CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE HALFWAY DONE!
Week three of Camp Chaverim has been amazing. To start the week we hosted many Chaverim alumni at Family Fun Day! Then, we jumped right back to our usual, fantastic, schedule with sports, school, swim, and night activities. Our trip this week was to the farm. So much fun, are we really half way done?!?
Fun at the farm!
This Wednesday, Camp Chaverim enjoyed a day at the farm, it was super fun! We had a great time on the hay rides, which drove us right down to the blueberry orchards; everyone picked the juiciest and sweetest ones they could find – YUM! Feeding the llamas was something we don’t get to do even in our own farm back at camp, and we even got to milk the cows! Hot as it was, this trip sure was a hit.
Don’t forget to scroll all the way to the bottom, because this week’s newsletter has three pages of news, information, pictures!
FAMILY FUN DAY!
This Sunday we enjoyed Family Fun Day. We got to see many alumni and their families, old friends, and counselors. There were lots of fun activities and food. There was a face painting booth, water activities, a water slide, and lots of fun inflatables. We all enjoyed the BBQ and drink station!
Shloime Dachs Concert!
This week on Thursday we all enjoyed a Shloime Dachs concert. While it may have been a thunderstorm outside, we sure danced up a storm inside. We danced and danced until our feet were sore!
Division Head Talks
When I was told that it was my turn to write the Division Head column for this week’s newsletter, I was quickly overwhelmed by the fact that I was limited to such a small word count although there is so much to talk about. To truly describe all the incredible things that happen at Camp Chaverim in a single week would be nearly impossible; the list goes on and on. There was Family Fun Day, a day where campers experienced a variety of exciting activities such as face-painting and inflatable hamster-ball races. Then there was the trip to Kelder’s Farm, where the campers took a hayride to the blueberry fields and picked blueberries, after which they milked cows and fed all different kinds of animals. The list of amazing activities continues, with things like a concert and fun-filled night activities. To go on with the list would show how the campers are really enjoying themselves, and show why Camp Chaverim is the enjoyable place we all know it to be. But there is another unique component to Camp Chaverim which isn’t often emphasized, something which is arguably far more valuable and has a profound impact on each and every individual involved in this amazing program. Our camp mantra has always been “Every newfound skill is a newfound freedom.” Camp Chaverim is not just a place where campers can spend their summer having fun and finally feeling that they are in a place where they fit in. Here at Chaverim, we as staff are constantly reminded of just how much every single skill can affect one’s daily life, and how something as simple as putting on a t-shirt or sharing with others will have an effect not just on the child, but on everyone in the child’s life as well. When everyone leaves at the end of the summer, the feeling of sadness is evident on everyone’s faces, many of which have tears streaming down. While we are all sad to see the summer end, the intense feeling that we are all struck with isn’t simply because the fun has come to an end; the feeling is a direct result of the thousands of hours invested by each counselor and camper in helping the camper achieve further independence. This is a feeling which, although it may sound cliché, there are truly no words to describe. When someone asks me why I enjoy Camp Chaverim so passionately, after four years of being here I still have a difficult time explaining myself. How can you describe something as unique and life changing as Chaverim to someone who hasn’t experienced it? A sense of accomplishment as great as the one the campers feel when they leave Camp Chaverim is something which cannot be achieved anywhere else. So, to all the parents wondering whether their child is having a fun time at Camp Chaverim, we wish we could somehow transmit that feeling your child is having as he makes leaps and bounds to higher levels of independence and show you just how much he is truly enjoying himself, just rest assured that your child is experiencing a summer that will last a lifetime.