What started as a lesson for children at day camp turned out to be an eye-opener for Y camp counselors and staff, too.
At the Boll Family YMCA Summer Day Camp, staffers Kimberly Duchene and Kelly Plocharczyk invented an activity that they hoped would teach campers the importance of maturely expressing opinions and problem solving. So, they told campers that directors of the leadership team had decided to cancel day camp next summer, and it was up to the kids to compel staff to reinstate camp. Of course, staff had no intention of actually canceling camp next year.
As you could imagine, things didn’t go exactly as planned when staff revealed the fictional cancellation.
“We have friends here, and you can’t take that away from me,” said a camper named Ava.
“Why? You tell me why you don’t want camp!” demanded Ben, another camper.
“We make friends from camp that we wouldn’t meet in school,” said Kennedy.
“I learned how to swim, and I never thought I could do that,” said Nya.
Campers were tasked with using clues to find directors around the Boll Y and bringing them to the basketball court, where they presented their cases for why summer day camp should be around until the end of time. Turns out, campers weren’t the only individuals who let their emotions get the best of them.
“They made me cry a few times, in a good, this-is-why-we-do-this way,” Kimberly said. “I don’t think I can truly explain how passionate these kids were. It was really touching to see how much camp meant to them.”
At the Y, we know camp allows children to enjoy a productive summer full of making memories. But hearing our impact from the kids we’re helping really demonstrates the importance of what we do.
We look forward to next summer!