Yearly Archives: 2015

This week's blog post comes from Tara Marcus, a long time friend of camp.   I went into this proposition kicking and screaming. It really wasn’t until we exhausted all other possible options that I said yes to this one – home-schooling. My husband and I have three boys and have our own consulting practice together. For the first ten years of the business, I juggled my children’s needs against the business needs. They didn’t go to daycare, so I worked around their schedule and arranged for babysitters to come into our home. So when all of our kids were [...]

Hello! My name is Melissa DiMona and I am the assistant director for Lake Stockwell Day Camp and the School’s Out program! I first came to YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. via the School’s Out program, which my two children attended. Soon afterwards, I sent my children to Camp Firefly, a program at Ockanickon which is a bereavement camp for children who have lost a parent, sibling, or other special someone through death. Later on, I ended up sending my children to the overnight camps. […]

Last week marked the end of our overnight camps for the summer, while this is the last week for Lake Stockwell Day Camp. Over the course of the summer, thousands of campers came to our camps and we can say it was an eventful summer! In late June, we were hit by that massive storm and the camps came together wherein nearly one hundred staff members and volunteers came to help with the massive cleanup. We had old staff, returning staff, first year staff, and volunteers arrived to all help get camp ready for the next day. The overnight camps [...]

Today, more than ever, our kids and families rely on community organizations like the Y. At the Y, we are a culture of caring, empathy, respect, and empowerment. We welcome everyone, including campers with intellectual and developmental disabilities, visual impairments, and children infected or affected by disease. We’re committed to providing children a place where healthy meals, attentive role models, and quality activities promote learning and growth. […]

Alumni Tales is blog segment where alumni write in to us to tell us stories about their time at camp, be it a favorite memory, or about how camp changed during their time here, and how camp changed them! This first volume is written by a Lake Stockwell’s alumni Chris Gallagher! […]

The Ranger Program is a unique leadership adventure program that both overnight camps host. This program does not start off with the campers’ arrival to camp, it starts with weeks of training before the summer even begins. All of the ranger leaders arrive at camp two weeks before the campers and undergo a series of trainings and certifications. They receive such trainings as wilderness first aid, back country skills, boating, CPR, AED, and lifeguarding. They even learn bivouac skills which includes learning how to build a fire and a shelter quickly. The Rocks and Rafts leaders also receive an additional [...]

In 1990, Lake Stockwell Day Camp opened for the first time ever and now in 2015, it celebrates its 25th anniversary! Since its opening, the camp has continued to grow and over the past few summers, camper and counselor numbers have skyrocketed. Back in 2011, MaryAnn Birchler and Lynn Passarella joined as camp director and assistant camp director and over the years, Stockwell’s size has nearly doubled! In 2011, there were only about 60 staff members and 250 campers. In 2014, Melissa DiMona joined as assistant camp director and we had about 110 staff members and nearly 500 campers! Since [...]

  “The Counselor In Training program strives to impress upon participants skills that relate directly to working as a camp counselor, as well as skills that can be used in everyday life. This is accomplished in a fun and supportive environment that encourages growth as individuals and as a team” – CITs […]

Hi. My name is Darleen Blesi and I have the pleasure of serving as the Director of Development at YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. I found camp when I responded to a help wanted ad in The Central Record in 2008. I was eventually hired in 2009. I have truly fallen in love with camp. My favorite moment at camp occurred at the 2014 Wine, Beer and Whiskey Tasting. A camper parent spoke to the guests about the impact that camp had on his son. The parent also shared with the audience how vital the scholarship money had been in bringing [...]

Last Tuesday, the 23rd of June, a large storm hit New Jersey and Pennsylvania wherein thousands lost power. YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. was no exception and like most of Medford, also lost power. As the storm hit, all of the overnight campers were moved into their respective dining halls. Once the backup generators started kicking in, plans were made for the evening’s activities. In both dining halls, a dance party was held, after which the campers watched a movie for the night! As these activities went on, counselors gradually made their way to cabins in order to carry back mattresses for the [...]