Camp Kern

Here is a sample request letter received THIS YEAR from a local Camp Kern family:

My son will be attending his fourth year at YMCA Camp Kern with a big thank you from me to you. As I have stated in other forms I am extremely ill. I have three feeding tubes, and was recently diagnosed with a form of lupus. His dad left when he was almost four and took his brother. Father to both but only wanted one. He has some huge hurdles to in life to deal with for a 10 year old, but his grades are good and he just recently started going to church. I may spend 1 or 2 weeks in the hospital here and then a month in a treatment clinic this summer. Please consider this when deciding to grant scholarships. If there is someone that needs it more than him we understand. He also has been trying to earn extra money by mowing lawns because he wants to go for two weeks. We realize you cannot put scholarships for week 2 but we feel he is excited to do this and if he can get his mind off of his mom lying on the couch with feeding tubes and home nursing visits it would be great for him. Thank you for the past years of support and we hope to see you soon.

(Names have been removed to provide anonymity.)

To donate:  go to www.facebook.com/campkern

Today launches Camp Kern’s 40 Days for 100 More Kids Scholarship Drive!

Help spread the word, and repost this blog post, or direct people to facebook.com/campkern.

There are tons of ways to make a donation and pledge your support.  Pass this information to people you know who would be interested in helping 100 needy kids and families experience the magic of summer camp.

Feel free to forward, download, print and share this information ANYWHERE!

Today was Camp Kern’s last open house of the 2011 season! We are looking forward to and preparing for the June 19th start of Summer Camp from here forward. A fantastic staff has been assembled, programs are filling up, the pool is full and the weather…still feels like March. Three outta four isn’t bad…
If you still have not registered, there is still time in some programs. Registrations can be sent in online at www.mycampkern.com, or you can call the office at 513-932-3756 and we’d love to sign you up over the phone. If you want to take a tour and get an up close look at camp, email mcostlow@daytonymca.org to schedule a private tour for your family and friends.
Thanks so much to everyone who came out today, we certainly had a great time!

Camp Kern raises money for our Strong Kids “Send a kid to camp” scholarship fund each and every year.  The money goes to help make camp a possibility for all of the kids who want and need camp, but aren’t able to attend.  This year Camp Kern is raising $81,000 to support the fund, so we can send 180 campers to a week of summer camp!

There are a ton of ways to get involved, and make camp possible for needy kids and families in the Dayton area:

• You can forward a link to our form to your friends:  http://www.campkern.org/getinvolved/kern_strong_kids.pdf
• You can pledge by text – Text “camper” to 20222 to donate $10
• You can download the form and make a donation yourself.
• Kids can even earn a free week of camp when they raise money!

Happy Easter, Kern Family!
As or families gather for the holiday, we are all grateful for the support and love we receive year round from all the Kern family worldwide.
Enjoy this great weekend with your families, welcome spring with open arms, and get ready for summer!

(Shameless plug time: sessions are selling out, and this is a huge registration weekend. Don’t get shut out. Only a $75 deposit will hold your spot. www.mycampkern.com)

Today is the YMCA of Greater Dayton’s 2011 staff retreat. All of the directors from the Dayton Y are at Camp Kern, spending the day relaxing and getting rejuvenated for another year of great work at the Y.
Todays speaker was Harvey Alston, a former football coach, educator, and inspirational speaker. Harvey spoke to the ability of all people to be their “best”. Harvey’s energy and enthusiasm are infectious.
Thanks, Harvey for your time and stories.
Thank-you YMCA of Greater Dayton for being such a great place to work, and for building into your staff.

Check out www.harveyalston.com to learn more about Harvey.
To learn more about all of the great programs offered by the YMCA of Greater Dayton go to www.ymcaonline.org

We are so excited for the newest Ranger’s Apprentice book, which is being released today!  Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 10: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, is the final book of this great young-adult series. The series follows the adventures of Will Treaty, a Ranger in training, who masters the arts of archery, horsemanship, and diplomacy.

Ranger’s Apprentice Camp will be one of Camp Kern’s two fully-themed camps.  Come join us for a week of living in the Ranger’s world of horses, forest and stealth!

The program is offered:

Session 3 – Coed – July 3-9

Session 8 – Boys Only – August 7 – 13

Camp Kern has collaborated with Penguin Publishing to create an online resource for other camps who may want to offer a similar program!  This has been a great experience for the Camp Kern team, as we are one of two official Ranger’s Apprentice camps in the nation.

Click Here to check out Camp Kern’s Ranger’s Apprentice Page

Click Here to register for Ranger’s Apprentice Camp!

Here is an interesting article regarding making accommodations for people who share a public place, and where the limits should be placed while doing so.

http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/24/parents-picket-girl-with-peanut-allergy-ask-her-to-withdraw-from-school/?iref=obnetwork‘

At Camp Kern, we’re pretty proud of the fact that we don’t have Peanuts and tree nuts on site.  We think it’s a great way to accommodate campers who have allergies, but also to teach the rest of our camper population how to be compassionate and understanding of differences.

Many other camp directors are amazed that we don’t have peanut-butter, peanut snacks, peanut-butter cookies, etc.  They ask, “Don’t your kids go crazy without peanut-butter and jelly at every meal?!?!?” It’s great that we can honestly answer that no, our campers do not.  First, the camp’s food is great!  There are tons of options on the salad bar, and there are always multiple options for each meal.  It’s hard to go hungry at camp.  And second, we teach all our campers that peanuts can actually be dangerous to a small group of people with a specific allergy, and that we want everyone to have the ability to come to camp.

So, what do you think?  Do you appreciate that Camp Kern makes accommodations for allergies?  We are soon beginning to offer a Gluten-free menu for those with gluten restrictions, is that something you have wanted for a while?

Comment either on the blog, or on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/campkern

Camp Kern was recently featured on the local blog, MasonMetu!  Thanks to Kristin Goecke for the opportunity to share with your readers.

Click here to see the MasonMetu blog, and scroll towards the bottom of the page to find Camp Kern’s post!

Today, camp kern is talking with lots of families from GE in cincinnati! If you’re working at GE, come on over and say hi!
If you’d like Kern to visit your business, just email mcostlow@daytonymca.org, and we’ll come talk to your office. If you’d rather just get a bunch of brochures to pass around the water cooler, we can do that too.