Car Conversations

You know you have a tween or teen when you have been assigned to the role of "driver" of your child and seemingly half of their friends. The "down side" is that you spend a lot of time waiting in parking lots for your passengers (you are not "allowed" in the school - what if someone saw you!?!)

The "Up Side" is that you have a lot of time during which to actually have a conversation with your child(ren).

One of our camper moms, Ann shared a "car conversation" that she had with her 14 year old daughter recently. Ann had just attended a PTA discussion regarding the pressure today's kids, especially high schoolers are under at school, socially and extra-curricularly. Following the PTA meeting, Ann picked up her daughter, Monica and 2 other friends from their evening dance class. As they were traveling along, Ann asked the girls if they felt that they were under pressure.

They all answered instantly with, "YES!". Ann asked what the pressure was and where was it coming from. The girls responded that they felt pressure to get good grades, be social, look a certain way, and do well at extra curricular activities. They also told Ann that they really felt the pressure was peer pressure and in many cases pressure that they put on themselves.

Then Monica broke in with, "You know, I think that's why Camp is so important to me. There's no pressure there, everyone is treated the same, every is equal."

Ann called me the next day to tell me about this conversation and to express her happiness that Monica has Camp to provide that get away from the pressures of life today.

We strive to have every camper feel valued, have a sense of belonging and to discover the best in themselves. It is heartening and inspiring when parents and campers provide evidence that our efforts are paying off.

Special thanks to this extraordinary mom and daughter for sharing!

Mark's Story - Inspirational!

Happy New Year! As I took down my 2010 wall calendar recently, I couldn’t help but reflect on what an incredible year 2010 was at Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA! Our summer sleepaway camps increased 16%, our day camp increased 19% and our outdoor education and retreat group programs increased 3% over 2009 enrollments. Contributions from individuals and foundations increased 18% over 2009 as well. As impressive as these numbers are, the most important thing is that more kids were able to experience the Magic of Camp in 2010. And with every camper, a story unfolded.

Mark’s mom passed away from cancer in early 2010. His mom’s best friend Kathy, a CSEY Camper Parent contacted me and asked if there was any way we could help Mark. Following the loss of his mom, Mark became known in his small town “as the poor boy whose mother died” and was becoming solemn and withdrawn. Kathy just wanted to see Mark happy again and in a place where he could just be “Mark.” When she talked with her own teenage daughter about Mark, her daughter told her, “Mom, see if we can get him in Camp. It’s the place where I’m happiest – It’ll work for Mark.”

Upon hearing Mark’s story, without a moment’s hesitation we awarded a camp scholarship. Midway through the session, Kathy came to Camp to drop off some additional clothing for Mark. Upon seeing her, he ran up to her, gave her a big hug and started to tell her all about the friends he made and the fun he’d been having. After a quick good-bye, Kathy came to me with tears in her eyes, exclaiming that she “hadn’t seen Mark so happy in so long, thank you!” Just recently, Kathy shared that she had a conversation with Mark’s father who noted that Mark has been so much more mature, happier and outgoing since Camp. He wondered if it was a coincidence. Kathy told him “No, it’s the Magic of Camp! I’ve seen it with my own kids.” Kathy also shared with me that she saw Mark “come back to life after his time at Camp.”

Mark will be back at Camp in 2011. His uncle, upon seeing Mark’s transformation and hearing almost endless stories about Camp has offered to help pay for his enrollment this coming summer. I hope we’ll be able to help too. In a thank you note that Mark sent to me this fall, Mark told me that he keeps in touch with his camp friends, he loved sailing, hiking and the camp food, and that his long talks with his counselor really helped him. Mark then told me that he hopes I will hire him to be a counselor someday. I’m sure that there will be a staff position in his future!

I’d love to be able to share with you all of the stories about all of our kids. Each and every one is a testimonial to the importance of the Camp experience – making their lives better and helping them each to become a better person. I’d tell you all about the kids who live in urban homeless shelters and come to Camp where they fall asleep for the first time without hearing a cacophony of sirens blaring all night long; kids who come from more affluent backgrounds and gain insight into the lives of others from diverse backgrounds; and kids who get lost in their large schools/communities and become “stars” at Camp. I’d tell you about each of the hundreds of kids who paddled, pedaled, hiked, ran, created, sang, laughed, made friends and grew up at Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA this summer. As much as I’d love to share each and every camper’s story, I realize that there is just so much room in this letter and so much that you’d be able to absorb in one sitting. Suffice it to say, each and every camper’s story is one of inspiration.

