Dear Parents,

First off, thank you for sending your child to camp. But also thank you trusting me to take care of your camper. By sending your child to camp your opening your child up to so many different experiences that could shape who they are in the future.

Speaking from my own personal experience, I would not be the person I am today if I had not gone to camp. Some of my greatest summer memories from my childhood are from camp. I met some of my best friends through camps. Additionally, I honestly can not remember one summer that I was not apart of a summer camp. I've either been a camper, volunteer, or counselor since first grade.

From first grade to sixth grade, I attended the summer camp offered by the Boys and Girls Club. If I had not attended this camp, I would not have met a bunch of friends, or found the sport that I quickly became obsessed with. Even when I wasn't in camp, I spent the fall and spring playing volleyball through their sports program. The Boys and Girls Club holds a very special place in my heart. So much so that I spent the spring of my junior year of high school as the assistant coach of a volleyball team.

From the summer going into seventh and eighth grade, I attended the summer camp at the YMCA as I had aged out of attending the Boys and Girls Club. This transition to another camp was difficult. I felt like I was betraying my old camp and my friends at the other camp. I remember feeling almost like an outsider as this wasn't my camp. But I knew I had to try my hardest to have fun, and while I don't have as many memories from this camp, I'm glad I have those experiences.

The summer going into ninth grade was the first summer I didn't attend camp and I barely remember that summer, other than when I broke my foot. I was bored out of my mind. The following summer I found out there was a two week art camp that took place at an art gallery in my town. I spent the next four summers at this camp. The camp allowed me to embrace my artistic side, help other kids find their artistic sides, and just over all have fun making art. I fell in love with this camp and the campers, even though there were some hard times during the two weeks. One of the most memorable moments from those past four summers was when I was walking through my town with my friends during a annual historic festival my town holds. One of the older elementary school kids I had worked with noticed me across the street, ran up to me, and hugged me. That moment made me realize just how much of difference camp, and volunteers/counselors can make in a child's life.

So here I am now, a rising sophomore in college, and I'm now a counselor at my old stomping grounds at the Y. This summer, I am again making the transition to a different camp but this time it's different. I'm excited. I can't wait to spend eleven weeks in the sun with this new group of kids, even if there are 300 some of them. It's a new challenge for me. I no longer feel like an outsider. I have become a leader. An entertainer. A care giver. A storyteller. A trustworthy friend.

Thank you again for allowing your child to have these experiences. To be a seed and grow into an amazing person in the future. I definitely would not be the person I am today without summer camp and the counselors who looked after me. I have some friends who never had the summer camp experience and I feel bad that they will have the chance to have those experiences that I had.

I'll leave you with a quote about camp from Tom Holland,"Quality camp experiences help children develop healthy emotional and social skills necessary to grow into strong, considerate, competent adults."

From,

A camp counselor