Camp is not just fun...your child needs it!

I was thinking about the positive impact that Kanata has on thousands of children every summer, and I wanted to share some of those stories with you when I came across this great article from the American Camp Association (www.acacamps.org) . Camp is not just a fun place for your child to spend some time every once in a while, it gives your child necessary tools for their development. Enjoy this article on "5 Reasons Your Child Needs Camp":

Five Reasons Your Child Needs Camp

There's no doubt that summer camp is fun. Kids get to sing silly songs, play funny games, swim in lakes, and tell spooky stories around a campfire. This is the image of camp that has been captured and memorialized in films, books, and television programs for the past fifty years. But there's much more to camp than just a good time. In addition to fun, parents should be aware of these five reasons their child needs camp.

1. Camp forever changes your child… for the better – American Camp Association® (ACA) research has confirmed that camps build skills necessary to prepare campers to assume roles as successful adults. Campers said that camp helped them make new friends (96%), get to know kids who are different from them (93%), feel good about themselves (92%), and try things they were afraid to do at first (74%).

2. Camp teaches your child to "move it, move it" – Camp provides children the opportunity to try new things and participate in human powered activities. According to surveys by both the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an American child is six times more likely to play a videogame on any given day than to ride a bike. An estimated 22 million of the world's children under the age of five are already considered obese. According to research conducted by ACA, 63 percent of children who learn new activities at camp tend to continue engaging in these activities after they return home. This leads to continued physical exercise that lasts a lifetime.

3. Camp keeps all that hard work from going to waste - Camps understand the critical role they play in helping young people learn and grow. Many offer programs that help reduce summer learning loss, bolster academic enrichment and socialization, provide opportunities for leadership development, and ensure that campers achieve their full potential.

4. Camp allows kids to take a deep breath and feel the nature – Camp is a great way for your child to unplug from the iPod® and plug into the world around them. According to a study by two Cornell University environmental psychologists, being close to nature can help boost a child's attention span. Additionally, a study conducted by the University of Essex in England concluded that nature can help people recover from pre-existing stresses or problems, has an immunizing effect that can protect from future stresses, and helps people to concentrate and think more clearly. In some instances, camp may be the only time a child is in contact with the natural world.

5. Camp is fun – It's true; kids do sing silly songs and play funny games at camp. Children are allowed to play in a safe and nurturing environment, and are allowed to just be kids. Play is a powerful form of learning that contributes mightily to the child's healthy physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development. According to an American Academy of Pediatrics report, creative free play protects a child's emotional development and reduces a child's risk of stress, anxiety, and depression.

We look forward to seeing you this summer at Kanata!

Your Camp Director,

Dave

Camper Scholarships at Camp Kanata

Something very important we offer at Camp Kanata is scholarship money for children whose family would otherwise be unable to afford for them to come to camp. If you or your children have ever been to camp, you know what a huge impact summer camp has on your life forever.

Here are quotes from some of our scholarship campers last year:

Edgar – 11 years old
I learned that it does not matter where you come from, you are at home at Camp Kanata. Camp Kanata is a great place to meet new friends. You can learn a lot about life.

Jessica – 8 years old
There are a lot of bugs at camp. So if you mess with them they will mess with you. I liked the counselors--they are awesome! And sand castle building is really cool. Some people say it's hard but it’s really easy to me! I have made a lot of cool friends. My mom is gonna be so proud of me and you guys too because you kept me safe! I had so much fun. Camp Kanata is the best. I LOVE YOU!

Ryan – 9 years old
I liked the lake and the fun counselors. It’s the best place in the world and everybody is so nice and I think that I will come back again and again because it’s so fun. Thank you Camp Kanata!

Every year we raise money through our We Build People campaign to send kids like these to camp. Please contact us if you can help: give money and/or volunteer to raise money. Thanks for your consideration!