These are the kids for whom I ask your support. These are the kids, who like Mark deserve to experience the Magic of Camp. These are the kids who someday will become parents, professionals and politicians and will use the skills and insights that they developed at Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA to be great leaders, great humanitarians!

Please join me in donating to Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA 2011 Magic of Camp Fund so that in 2011 all of the kids and families who need the Magic of Camp will be able to experience it. Camp fees only cover 80% of the costs of operating Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA. Each year we must raise the balance in order to keep Camp affordable and available for ALL. In 2011 our goal is to raise $ 200,000 for all of the kids who come to Camp to discover the best in themselves. We need the help of our entire Camp Family – alumni, camper families, friends and staff to achieve this goal!

Please consider what amount you can contribute in 2011. No amount is too small or too large to make a difference in the lives of our kids. Your donation of $ 30 buys a new lifejacket. $ 55 pays for five days of meals for one camper. $ 125 provides arts & crafts supplies for one week. $ 500 pays for 4 weeks of horseback riding lessons. $ 1,365 covers the tuition for two weeks of sleepaway camp. $ 5,000 provides funding to purchase a new sailboat. $ 7,500 helps us upgrade a cabin porch. $ 20,000 pays 63 Camp Counselors for one week. And so on! The more we raise, the more we can do for our kids. Every dollar counts!

You may donate once or make installment payments quarterly, monthly, weekly… You may also determine which aspect of Camp to support – Camp Scholarships, Operations or have us apply your donation where we see fit. At your request we’ll even send you reminders about your next installment payment. We accept checks, credit cards, cash and transfers of stock.

Donate Now – Choose from several easy methods.
Website: www.campspeersymca.org Click on the Donate Now tab to make your secure online donation
Mail: Send your check to Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA 143 Nichecronk Road Dingmans Ferry, PA 18328
Phone: Call us @ 570-828-2329 to make a donation using your credit card
Transfer Stock – call Barbara Hupfer at 570-828-2329 for details

Yes! Finally a rainy day!

Usually we greet a rainy day with groans and disappointment. Today is unusual in that we are happy to have the rain! We've had a very hot and dry - if you don't count the high humidy - summer so far. Our fields are dry and the horses are finding very little green grass for grazing. I was anticipating having to implement a burn ban. So when I awoke to the gently falling drops and a forecast for all day rain - I just smiled.

After breakfast I heard the Camp Director advise everyone to move into "Rainy Day Plans". With the absence of thunder & lightning and continued warm temps, today's rainy day plan seems to be just some slight modifications of activities. Campers are still swimming and boating - the counselors are noting "you were going to get wet anyway!" Our store manager is grinning as he sees those rain ponchos he stocked finally start to leave the store shelves. Arts & crafts is full and the board games that have been gathering dust all summer are challenging all.

Wish you were here to listen to the rain drops, see the kids & staff go puddle stomping and here the cries of "I want to be the car" as the monopoly game commences.

I love rainy days at Camp. Of course, I love every day at Camp! TTFN - I'm heading outside to find someone to "puddle stomp" with!

Making Time for Yourself

In the midst of the busy summer season, I received this reminder today to Make Time for Myself as a parent. It's so easy to lose ourselves in the daily routines of work, parenting and homemaking. In all three areas, there is always more to do than can be accomplished each day. I hope you will heed the advice in the attached article (at least once in a while)

http://www.parentfurther.com/resources/enewsletter/archive/self-care#1618



Meanwhile, thank you for all you do!

You can't understand it fully, until you experience it!

Growing up in a small town in Vermont, my summers meant long days at the township pool, tubing on the river that ran through town, trips to visit relatives, helping my uncle bring in the hay on his dairy farm and sleeping out on our screened in porch. One of my closest friends would leave this idyllic summer vacation and go off to Music Camp in Maine for two weeks every year.

She'd come back from Camp full of stories about people she loved, zany things that they did, practical jokes, weird songs, and "cool counselors". She'd tell all of us how she was counting down the days until she went back to camp. Occassionally throughout the year she'd recieve a letter or call from one or her camp friends. (Obviously this was before email, Facebook and texting)

Her hometown friends, myself included didn't understand. How could she possibly become so close to people that she only was with 2 weeks a year? She was normally a pretty cool person (as we all were) - so how could she find it fun to sing songs about lizards and dress up as super heroes? We had no context for understanding her love of Camp. We absolutely couldn't fathom why Camp was so important to her!

