I do a lot of traveling in the fall season to recruit campers for the upcoming summer. This year, my travels took me to a variety of communities from Florida to New York, where some of our current families hosted home shows. These fun gatherings provide an opportunity to share a little bit of the Keystone magic with prospective campers. A lot of what I do during a home show is answer questions, such as: “What is the food like?” and “Does my daughter have to walk to a bath house?.” These particular questions are very common, and I always have a great answer. The food is amazing. And no, each cabin has its own indoor bathrooms, so she doesn’t have to walk outside at night. Sometimes though, the questions are more complex, such as: “Why should I send my daughter to your camp?” or “What makes camp so special?,” and these require a little more explanation.
Summer camp, at a glance, is a place of activities, friendships, and in general, lots of fun. It’s fair to say that after safety, fun ranks pretty close to the top of our list of priorities at camp. Where else can you go ziplining, horseback riding, canoeing, and swimming all in the same day? For me though, fun is only the tip of the iceberg of what camp can be for a child. When our girls leave at the end of each summer, our dream is that they feel more confident, more sure of themselves, and ready to take on the world.
Sometimes when we talk about camp, we refer to the Keystone “bubble.” We are only a mile from town, but it feels like a world away. With no phones or technology, you get to focus on the here and now. That’s what makes camp the perfect place to get comfy in your own skin.
Camp is a place where you can shine, simply by virtue of showing up. You don’t have to pretend to be like anyone else. You belong because you are you. That is the real gift of camp.
In this world where it is so easy to just go along with the latest trend or expectation of how a girl is supposed to act, camp gives you the permission to decide who you want to be for yourself. We appreciate everyone for the skills that they bring to the table. We celebrate talents of all kinds, whether it’s in the arts, on horseback, or out on a river. You will be recognized for your skills. And, you will know that you add value to our community. We rely on each other here at Keystone. From cabin clean-up to putting the other girl first, we are a community that works together to accomplish some pretty amazing things. We want each girl to remember that her value in the community comes from, in part, others relying on her to uphold our camp values.
Now, this isn’t something that’s experienced on the first day or even overnight, but something that is slowly discovered throughout the camp experience. I want to leave you with an excerpt from one of my favorite quotes about camp. “Camp was our Narnia. Once experienced it needed no explanation, but you had to step through the wardrobe to ‘get it.’ There, we met fantastic characters, set out upon great adventures, and always came home a bit wiser, and braver, and taller than when we had left.”
