Shore Enough, Youths Give Lakeside A Free Cleanup Public Service Project Incorporated Into Annual Leadership Camp

Amy Bartoo needed a service project for a lively bunch of teenagers.

Mother Nature solved that problem.

Spring flooding left the shoreline of Lake Coeur d’Alene littered with trash and debris. On Friday, 180 high school students and their camp counselors fanned out around the lake to clean it up.

“We figure this will give us three and a half weeks of work in one day,” said Kurtis Robinson, head of the Kootenai County waterways department.

“It’s fantastic.”

His worker bees are participants in the fourth annual Idaho Youth Summit sponsored by Idaho Drug Free Youth (IDFY).

The cleanup is the first public service project incorporated into the youth leadership camp. The students went by bus and boat to eight or 10 places, ranging from the town of Harrison to Coeur d’Alene’s City Beach.

“Some of these kids have never had an opportunity to volunteer,” said Bartoo, executive director of IDFY. “We’re trying to give them a taste of that.”

Bartoo knows something about volunteering. She’s directed IDFY for seven years, for free.

“It’s not martyrdom, it’s laziness,” she said of her year-round effort. “I’d rather spend time with the kids than writing grants to pay myself.”

Grants and donations keep the nonprofit organization going.

The Youth Summit, based at Camp Lutherhaven, is the centerpiece of a year-round effort to help teenagers avoid drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

“The first year, we had only 90 kids,” said Bartoo, who lives in Coeur d’Alene. “We’ve had to turn them away every year since.”

Two-hundred junior high students took part in a three-day camp last week. The senior high students go home today.

Idaho Drug Free Youth started in Coeur d’Alene in 1990 and is growing by six chapters a year around the state, Bartoo said.

Those who sign up agree not to use drugs or alcohol. They submit to random drug tests. In return, they get discounts from local merchants.

Not everyone at camp is a member. Crystal Hergent of Rathdrum wasn’t around at IDFY sign-up time, but she jumped at the chance to attend the camp when she learned about it from the school counselor.

The Youth Summit includes inspirational speakers and group activities. The students are divided into “families” of 10 people, including a youth and adult counselor.

“It’s really touchy-feely,” Hergent said, taking a break from cleaning up the shoreline at Gould’s Landing. “It’s great.”

Nearby, Rachel Romero of Pocatello was scraping paint from a boat dock to prepare it for painting. She said there were plenty of chances for fun at camp, including a “Lutherassic Park” scavenger hunt and a luau.

“We’re going on a cruise today,” Romero said.

The Youth Rally is meant to rev students up, and send them back to their communities to share their commitment to stay drug-free.

This is Erica Cody’s third year at the camp.

“For me, it’s a time to reflect on my life,” said the Pocatello student. “You meet so many great people. It’s such a positive experience.”

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