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The impact that campers have on our staff is worth mentioning

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-08-11T20:38:40-04:00August 11th, 2019|

By Suzette Belz, VP of Development and Major Gifts It’s not every day you hear about the impact that campers have on our staff but the other day, I had the opportunity to hear it from one of our international staff members. Sam Garlick, originally from England, spent his second summer at Ocky this year as a senior counselor. Sam shared a story about a 14-year-old camper who came to Ockanickon on a scholarship this year. Sam said he only knew Andrew was a scholarship recipient because he was vocal about it. Here at YMCA of the Pines, we take [...]

We’re all about empowerment at Matolly

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-08-09T15:44:58-04:00August 9th, 2019|

By April Eyler, Program Coordinator, Camp Matollionequay Each summer, each session, and each day at Camp Matollionequay, we live by the motto “Empowered to be me.” This guides our thoughts, our actions, and our program that we participate in. Through the Empowerment Emblem Program, each camper empowers themselves to learn a new skill each time they attend camp. I am proud of the Empowerment Emblem Program and I truly believe that through empowering one girl at a time to seek adventure, take risks, and develop leadership, we will empower the world. While all of the emblems within the Empowerment Emblem [...]

Ockanickon still Ockanickon but much better!

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-08-09T11:16:02-04:00August 9th, 2019|

By Suzette Belz, VP of Development and Major Gifts Marchánt Davis, an actor and producer, came back to Camp Ockanickon after 15 years to fulfill one of his childhood dreams: to become a camp counselor. Marchant spent 8 years at Ocky as a child. He came to camp as a young man from Philadelphia; he left the city to be at a place where he could be a kid. At camp, he could swim, fish or experience the things he couldn’t do in the city. As a camper, he looked up to then camp assistant director Brent Birchler because he [...]

The bonds that form at camp – such a beautiful thing

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-08-08T11:42:45-04:00August 8th, 2019|

by Rick Worrell, Lake Stockwell Day Camp One of the things that make my day fun is seeing the bonds that the campers form with our staff. The smiles that we get when we greet them each morning. The high fives as we pass along the trails. The moments when we are just sitting and talking about our day, or about our camp experiences. We get to experience these moments every day, week to week, and summer after summer. I also enjoy seeing the friendships that the campers make with each other. Children from all walks of life come together [...]

Our campers are gaga over gaga!

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-30T14:22:31-04:00July 30th, 2019|

by Jess Dicken, Lake Stockwell Day Camp In honor of Disney week, I have written a blog about something that makes our camp a magical place for a lot of campers- and that’s the game of gaga. One camper described gaga as a game of “intense skill, determination and strategy." To play gaga, you need a foam ball (it’s better to have a ball you would use in the game of dodgeball - to prevent injury) and a gaga pit. Around camp, we have various designated areas for our campers to play their game. For many campers, gaga [...]

When it’s hot, hot, hot …. we make sure our campers stay cool, cool, cool!

By YMCA of the Pines|2019-07-22T16:07:58-04:00July 23rd, 2019|

By Jess Dicken, Lake Stockwell Day Camp It’s no secret that the past couple weeks have been hot and humid. Because of the heat, we have adjusted some of our camp activities to ensure that our campers are staying cool, and having the best experience at Stockwell! "Land sports" is typically an activity involving games such as various forms of dodgeball, tag, and other events that require running and cardio exercise. To make sure that our campers are enjoying their day-to-day activities, we've made sure that the sprinklers are turned on so campers can cool down while having fun. Other [...]

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 [...]

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