By: Karen Kollins, Associate Director and camp parent
The My Camp George Story blog series was shared in honour of our 20th summer with blogs written that highlight each summer, since our inaugural season in 1999. Below, Associate Director Karen Kollins reflects on summer 2016.
Being a part of the Camp George community over the past 20 summers has been an honour and a privilege. Camp is more than just my summer home. Camp is my extended family, my sacred community, the place where I feel the most pride and contentment. As I drove into camp just a few weeks ago for a presummer visit, these feelings hit me particularly hard. With the craziness of the camp season buzzing through my head, I turned onto Good Fellowship Road, saw Maple Lake and the Chadar Ochel creeping out from behind the trees, and a notable sense of calm came over me. I realized I was home and it was exactly where I needed to be.
I know that I am not alone in feeling this way about Camp. We so often hear from campers and staff that camp is the place where they feel the truest to themselves. It is the place where they are embraced for who they are, where they are loved unconditionally, where they can be their best selves. Camp provides an opportunity to take a break from the stress of home – school work, competitive activities, social obligations, school friends, and family challenges. Unplugging from home (both literally and figuratively) is a gift. Adding to that is the unique opportunity to be active and outdoors every day.
At Camp we have always taught that wellness is equally about emotional wellness as it is about our physical wellness. We can’t truly be physically safe without also being emotionally safe. This is the tenant of our community that I am the proudest of. Our campers and staff understand that there is a responsibility that comes with being part of the Camp George family. This responsibility demands that each of us look out for each other and for ourselves. On the opening night of each session I stand in front of our community and remind us of this commitment and the need to carry it with us throughout each camp day.
Being active, strengthening our bodies, being mindful of our surroundings, finding peaceful moments, have always been a part of the camp experience. While we might be quick to consider these unintentional elements of camp, it is a very intentional part of the camp experience. Historically, overnight camps were established to give children a break from the terrible conditions of city life many decades ago. While life in the city (or the suburbs!) for us is notably healthier, the sentiment of taking a break from our every day life, of dedicating time to live differently, of focusing on wellness of our bodies, our minds, and our relationships, is still true today at Camp.
In the summer of 2016 we pushed the idea of health and wellness to a whole new level. While we had always talked about camp being a place where we could be our best selves and we practiced healthy living, we knew it was time to celebrate this. From this our annual B’Libenu Moveathon was born. B’Libenu gets our whole camp moving – walking or running, 1km, 3km or 5km. The point isn’t how far or how fast you move, it’s that together as a community we honour and celebrate the ideals of living healthy and active lives. B’Libenu engages our entire community, even our families at home who can choose to donate to our healthy active living campaign. This campaign supports both our future health centre and Save a Child’s Heart, an amazing Israeli based organization that performs life saving heart surgeries in developing countries. We can’t wait to move together this summer!
You might see me some days at camp around 4:00pm sneaking out for my own run down Good Fellowship Road. I do this not because I wouldn’t rather hang out at pottery or the ropes course. Rather, an afternoon run is my way to honour and actualize my commitment to healthy active living. Not only is running good for my body but taking a break from the wonderful intensity of camp life enables me to be a better professional, mentor, and friend. As my run ends and I turn the corner back into Camp, I see Maple Lake and the Chadar Ochel creeping out from behind the trees and all is right again. There is no better place that I can think of than camp, to practice, celebrate, and teach the importance of healthy active living of our bodies and our minds.
Click to support the My Camp George STORY Scholarship campaign.