I was 6 years old, just a kid. My mom, like many parents, was trying to find something that would keep me active in the summer. We didn’t have a lot of money and in the seventies there was about 10% of the opportunities that are now available to children in the 2000’s. She decided that summer camp was the thing for me; a subsidized YMCA day camp. That would be my place for the first week of my summer. I had just finished my Kindergarten year and was obviously excited for summer. The beauty of childhood play, endless warm days full of laughter, scraped knees and lego.
To say I was scared would be an understatement. I was terrified. Two things are engrained in my memory of that experience. One, I cried the whole way to camp. Two, I met Bubbles (know idea her real name), she would get down on a knee, tell me she was there to make sure I had fun and then she hugged me.
My first crush. I was in love Bubbles and with this place.
I went home and informed my mom (she tells me) that I would be attending the camp for the rest of the summer. I went for five additional weeks. My life would be forever changed.
So would the lives of more than 3,000,000 people. Yes, that’s a fact.
That single decision put me on the path to one day opening my own summer camp and building
YLCC. 28 years ago we had 50 kids gather for that first camp, and last year we worked with more than 175,000 participants in one of our 14 different programs!
My mom did that.
People have met, become best friends at camp. Marriages (many) have happened from staff and campers that first met at Summer Camp. There are human beings that now inhabit our planet because of summer camp marriages. Young leaders have gone to be global business influencers, environmental lawyers, circus stars, celebrities, successful politicians and many entrepreneurs. These are stories that started or were heavily influenced by my mom. She sparked a fire in me.
What are you or your kids doing this summer? In the basement, on their phones, at the mall, at 10 different diving, baseball, hockey schools?
Imagine if you allowed your kids to be just that - kids. Not to micro-manage their childhood. To trust their ability to meet NEW people. To learn about eating food on their own, picking their own clothes, brushing their own teeth, to paddle a canoe, to reach the top of the rock wall, or sing a song on the camp stage or around the campfire. Imagine the GIFT that that would be.
This past week I was in Vancouver running our first ever
EPIC event. A four-day, super exclusive “camp” for adults… we were at the 4 Seasons so we didn’t rough it too much. It was incredible and EVERY single member is committed to returning in 2020. Here’s the thing though, none of that would have happened if my mom didn’t send me to Summer Camp.
So as we edge near summer do your child a favour. Consider
YLCC, or to be honest, any quality summer camp. It could be a game changer for them, and maybe in the end, 3,000,000 people.
