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by Susan Miller, Director of Marketing/Communications Whenever I walk through camp talking to kids or visiting camper families, I am struck by the stories about camp's amazing impact. "I wish everyone knew about the benefits of spending time with your kids here," said a dad named Ed on a recent Saturday afternoon. When I caught up with him, he was playing a low-key game of basketball with his son, Jake, at Father/Child Weekend. They had already done archery and some challenge course activities. It was a weekend of no cellphones, no TV, no chores, no distractions - just beautiful time [...]

At the annual campaign kick-off breakfast on Sept. 13, about 14 members of the Medford Sunrise Rotary attended to offer support to YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. in its effort to raise funds for our wonderful cause. The Medford Sunrise Rotary has been a steadfast supporter of our Scholarship Fund at camp. Last week, they presented a check for $3,500 for this fund, which is used to send deserving children to camp, despite their families’ financial hardships. Last year, 600 children – many from under-served communities in Camden and Philadelphia – were able to attend summer camp at either Lake Stockwell [...]

by Susan Miller YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. held its annual campaign kick-off breakfast on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at the Ockanickon dining hall. The event, which featured heartfelt testimonials by scholarship recipients and alumni, started off with an invocation by Rev. Don Muller of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, who noted the positive impact of a camp experience on young people. Camp’s CEO, Mark Dibble, welcomed community members to the event, and talked about the organization’s fundraising goals along with plans for making camp a more diverse and inclusive place. “We want camp to be a place the world strives to be [...]

Our quiet but oh-so insightful young Teen Program Coordinator, Kelsey Henry, recently shared one of her favorite quotes - from the spiritual teacher Ram Dass. We thought it was worth passing along - and certainly worth contemplating as we move through this complicated world of ours. Thanks, Kelso, for the wisdom and insight, especially from this beautiful place in our corner of the world, where trees are so prevalent: “When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and [...]

Dan Rozov was recently selected as the new Assistant Outdoor Center Director at YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. Dan spent several summers at Ockanickon as a camper and eventually led adventure trips and teen leadership programs for the boys summer camp. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Parks and Recreation and a minor in Business Administration from West Virginia University. He spent the last two and a half years working for Australia’s leading outdoor education provider, the Outdoor Education Group, most recently as program coordinator at Camp Maryville. While working at Maryville, he oversaw the development of programs and [...]

by Greg Keresztury, Director of Operations One of the reasons camp is so great is that at camp, #MagicMoments occur. Most of them, of course, are unscripted and happen naturally as campers interact with one-another, and with their counselors.  However, a good camp director is always thinking about what he/she can do to help facilitate or create those moments – in fact, a lot of our staff think this way! This summer, I had the opportunity to eat lunch with various villages at Lake Stockwell Day Camp, and ask the campers what they loved about camp, and for an idea [...]

Here at Lake Stockwell Day Camp, all of our campers are special to us. As the summer camp season came to an end this week, we decided to honor a group that we call “Stockwell Superstars” – campers who attended all 10 weeks of camp (from late June until early September). Each of this year’s 22 “superstar” campers received a Lake Stockwell Day Camp blanket – something that will surely remind them of the warmth and coziness of camp when the weather turns chilly. Congratulations, Stockwell Superstars! We can’t wait to see you again in Summer 2018!

by Susan Miller, Director of Marketing/Communications Joe Bertolino has a prestigious position in the world these days; he’s president of Southern Connecticut State University and prior to that, he was at the helm of Lyndon State College in Vermont. But before he rose to acclaim in academia, Joe started out as a reluctant camp counselor. In fact, it was here at YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. where his leadership skills were honed. Joe – known fondly as “Spiffy Joe” during his tenure at Ockanickon (more about that later!) - came to our camp in a most inauspicious way. Here’s how he [...]

Imagine what it’s like to get out of your comfort zone: no running water, no bathrooms, no access to showers, no TVs, no tablets, no cellphones. That’s just what a group of teens did this summer, as part of our Boots & Boats Ranger trips. The co-ed trips took place three times this summer – the most recent one happened in early August. It involved spending five days backpacking part of the beautiful Appalachian Trail and four days canoeing the Delaware River. The trips are single gender, but both boys and girls participated. (The way it works is, the boys [...]

A camp alum wrote to us (at [email protected]) a few months back, asking if he could buy a water bottle from camp's famous Trading Post. Since he was deployed with the US Navy, we sent him the water bottle (along with a complimentary camp T-shirt) free of charge. We only asked that he send us a photo of him and the camp water bottle. Below is his letter. Just another example of camp's good reputation being spread far and wide! Hey there, camp friends! I received the water bottle you guys sent me a couple weeks ago, but we've been [...]