of view.

B-Giving: Teaching girls to feel the power and goodness that comes from giving to others.

B-A Total Package: A simulated spa treatment that teaches girls the importance of being healthy and beautiful inside and out.

“With the spa theme, for example, the girls won’t be learning about body image,” Sabatalo said. “The theme will be that if they eat right they’ll have healthier skin, healthier hair and they’ll be able to grow nice long nails. It’s not about eating right because you want to get skinny.”

While Sabatalo will be running the camps, she is looking for help from volunteers with an interest and/or background in teaching.

“We’re also in the process of lining up special guests where we can showcase community leaders who might be interested in coming in to talk to the girls,” Sabatalo said. “You can’t ask for better teachers than role models.”

The cost for the camps, which will be held at Union Elementary, is $90 per week for the half-day camps, and $185 per week for the full-day camp.

Enrollment is limited to 15 girls per camp, and registration forms and a list of which themes will be covered each week can be obtained by e-mailing carolsabatalo@yahoo.com.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

Carol Sabatalo File

Age: 46

Education: Elizabeth Seton High School, Bladensburg, Md., and Marywood University with a major in administration and minor in computer information systems

Family: Husband Steve; son Nick, 18; and daughters Meghan, 16; Claire, 14; and Lynn Mary, 11

»Various themes will be tackled at the camps, A6

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