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Summer camp can be a place of learning and growth because there are many skills a child can learn during their time as a camper. One can learn how to swim, how to boat, and how to cook. You learn about nature, different games at land sports, and how to build a fire or a shelter. These activities can teach basic skills, but they can also teach deeper life skills that can stay with a camper the rest of their life! Here a camp, a camper can learn the deeper life skills of: […]

Many children who have spent a summer at camp must make that crucial decision in their life when they are finally able to work, “Should I become a camp counselor or should I find a ‘real’ job?” The answer is simple, you should become a camp counselor! Now being a camp counselor is not only for those who have attended camp. In fact, being a counselor is something everyone should experience because it provides you with as much a positive impact as it does being a camper. […]

Have you ever been out with a group of friends or at a family dinner and noticed that everyone was on their cellphones at the same time? A study has revealed that children, ages 8 through 18, spend upwards of 7.5 hours staring at some form of technology. With televisions, video games, laptops, smart phones, and tablets; access to technology and information has increased greatly over the past decade. With the push of a button or the touch of a screen, one can now access a near infinite amount of information and entertainment. However, as on-screen communication increases, studies have also [...]

My name is Dave Herron and I have now been a board member for longer than I was a camper. But both experiences have helped to shape me personally and professionally.  […]

My name is Brent Birchler and I am the Boys Overnight Camp Director at YMCA Camp Ockanickon.  I first came to camp in the early 1980’s as a member at the Family Swim Center.  My parents would take me swimming, boating, and fishing during the summer months.  After a few years as a member, I had my first overnight camp experience at the annual Kids Convention, a program Ockanickon used to run during Teacher Conventions in November.  From then on, I was hooked on camp!  […]

It was a hot summer in 2001, my teary-eyed mother watched as her only child started playing Uno cards with the rest of the boys in his new home for next week. It was a dusty old cabin filled with over packed suitcases and a daily schedule that my mother read 10 times over. As I watched her finally will herself away from the laminated paper, I gave her a big hug and asked her to send me lots of candy. Once my mother pulled it together and eventually left camp, I was on my own for the first time [...]

If you’re driving on Stokes Road in Medford, New Jersey and you turn left onto Tabernacle Road, as you bear right onto McKendimen Road, there’s an unusual sight you just might miss if you blink. Next to this road, there is a canoe wrapped around a tree. If you look at this, some thoughts like “oh wow, why is there a canoe wrapped around that tree?” or maybe you think “I can’t believe a tree grew through that a canoe.”  Whichever comes to mind, it’s definitely an interesting sight. For me, seeing that canoe gives me an undeniable sense of [...]

As winter melts away, we here at the YMCA Camp Ockanickon Outdoor Center are excited to welcome Spring and all that comes with it. Put away the heavy coats and mittens because it is time to get back outside and have some fun. This past week at the Outdoor Center, we had two different schools join us at Camp just before hosting our annual Spring Military Family Weekend.

I started my new role as CEO of YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. on March 9, 2015, so it’s been about a month. I figured this was a good time to share a little more about myself and to take a breath and to reflect a bit. I moved to Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, on March 1 from Rockville, Maryland. It is my first time living in New Jersey, and the sixth state I’ve called home as an adult. It was a welcome move for both me and my wife, Beth. We are now much closer to family, which is important [...]