Eva Hobson
Director of Administration
eva.hobson@campkanata.org

Getting more people connected to Kanata

I am sitting in my office this afternoon staring at the whiteboard on my wall which is covered with names. Names of people who were former campers, counselors, parents of campers, board members, friends in the community and vendors who provide services to Kanata. I realize a couple of things. First, we are connected to a great family of volunteers and that makes the work we do at Kanata so rewarding. Secondly, we can accomplish so much more when we enlist the help of others. I couldn't tell you whether or not your name is on my whiteboard, but I can tell you that it should be. We want to have engaged participants at Kanata who do more than just come to camp in the summer. We want you to look at Kanata as a place to give back to your community whether it is through a work day, giving to our scholarship campaign or serving on one of our volunteer committees.

We can't truly measure the positive impact that camp has had on the lives of our campers and staff over the years, but we can say that the character traits of honesty, respect, responsibility and caring that have been taught for years have produced better citizens of our world. We can say that the positive role models that our campers have seen over the years have helped produce thousands of leaders who understand the benefits of giving back and making a difference in another persons life.

Consider giving back this year at Camp Kanata. Give of your time, your resources and your energy. Give because it makes a difference in a child's life and because you will see a return on that investment for years to come.

See you this summer!

Your Camp Director,

Dave

As the weather gets warmer...

...we get more and more excited for the summer!

Over the past few months I've been out on the road recruiting new people and talking to old staff who will return for another great summer in just a few months. We've received a lot of applications this year which is making the interview and selection process all the more difficult, especially for the female side of camp! In the end some really great applicants won't make it on to our staff this year. Hard to handle but in the end it will be what's best for camp.

But if you look at the male side of things, it's another story entirely. It's a common problem with all camps that I talk with: Where are the guys? For every male applicant we receive 10 female applicants. It's hard for me to understand since I've been at camp for so long and the thought of leaving never stayed in my head for long. I've been fortunate enough to make a living out of camp but we lose great male staff every year to sports, internships and the "real world" (which I don't think really exists at this point). That means when I receive a male application it's time for a jig. Thankfully we receive enough male applicants that we can still hold them to a high standard. Not everyone makes it onto the Kanata staff team!

We're always looking for new perspectives here at camp. If you think you have some insight into how we can recruit and retain our male staff more effectively please let me know. Drop me a line at ryan.eves@campkanata.org.

That's all from me for this month. See you real soon!

Ryan Eves
Assistant Camp Director

Could it have rained any more???

I was checking the local weather and they (the experts) claim that we have had over 3 inches of rain since Friday, but if you asked our campers and staff who survived the "Wettest Mini-Camp of All-Time" they would swear it was at least a foot of rain. Never fear, because our highly trained staff are more than capable of programming an incredible mini-camp experience despite some rain. Our campers were able to take part in normal camp activities (archery, canoeing, etc.) and then when the rain decided to not stop, Jen Baldinelli (Program Director par excellence), had design your own St. Patrick's Day shirts ready to go. After the t-shirts the campers split for Jen and the girls to have a Karaoke party and Ryan Eves (Assistant Summer Camp Director) and the boys to have the messiest Capture the Flag game of all time.

In the words of Ryan Eves, "you couldn't tell by the smiles on the campers faces that this mini-camp was different than any other." I think that if our Kanata staff can provide a great experience like that on a rainy, chilly weekend in March imagine the fun your child will have when they come to camp in the summer.

Register soon for the 2009 summer!

Your Camp Director,

Dave

Summer is on the way!

So it turns out that winter is not going to go on forever. I wasn't too sure there for a little while. Spring at Camp Kanata means that it is project time! We are already rolling. I thought I'd just give you a bit of info about the projects we have going on right now.

Putt-Putt

We have a valuable volunteer helping us build a new Putt-Putt Pro-Shack. We are getting ready to refinish all of the holes with new turf and fresh paint - it's going to be great! We're even going to have scorecards - bring your A-game.

Activity Field

We're getting ready to lay down another 26,000 square feet of sod around the edges of the new field. What a resource. An exciting bit of new about the field - The Hasentree turf crew has volunteered their labor, equipment and knowhow to the upkeep of our field.

Archery

We've placed a permanent shack at the archery field and install split rail fence around the perimeter. Final phase to come - shaded shooting area with decking and benches.

