We spend a lot of time talking about safety at the Y, particularly in the summer when camps are in full swing and pools are busting from the seams. Rightly so – with fun comes risk and the responsibility to ensure everyone's well-being. We have a commitment to creating safe and enjoyable spaces to ensure everyone has a memorable and secure summer experience and leaves the Y in better shape than when they arrived.
I was at Camp Kanata last week and was extremely impressed. Not only with the care and diligence Ryan and his team showed every camper, but with the ways kids were just being kids.
A group of campers were in hammocks arranged in a circle. Their counselors were challenging them with a riddle: What do you have to break to use it? The kids were stumped but determined. I was proud I knew the answer, though I refrained from sharing it with the group. Being a counselor myself back in the day, I know a guessing game like that can keep kids entertained for 10 – 15 precious minutes.
I saw kids playing ping pong, putt-putt and tossing the ball in the gaga pit. One kid ran up to me with a stick he tied some fishing line on and shared that he caught three fish that afternoon. He proudly said he was the ONLY camper who had caught one with a homemade pole.
It wasn’t the attention to safety nor the laid back, yet engaging activities that most impressed me at camp last week. What actually blew me away was how I was greeted by the campers as I strolled around camp. I asked two kids walking from canoeing to the slide “How’s your day going?” They responded, “Great! How’s yours?” Not every kid has the confidence to ask an adult that question.
On my way to go fishing, two middle schoolers were sitting in the shade. As I approached one said, “Are you going to fishing?” I said I was. As I left that activity area, the other teen said, “It was nice to meet you.” What manners!
Maybe we’re teaching more than swimming or archery skills. Perhaps we’re teaching kids to be confident, polite and considerate of others.
If we can keep them safe and we can teach them how to positively engage with those they encounter day in and day out, we’ve done our job and done it well.
Thanks for all you do to help build people in spirit, mind and body. It shows!
And p.s. – the answer is eggs!
