YMCA OF THE PINES
SUMMER CAMPS | RETREATS |
FAMILY PROGRAMS | CHILDCARE | WILDERNESS TRIPS
Earlier today (Monday) a large gathering of force came together at Matolly to make their way through two seasons worth of dropped needles and falling leaves. We also put a good shine to the Matolly Dining Hall, all in in preparation for the first Open House of 2013 - less than 2 weeks away. Big thanks to all of the staff and volunteers that made their way out today to help with what amounted to an incredible amount of work in just a short span of time. Happy Spring! Dave
We still have some tickets available for our annual St.Patrick's Day Beef & Ale! Please be sure to sign-up to enjoy this amazing event. https://ycamp.org/documents/2013StPatricksDay.pdf
My father, Frank Birchler, passed away last Thursday, February 28 at home surrounded by his loving family. Dad was 76 years old. He has had a big impact on our Camp, both directly and indirectly. For many years, one of Dad's hobbies has been fundraising for our Annual Golf Tournament. This wasn't something that Dad liked to brag about, because he did not like attention. He was, however, very committed to helping kids get to Camp who couldn't afford it otherwise. Dad did not like being in the spotlight. The look he gave me when he was honored with the [...]
One of my all time favorite camp songs is Flee Fly. Not only do all the campers get really into it but so does the Stockwell staff. Throughout the summer we hold two staff Flee Fly relay races in which the campers sing the song as loud as they can and 4 teams of 2 counselors race to the Ockanickon Dam and back to the Dining Hall. Is it summer yet?! Flee Fly - repeat me song flee flee fly flee fly flow flee scott acumalouda acumalouda acumalouda escot no no no not tenescot escamany salimany do ought do oughtimany [...]
Last night while watching one of my favorite movies “Coach Carter”, with Samuel L Jackson, a quote caught my attention. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be... Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children [...]
Hello all! This week in our Learn to Cook class we tackled the one and only... meatballs! We learned that meatballs are in just about every culture in one form or another... with the flavor and sauce varying depending on the region. Of course we all know the Italian version... or possibly the Swedish meatball... but did you know that in Germany there is a very famous variant of meatballs are Königsberger Klopse, which contain anchovy or salted herring, and are eaten with caper sauce? Or in Indonesia, meatballs are called bakso which are usually served in a bowl, like soup, with noodles, beancurd (tofu), egg, siomay/steamed [...]
Looking to become a better climber, boater or mountain biker this year? Then be sure to sign-up for one of our Discovery Programs being held at Camp Ockanickon this year. https://ycamp.org/documents/2013SpringLearnToRegistration.pdf
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” Happy 109th Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Nearly three million children live with a parent who has cancer and many more have lost a parent to cancer. This summer, Camp Kesem will provide life-changing summer camp experiences for over 2,000 children by empowering 1,500 college student leaders at 41 chapters across the country. We are proud to announce that YMCA Camp Ockanickon has partnered with the Camp Kesem – Columbia University chapter to provide 50 children whose parents have or have had cancer with a summer camp experience. This experience is provided for children at no cost to individual families and provides children affected by a parent’s [...]
Hello all! This past Friday we started our Learn to Cook program here in the kitchen and all 8 of our students showed up ready to cook! For the first class we started with a chat about kitchen safety and sanitation while we took a tour of our rather large instutitional style kitchen. […]