As you may have noticed, I’ve taken a little time away from my blog, but I’m back. Like many of you, I took a vacation with my family recently. Since I’m not one of those people who can use the word “summer” as a verb, I am now back at work and full of excitement about all of the great things happening here at the Y of Central Maryland.Of course, at the Y, summer means that camp season is here and going strong! We have kids experiencing the joys of Y camp at 24 different locations around Central Maryland. By the end of the summer, we will have engaged over 3,500 kids in a summer of learning, meeting new friends, getting bone tired, exhibiting the Y’s core values and having good old fashioned fun. I try to get around to every one of our 24 camps during the course of the summer, and I always come away energized by the kids, our great staff, and the importance of what happens at the Y every summer.
The Y became involved in camping in 1867 and, over the years, as more Ys believed the camping experience nurtured young people’s values and leadership skills, camps would expand and change to serve males and females of many ages, abilities and incomes. Today, more than 1,600 Y day camps serve more than 500,000 children across the U.S. every summer.
From the 50th Anniversary issue of Sports Illustrated, November 10, 2003, the president of Sports Illustrated, Bruce Hallet, writes about the impact of Y camp experience in “I AM A Y KID…”
“…But on this last night of camp, Tom (camp counselor) was not laughing. Instead, in the blackness of the cabin, Tom took up a place on a trunk in the middle of the room and began to tour through the summer and recall highlights of our adventures. We listened as if it were the best ghost story of all time. Then he did something else. He addressed each of us individually. He told each one of us what he liked best about us and what he expected from us. Although I don’t remember what he told anyone else, he said to me that I would be an ‘All-American.’
‘I don’t know what sport it will be in,’ he said, ‘but you will be. You’re an athlete, you work hard and you really, really hate to lose.’
He was wrong, of course. I would never be anything close to an All-American. But he was right to know that the words he said to me that night could and would inspire me from that day to this. It was a gift I had not expected, but which I continue to treasure. I am sure I didn’t say it then. So let me say it now. Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Y.”
Over 1 in 4 kids in our camps are there because of the scholarship dollars you help us raise. We still have kids on waiting lists in almost every community. Please help us share the joys of Y camp to more kids.
Y camps are a perfect representation of the “Third Place” that I have been talking about. In this case, we are the summer place where over 3,500 kids can feel safe, have fun, build relationships, try new things, act silly and grow within a community of kids and adults who care about them.
Yours in Community,
John
Posted by John K. Hoey, President & CEO, Y of Central Maryland
