| The Danube Swabian Foundation of the U.S.A., Inc. Die Donauschwaebische Stiftung der USA, Inc. |
| And now, another successful youth oriented event which the Stiftung helped sponsor in 2012! Carpathia Club hosted the 2012 Jugendfreundschaftslager in July. This year it was an international event with attendees from Akron, Cleveland, Mansfield, Cincinnati, Chicago, St Louis and Toronto as well as Detroit. Thirty-eight kids and fifteen chaperones arrived in pouring rain on Thursday evening, but no worries – camp was set up inside the main hall! As everyone settled in and had some pizza, there was time to catch up with friends and meet new people. While we visit many cities, we rarely see much other than the club house or picnic grounds. This time everyone was able to see what ‘Detroit’ is all about. Friday began with beautiful sunshine as we headed to Detroit for a tour of the Parade Company (Detroit still has a large Thanksgiving Day parade). Then down to the Detroit River where we had a picnic lunch on the Riverwalk, a tour of the Renaissance Center with a top floor view of downtown followed by a River Boat Cruise. A trip to Detroit would not be complete without a visit to the famous American Coney Island – a new dining experience for many. And transportation through downtown on our ‘People Mover’ – a tram car full of Donauschwaben affectionately called the ‘Schwabenzug’. The evening ended back at the club with fireworks and s’mores around a bon fire. Saturday was cultural day beginning with making of our favorite foods - Kipfel and Goulash. Ladies from our Frauengruppe demonstrated and worked with the Jugend. Rolling pins and flour along the tables; I don’t know who enjoyed this more – the kids or the ladies! In the afternoon everyone one was divided into 7 teams - each team named after a country where Donauschwaben live today. We talked about our Wappen and its meaning; had a history time line game, Jeopardy and a ‘Wissenslauf’ (knowing the meaning of the word even got extra points!) That sent the groups wandering over the property to find questions and multiple choice answers. I’m happy to say our Jugend is very well informed on history, geography and current events. We also put in a couple hours of Volkstanz and a bit of Tango just for fun! Before dinner everyone was outside for what has become the annual Slip N Slide! Using plenty of soap and water it was a good clean up too. The delicious dinner Saturday evening was the Goulash and Kipfel – a great job done by all – and that gave them the energy to dance the night away in the parking lot, music by our DJs. Sunday morning everyone packed up and headed home knowing we would all see each other again soon in Kitchener. Everyone is looking forward to participating again at the next Jugendfreundschaftslager in Chicago – get ready Chicago American Aid Society! A big Thank You to all who helped put this event together and attended to make it a success! We hope to see you in Detroit in 2013 to celebrate Carpathia’s 100th Anniversary! ****************************************************************************************************************************Please send donations to: Danube Swabian Foundation, USA c/o Shawn Dangel, Treasurer 3975 Carrie Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio 45211 All Donations fully tax deductible in accordance with IRS regulations. |