Make giving local your legacy. See your support lift the community. We believe a strong community can only be achieved when we invest in our kids, our health and our neighbors. Our programs, services and initiatives enable youth to realize their potential, offer families ways to have fun together, empower people to be healthier in spirit, mind and body, welcome and embrace newcomers and help foster social responsibility.
We know that lasting personal and social change comes about when we all work together. She started as a camper and loved the programs so much that she knew she wanted to give back. I loved the person I was at camp. They made me feel good. A common ground we shared, was wanting to give back to a program that gave so much to us growing up. The idea of giving a group of campers a similar experience my leaders gave me, was something I really desired as a young adult and still do.
I wanted to be involved with the program for a long time because I believed in it. She teaches them to be kind to one another. She is there to hold their hand as they try new things and to motivate them to be the best versions of themselves. Campers come with varying challenges and personalities and Paige is there to navigate a life-changing week of camp through all of it. Campers quickly learn that for one week, out of fifty-two, they can be fully and authentically themselves.
Every camper is given the opportunity, as soon as they get to camp, to be their true and best self. And when our campers are given the safe space to do so, they flourish into their best selves. Coming back to camp is a great reminder of who they are and who they are striving to be. By the end of the week, our hope is that all our campers take camp home with themβ and they absolutely do. Paige shares that she continues to volunteer for the camping program every year because it pushes her boundaries, she is constantly being tested and learning how she can be better.
We become so invested in their journey, and they allow us to be a part of that. There is nothing more humbling and rewarding. They trust us and want us to be involved in their goals in life. It truly is the BEST feeling in the world. I have been involved with the Y for about 6 years. I loved every minute of it and knew that I wanted to come back.
