YMCA of the Pines, Author at YMCA OF THE PINES

Purple Feather recognizes the impact counselors have on campers

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-23T10:04:17-04:00July 23rd, 2019|

By Joe Michiels, Board of Directors, YMCA of the Pines As a board member, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to get an inside look at the positive impact that Matollionequay, Ockanickon and Stockwell have on the youth that come here as campers. Some of the activities that I have been able to be part of are meals in the dining halls, morning rituals, going to the fireworks and ceremonies. One of my favorite activities so far, is helping out with the Purple Feather Program during check-out at Ockanickon and Matollionequay. Campers get an opportunity to recognize their counselor(s) [...]

Watching campers grow from session to session, from year to year

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-12T09:25:34-04:00July 19th, 2019|

by Rick Worrell, Lake Stockwell Day Camp As a teacher, I refer to students as “my kids” because I care about them, and their growth over the year. The same holds true for camp. These are my kids, too. Recently, I was sitting with a camper who came to Lake Stockwell for the first time last year. He is a young man who struggled with many things that most of us take for granted. He struggled with reading, caring for himself, and socializing. I’ve spent some time with him over the past couple of weeks. He asked me what was [...]

Our feathers symbolize our core values

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-11T16:53:23-04:00July 18th, 2019|

By Emily, Lake Stockwell Day Camp Every week at camp, the red feather and white feather are awarded to one camper in each tribe. Our feathers symbolize the six core values of YMCA of the Pines, participation at camp, encouragement to peers, and a positive attitude all day long. The white feather is peer-to-peer. Campers in each tribe have the opportunity to vote for the fellow camper they think has demonstrated white feather characteristics. The red feather is awarded on Fridays at our ceremony ground spot on camp. The red feather is awarded to campers in each tribe and [...]

Meet our CIT class of 2019 at Stockwell!

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-12T10:29:11-04:00July 17th, 2019|

by Lynn Passarella, Director of Lake Stockwell Day Camp Our CITs (also known as Counselors in Training) are our future leaders of camp. They spend five weeks with us in a challenging program that teaches them how to work with children of all ages. Our CITs will learn the ins and outs of what it means to be camp counselors. They will learn how to facilitate groups of all sizes and learn how to work together as a team. Our CITs will shadow our different age groups here at camp and learn about the different grade-level characteristics that make our [...]

Moon Landing

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-17T14:38:14-04:00July 16th, 2019|

By Lynne Stanwood-Leadbeater, Chief Volunteer Officer This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. On July 21, 1969, I was a 6-year old camper in the Cherokee Village at Matollionequay. All my friends and I cared about was winning cabin inspection and getting a buddy for general swim; national news headlines were not exactly a priority to us. But on that night, a few hours after taps, our counselors woke us up and told us to bring our pillows with us into the staff cabin. The staff cabin had electricity and a television! Little did we know [...]

When you’re on the staff at Stockwell, you’re part of the family

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-10T15:48:02-04:00July 16th, 2019|

by Jess Dicken, Lake Stockwell Day Camp This is my third summer on staff at Lake Stockwell day camp. For the past two summers I have been a Group Leader for the Cherokee tribe, one of our first grade groups. This year I am in a new leadership position as a Program Activity Supervisor. I wish that before I had joined the Lake Stockwell staff, someone would have told me a few things. The first thing that I wish I had known, is that when you join the Stockwell staff you are joining a family. From the moment I [...]

Being at camp is a “life-changing” experience

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-12T09:27:46-04:00July 15th, 2019|

by Jose Colon-Cruz, Program Director at Lake Stockwell “What do you love most about Lake Stockwell?” Last week, our staff took the time to answer this question. Most people had a tough time answering it because there is a lot to love about Lake Stockwell. Some of our newer staff said they love the people they work with, the campers, and how welcoming the camp is. Our returners had a more difficult time answering as they reflected on years of being at camp. Gina, a 3rd year staff member said, “The sense of community here. Between staff and the campers, [...]

Our core values provide the framework at camp

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-10T15:49:12-04:00July 12th, 2019|

By Rick Worrell, Lake Stockwell Day Camp In the mid 1990’s, our YMCA and its three camps (Lake Stockwell, Ockanickon and Matollionequay) rolled out the core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility. As we and society have changed over the past years, so have the values that we identify here at camp. Today we also attend to Inclusion and Courage. These six values help us keep our programs focused on helping campers to be the best people they can be. These words are part of our language and culture here at camp. By encouraging campers to attend to these values, [...]

Paddle boards are a big hit this summer!

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-11T16:44:57-04:00July 11th, 2019|

By Emily, Lake Stockwell Day Camp Last week, Lake Stockwell Day Camp had 15 new paddle boards delivered for our boating program. They are a hit already! Paddle boards are really easy to use as you can sit, kneel or stand on them. They are lots of fun and our campers are getting really good at using them. However, if anyone does fall off, it’s a great chance to go swimming and boating which the campers have named 'swoating'. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1973548726274560/?ref=bookmarks

Summer camp – it’s not just for little kids. (Teens love it, too!)

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-10T12:30:59-04:00July 10th, 2019|

by Lynn Passarella, Director of Lake Stockwell Day Camp Not everyone knows this, but camp is great place for teens, too! Our Explorers program has been a real hit this summer! This week, we have over 90 of our older campers - ages 12 to 15 - participating in this program. It's one of our biggest enrollment weeks in the history of Lake Stockwell - and we're so glad to see the program growing! Our Explorers program is designed to meet the needs of teens. Their schedule is based on choice as they, by this age, have likely already decided [...]

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