Give Campers What They Want… 5 Camp Programs I Wish I’d Thought Of

Every camp is unique in so many ways, and the best camps develop a program that bring their mission to life. In these five cases bringing that mission to life meant bucking the status quo and developing innovative and remarkable programming where the fun and excitement lay the groundwork for developing skills, inspiring awe and wonder, teaching 21st skills, relationship building and many of the other intentional outcomes traditional summer camps are looking for just in a new and incredibly unique way. These are programs that found enormous success by not forcing old ideas of camp on a new generation of campers, but rather making campers wonders and dreams come true in a safe nutrient rich environment. Click on the photos to learn more

 

-Jack

Farm and Wilderness Camps

Farm and Wilderness

Plymouth, VT

http://farmandwilderness.org/

Nov. 8th, 2013

At Farm and Wilderness camps in Vermont they focus on creating a fun and beneficial community experience for their campers. They do that though continued emphasis on the natural world and positive and peaceful interactions with the environment. Campers help with the clean up of meals by washing the dishes and they help to build some of the structures including some of the cabins on site. Camp is beautiful, nestled in the vermont mountains and remnants of an atmosphere of collaboration and community could be felt even on the freezing cold november day that we visited. Buildings had camper and staff art projects prominently displayed, and the communal spaces like the garden, the dinning hall and the waterfront all spoke of the rustic, simple yet true fun that campers and staff live out every summer.

-Laura

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Camp Dudley YMCA

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Camp Dudley YMCA

Westport, NY

Nov. 6th 2013

http://campdudley.org

Arriving at Camp Dudley was like going back in time. They are the oldest camp in the United States founded in 1885. Camp is full of beautiful old majestic buildings and extremely well manicured and maintained. It is easy to see by walking around what kind of core values Dudley has maintained through the generations, pride of place and self, and of course “The other fellow first”. Dudley has a system of numbering its campers, the older back your number the longer you have been apart of the Dudley family. There are many 5th generation boys who have followed in their dad’s and grandfathers footsteps. Dudley prides itself in the performing and creative arts as well as state of the art athletic fields and complexes. It truly is an amazing liberal arts experience that prepares young men and inspires incredible commitment to the Dudley way.

-Laura

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Vanderkamp Center

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Vanderkamp Center

November 5, 2013

Cleveland, NY

http://www.vk.org/

Visiting Vanderkamp was an experience unlike any other. A camp that proves anything is possible. We walked away from James Davis, the director’s, house, where we had dinner tonight, feeling completely refreshed and energized by new and endless possibilities. Vanderkamp functions on the beliefs and philosophies that James brought to camp. Arriving at camp a few years ago, James was very up front with the board about the unconventional ideas that he planned on implementing, and that he wanted complete programatic control. Camp now is a place where kids can direct and create their own fun. He got rid of “pre-programed fun” and gave the reigns to the kids to come up with what kids want and need for them ultimately giving them an incredible degree of confidence in themselves. Staff offer activities through out the day that campers can come and take part in. They are often really out of this world creative like becoming swamp people and staking claim in the uncharted land across the lake, or having spaghetti mania, where campers played with pounds of spaghetti in a series of relay race challenges. Kids are free to stay in the arts and crafts or boating activities all day if they wish giving them the autonomy to decide what is fun and how to spend their time. Kids ultimately choose to hang out with the people that inspire them and form connections and relationships that prove beneficial to their development all on their own. One of the places where the magic happens is in their Natural Play area, a fenced in area at camp where you can find fort building materials, hoses and mud pits, and paint, creating endless possibilities for kids to interact, form alliances and learn. You might also see the Questing Gnome wandering around camp, a counselor in costume that you can approach for a quest an adventure that could send you on more endless fun and discovery. The fun of camp is equally paired with an understanding to give to the great community, which is evident in their farm. Not your typical farm. James theory is that they have loads of land at camp and so farming an acre would be of great use to camps kitchen as well as food pantries in the community. So they have created an acre farm that produces crops that they spit between their own kitchen and food cupboards.

The magic of Vanderkamp lies in treating children like humans and empowering them to make decisions and trusting that as humans we are inheritly motivated to learn, seek growth, and love each other. This foundation of love leads to one of the most magical places on earth.

-Laura

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Horizons Camp

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Horizons Camp

South Windham, CT

Nov.1, 2013

http://www.camphorizons.org

Camp Horizons is a camp for people with developmental disabilities. They serve people of all ages in a variety of ways from providing fun summer programing and a chance to interact and form relationships with peers to job training and placement. Horizons is a safe and nurturing place where the focus is people. Jack and I felt the warm embrace as we sat in Scotts office and learned about Horizons camp and how he found himself becoming Camp Director. He says that he really fell in love with the place and the people but mostly the philosophy that people come first. The camp was started by two sisters who were special education teachers first. They believed that treating people of all abilities like individuals and focusing on their talents as well as their needs they could make a lasting impact on their lives. To illustrate their success in helping find people some independence and purpose we only had to look on the walls of almost every building at camp. Beautifully hung and well lit paintings filled with bright colors and an expressive brush stroke. Kerri is the woman’s name and she with the help and guidance of Horizons team now has a Studio in South Windham and is an accomplished artist. http://www.kerriquirk.com/gallery_index.html 

-Laura

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Becket Chimney Corners YMCA

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Becket Chimney Corners YMCA

October 31, 2013

Becket, MA

http://www.bccymca.org

Arriving at in Becket Chimney Corners on a dreary rainy day we were greeted by Shannon and Berta, Chimney Corners’ Exec and Assistant Director, and could tell right away that this place was special. Berta showed us around Chimney, told us some history, and even on that rainy day in October you could feel the magic of summers in the Berkshires. At both Becket and Chimney Corners there is a core of service. This is evident in their unique service tripping program that sends campers to China, South America, Australia and more; in their Aids program where campers can choose to travel to South Dakota and help run the Sioux YMCA Camp there; and back at camp where both at Becket and Chimney signing up to be a member of a Construction Cabin has only a few prized openings. Construction Cabins are groups of campers that over the course of a summer build a new cabin that will be used for years to come by campers. There is so much that these two camps have to offer, but what struck us was the commitment to service and ability to seem to always adapt but stay true to themselves as the world changes around them.

-Jack

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