Camp Kern

Camp Kern’s new Wilderness Pavilion is well under way!  The excellent weather has allowed the Camp Kern Maintenance crew to make tons of headway on building our new Yurts.  Check out the Pacific Yurt Company, who is supplying ours! They’ll be outfitted with both heat and air conditioning, so campers can spend the night in them year-round.

Check out the pictures, and you’ll soon be as excited as we all are!

See the whole vision for the project in the Centennial Campaign Booklet

Looking for a great gift for Christmas?

Ozone Zipline gift certificates make perfect gifts for the entire family. Good for two years and available for all our 2012 tour options, they are sure to be a hit with anyone lucky enough to receive one this year.

Call 513-932-3756 to order yours today.

This year’s visit from Mariemont schools was amazing! We love hosting everyone, and this is a week we look forward to all year long. Here’s a link to the Mariemont Schools photo gallery of the visit. Can’t wait to see everyone next year!

Dave Moran, Camp Kern's Outdoor Education Director, working with Mariemont Students!

Check out this video (uploaded by a Camp Kern participant!) of the new “Tire Zip” behind cabin 14.  It’s a really great time, and just another super-fun thing to do at Camp Kern!

The scholarship campaign is still ongoing!  Forward the message on to your friends and encourage them to do the same!

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!

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