A note from Kathy...
Camp happens in such a flash - 11 months of intensive planning, dreaming, recruiting, and then poof - it’s over! And while it is just 30 days post camp, our four sessions feel like a blur in the rearview mirror. What isn’t a blur is the feelings that are leftover from our summer sessions! Our entire team has delighted in sorting through photos, social media posts, and heartwarming stories shared in our volunteer and camper feedback forms. So it seems only appropriate to reflect on some of the most amazing rays of Light that I experienced over the course of those four sessions.
Here are four moments that shone especially bright for me. I’d love to hear your own moments in the comments, or as always, feel free to reach out to me with an email.
My first introduction to Camp Sunshine happened at a talent show in 2008 and I remember how my heart melted when I heard Tim sing Let There Be Peace on Earth. It’s a song I grew up singing and remember being captivated by Tim’s connection to the song. Many years later, and after many more experiences with Tim, I am still deeply moved each time I hear him sing, “to take each moment, and live each moment, in peace eternally. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” Tim reminds all of us to be Light in the world!
You might recall the deep challenges we had when we restarted camp in 2022. The pandemic had gutted our core group of counselors and we felt like we were at square one in recruitment. In 2022, many of our counselors were not only young, they had been stunted by two years of social distancing and hybrid learning. This year, we were in awe of these same young people, many returning for their third season, who were engaged and confident in their relationship with their campers and envisioning with us a more affirming and inclusive world. In reflection of our amazing young people, I am reminded of poet Amanda Gorman’s words:
“For there is always light,
If only we are brave enough to see it,
If only we are brave enough to be it.”
This year was the second year of having a cohort of Occupational Therapy students from Davenport University do their level one field placement over four sessions. Some of the students shared their anxiety of never having worked with our population and others felt at ease with our campers. Within 24 hours they recognized that the skills they would learn most during this field placement would be the relational skills. Over the course of four sessions we watched each of them gather more confidence, hone skills like communication, patience, adaptability, but most importantly - embrace the whole person they were paired with. Certainly the ray of light for our team is knowing the skills learned at camp will only strengthen these students in their field of Occupational Therapy.
Camp Blodgett has long been considered a more physically accessible space for our campers. But what happens when those sessions fill rapidly and one of your wheelchair users wants to come to camp - you put accessibility to the test at Camp Henry! Fortunately for us, Camp Henry has done a number of things to make this possible, like all their buildings being ADA compliant, a trolley with a ramp, a chair with large wheels to navigate difficult terrain, and this year they had full-body harnesses to aid those with limited core strength. Elizabeth has been coming to Camp for many years, and her smile always lights up our space! Our hope and prayer was that she would find as much aliveness in this new space as she had at Camp Blodgett. Within hours - it was clear that pairing her with two of our Davenport University Occupational Therapy students was one of great delight. There was never a moment where Elizabeth and her two counselors weren’t smiling and finding joy within all of the discoveries in this location. The pinnacle of the camp experience was watching Elizabeth, with her counselors on each side of her, stand and sing, “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman on the final night.
At the final counselor meeting for each session, we remind everyone that this will be the last time this group will be together, and to savor the next 12 hours. Each session is very unique; each person brings their own individuality, each lesson and reflection while similar - have their own flare, no song has the same energy twice and it’s that newness that keeps bringing us back. When we remain open - we might find a new friend, a new experience, a similar story but with a new meaning, and yes, sometimes we will experience a new heartache. Yet, most of us continue to return to camp because we are reminded that the light we experience in others helps us to be bearers and keepers of the Light.
References for more reflection:
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