Last night, I was chatting with a good friend, who also works for the Y. We started talking about work, as we often do, and ended up having a long conversation about the Y programs we are most passionate about. She started in day camp, but works with after school now, and is incredibly passionate about what after school can do. I started in resident camp, and have done various other programs--day camp, after school, Youth & Government, and have enjoyed all of them, but resident camp will always be where my heart is.
As I was trying to explain to her just why resident camp is such a unique and important experience, I began thinking about the issue of Perspective: Journal of the Association of YMCA Professionals (http://www.aypymca.org/perspective.htm) that I had received that day. It was titled "The Legends of Camping" and included the stories of 8 different YMCA camps. Some I knew of and some I didn't, but as I read through the issue, it was story after story of lives being changed because of camp. Each camp was unique, each camp has its own story and traditions, but the common thread throughout the stories was the power of camp.
It is more than the fact that camp allows today's children to experience nature in a manner that is quickly falling by the wayside; it is more than the fact that camp builds communities and relationships. There is more to it than kids learning responsibility, sharing, independence, decision-making, and life-skills. All of these things (plus so much more) are incredibly important outcomes and elements of camp, but the way camp ties it all together in a package of excitement, energy, and belonging and the way camp creates a unique world with its own trends, slang, and traditions make camp incomparable to any other experience. There is a magic in resident camping, and once it gets ahold of you, it never lets go.
Recently, one of our staff alumni from the 70's has been posting pictures from his time at camp on Facebook, and while looking at the pictures has been fun, the best part has been reading the comments that other staff alumni have been making. 30 years has passed since they were at camp, but they still remember the stories, the traditions, the magic... and that is the power of camp.