I left Vermont to attend College in New Jersey as a Recreation Major. In the spring of my Freshman year, a fellow "Rec Major" talked to me about being a Day Camp Counselor at local YMCA. I interviewed at the Madison (NJ) YMCA and was hooked. Two years later, a friend suggested that I try working at a YMCA Sleepaway Camp. So, the summer of 1981 brought me to Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA for the first time, as the Eljabar Program Director or as I coined it "The Fun Director". I fell in love with camping! Suddenly I understood why my high school friend had to go to Camp each summer.

Camp is so much more than swimming, archery, and s'mores. Camps create a unique environment where the entire focus is on becoming a better person through fun, challenge and friendship. By nature and design, Camps' isolation make the rest of the world with all of its demands and distractions just fade a way. Everyone sheds their "real world" persona and can freely become who they really want to be. The time spent at Camp intensifies everything - you cut right through all the barriers to connect with others in the blink of an eye, you don't waste time or energy on worrying about what anyone is going to think about what you do or who you are, the "playing field is leveled". No one cares if you live in a mansion or low income housing. Within days everyone is wearing the same baggy shorts and stained T-Shirt over their bathing suits - designer labels make no more an impression than hand me downs from the Salvation Army. Camp is the great equalizer!

Yet, until you experience it for yourself, drink the bug juice, spend nights whispering to your new best friends, and push your own boundaries - Camp remains that thing you just don't totally understand! Parents who went to Camp ensure that their children do. For those parents who missed going to camp, we have to engage them so that their children won't miss out on one of the most important experiences of their life!

You might find the recent NPR broadcast of a great series "Notes on Camp" to be very interesting. Please enjoy the transcripts via the link below.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/109/Notes-on-Camp

Please help spread the word about the importance of sleep away camp for every child! Now more than ever, every kid needs that place, that time to discover the very best in him/herself.

Developing tomorrow's leaders!

As I was speaking with our LITs (Leaders in Training program for campers entering the 10th grade) and our CITs (Counselors in Training for campers entering 11th grade) this week, the thought that these teens would be "my staff" within a few years struck me. In that second, I started to look at these campers in a new light and became very excited about what they would contribute to Camp.

Some of the LITs and CITs I've known for 6 years and seen them develop from shy first year campers to confident teens. They've pushed their limits, developed friendships that will last a lifetime, and discovered the very best in themselves through their years of involvement at Camp. Others have joined them in more recent years, a few for the first time this year - as welcomed by members of the group as those who have been sharing Camp experiences for years.

This summer the LITs and CITs will hone their leadership and camp skills, testing them under the watchful eyes of Camp Staff. About October the calls and emails will begin - with this summer's CITs applying for Counselor Intern positions for summer 2011. As I think about them, I speculate who will be the "staff stars" in a couple of years, who will show himself/herself to be the ideal candidate to run the t waterfront or become Head Counselor.

Today was check out day for most of the campers who have been here during the past two weeks. A few dozen campers remained. This evening, all of those remaining in Camp Eljabar and their counselors were passing my house after swimming withe the Speers cameprs. they stayed to talk ad to play with our dog. Needless to say, Tucker - our Springer Spaniel was thrilled to have lots of people to play with and toss the tennis ball for him to retrieve.

One of the counselors shared a story about how one of the campers present (an 11 year old) had advised the parents of a fellow camper upon pick up that "next year send a picture of yourselves so when T.... is homesick she can see your picture." I immediately thought - wow, that camper will someday make a great counselor!"

One of the best parts of being the Director of Camp Speers-Eljabar YMCA is being a part of the lives of all of the campers and staff, especially seeing them grow in so many ways over the years. this week as I thought about our LITs and CITs and their roles in Camp during the next few years I ceratinly felt that all of our future is in great hands. Tonight, this belief was fortified by the glimpse into the more distant future I was given upone learning how a fellow 11 year old camper thought about how to help her fellow camper to be successful at Camp.

Our future at Camp and in the world is in good hands. Tomorrow's leaders are here - swimming, riding, hiking, creating, playing, laughing, loving and growing.

Camp Etiquette - How not to embarass your kids

Just was sent a link to a really funny article in NY Magazine. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. Follow the link below:

Camp Etiquette - How Not to Embarass Your Kids http://nymag.com/guides/summer/12126

Whlie still laughing I started thinking about all the suggestions that I could add from my years of Camp... Here's a few:

- Don't be the first parent or the last parent on check out day

- Don't tell everyone that I sleep with a nightlight

- Don't clean my cabin

- send cool things in "care packages" like water guns, glow in the dark necklaces, and playing cards

Now that you are smiling too... have a great day!