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This Rotarian had a change of heart about dreaded ‘coin toss’ fundraisers. (by Susan Miller) It’s a familiar sight, especially on pleasant weather weekends: orange vest-clad do-gooders, standing at intersections, holding out buckets near signs that announce they’re collecting spare change for one good cause or another. As a driver, I would often cringe at the approach to such a scene. What are they collecting for now? This is dangerous, it’s holding up traffic - and, darn it, I feel pressure to kick in! And so it was that I found myself in the very position of collector on a [...]

Why Kata McKenna loves her summers in Medford (written when she was 9 years old)....   I love summer because i love to swim at the lake at Camp Ockanickon, or as the locals call it: Ocky! I get excited on hot, sunny summer days, when the air is filled with laughter, shrieking and happiness coming from the camp. I can hear them all the way here at my house. I’m thrilled with the anticipation of going. I put on  my bathing suit, get my towel and I’m ready to go. When I arrive, I see my lifeguard buddies, friends [...]

I joined Camp early in January because I believe in the mission of the organization. I knew that I wanted to work here, but what I didn’t know was the true impact that Camp has on everyone. I grew up in Venezuela and I never got to experience Camp myself. For the past five months, I have been witnessing what Camp has given back to so many. Camp truly shapes the lives of thousands of children; Camp gives children the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive and to discover their potential. Camp for so many is where they met their [...]

What is BOLD & GOLD? This past week, our Y was very fortunate to be included in a brand new national YMCA program called BOLD & GOLD. BOLD (Boys Outdoor Leadership Development) and GOLD (Girls Outdoor Leadership Development) will aim to breathe some new life and intentionality into our existing Ranger program. With the BOLD & GOLD grant, we are going to be able to offer scholarships for our Ranger programs, which would not otherwise have been available. Our goal is to make sure that anyone who has the want and the drive to improve themselves through a tripping program, [...]

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 [...]