Ad-Staff Office

We've converted a worn out room in the lodge into a nice bit of office space for the ad-staff. The space includes new floors, several office desks, a pc with a printer. Yeah ad staff - you have your own space!

Bathhouse

Another great volunteer walked in the door and offered to help us with this one. We are redoing the sink are in both sides of the bathhouse. There will be a stainless steel trough-style sink, new mirrors, stained wood on the walls and new toilets. This one is going to be great.

That just gives you a feel for what we have going on right now. There is tons more to come.

Is Putt-Putt still cool? It will be at Kanata!!!

Here at Kanata we are continuously evaluating how we do things, how things look and how we deliver our programs. Because of this I hope that you are always seeing things change at Kanata. One of the things that our staff have been working on is the Putt-Putt area of camp. For as long as I have been here (since 2003) it has just been a nice little area of camp, but not that great. That will not be the case any longer! Our "Crew" (cool term for our maintenance staff) and a great volunteer (Bob Casamassi) have been building a new Putt-Putt program hut and then they will begin work on refurbishing the putting areas.

This might seem like a small thing to spend our time on, but if we are going to have a putt-putt course we want to make it the best we can. So, when you are here this summer make sure to stop by the Putt-Putt course, check out a putter and a ball and spend some time having fun on our new course. Also, be sure to thank the "Crew" for all their hard work making Kanata look awesome!

See you this summer.

Your Camp Director,

Dave

A message from Jen Baldinelli, Program Director at Camp Kanata

One thing that I am so excited for this summer is the start of Kanata’s brand new TRACK OUT CAMP program. Track Out Camp will both kick off and wrap up our traditional Kanata Summer with a session in May and two sessions in August.

Kanata has always made a point to try to serve as many children as we can each summer. When we looked at the area around our Camp, we realized that there were a group of children that never got the opportunity to experience a week at either Kanata Day or Overnight camp due to their school schedule. We decided to reach out to this group and create a program that would work just for them. Each of our Track Out Sessions occurs during a time when children are tracked-out from school. This is a benefit to not only any track 2 children in the area, but a special treat for any kids that may be home-schooled or on a modified schedule at their school.

Track Out camp will run very similarly to how we have run Kanata Overnight Camp. Check-in will be on Sunday afternoon and Check-Out will be on Friday afternoons, as opposed to the standard Saturday check-out. We changed our check-out day due to the fact that we wanted to ease transition between a week at Kanata and a new track-in at school or another track-out program. Each day at Kanata Track Out will be filled with the same activities that Kanata regulars love: riflery, canoeing, swimming, arts and crafts, archery, and sports. Each evening will provide a time for all of the camp to come together in a camp wide program that is specific for the theme of that session.

My biggest passion is helping others and summer camp programming. I cannot wait to help a whole new community of people this summer with our newest program.

See you this summer!

I live in the south for a reason...

Let me be clear that I choose to live in the south for a reason.  I grew up on the coast of southern Virginia (Hampton Roads area) and I was basically there because that is where my parents decided to settle as a family.  As I became an adult and realized I could live pretty much anywhere I want it was a no-brainer.  I will live in the south for basically one reason...I don't like cold weather!  My love for the southern part of our country has been difficult with this winter because it has been very cold.  As I am writing this I am looking out my window on over 3 inches of snow laying in my front yard and temperatures hovering in the low 20's.  

This snow and rain over the last few days has put a big dent in my plans.  I love being outside and I have Sunday road bike group rides every week that have been affected by the snow, cold weather and rain.  This cold weather and rain has also had an affect on my ability to get outside and go for a run.  I am basically suffering from a major case of "cabin fever" and want the weather to warm up so I can get outside.  

I guess I will compromise, bundle up and do what I normally do on snow days.  My wife (Jennifer) and I will load our 3 dogs (yes, 3 dogs) Callie, Jasper and Parker in our vehicle and drive them out to Kanata and let them play in the snow.  I will be cold and miserable, but I will have a happy wife and 3 very, very happy dogs!

Hope it warms up soon.

See you this summer.

Your Camp Director,

Dave