New York YMCA Camp Blog

Camp’s Board of Mangers plays a key role in our success. With professional experience in business, marketing, and finance, they advise camp’s leadership team to further our reach and impact.

Josh Heitler, a camp alumni and now Board Chair, took a moment to share with us on the importance of giving back.

As camper and CIT (counselor in training) at Talcott Village and later as a staff member at McAlister Village, I remember seeing and hearing about the ‘Board’ on their annual summer visit. I am not sure I really understood what they did or why they were there and I definitely never imagined that I would one day be one of them. But, over the last decade or so I have been honored to be a member of camp’s Board and have especially looked forward to those summer visits to camp. Being part of the Board has helped me stay connected to camp and to make sure that the life-changing experiences I had continue to be available to the great kids that come every year. Camp is such a special place – safe, exciting, healthy and most of all fun! – that it is inspiring to be a part of it. It is such a unique opportunity to watch kids get the gifts that come from living in a nature and testing and developing independence. With much of the stress and strain of everyday life removed, camp has a powerful chance to execute the Y’s mission to develop mind, body and spirit. I can’t wait to visit this summer and meet some future Board Members. – Josh

If you would like to learn more about the Board of Managers or how to become a member, please reach out anytime to me at wgriffin@ymcanyc.org.

Cabin Unity
By: Spencer Ozbun, Communications Team

One of our top 5 goals for summer 2011 is to focus on building cabin unity. While campers are at camp, their cabins are their homes. Two counselors are present in every cabin and are available to offer advice, give encouragement, and ensure that every camper has a fun, exciting, and bully-free camp experience. Only six campers share each cabin, which allows our staff to get to know campers individually. By focusing on cabin unity, we find that campers often build friendships that last a lifetime.   

We have made a few changes to our daily schedule and brought new activities to camp with the intention of building strong ties between our campers.

To encourage inclusiveness our cabins groups do everything together for the first day and a half. Carpetball is a game of strategy and accuracy played with billiard balls and has become a huge hit at camp. This summer we have 27 carpet ball tables placed throughout camp; some by the dining hall, some near the cabins, and even some in the forest! Another way for campers to bond is during Snack Shack, a forty-five minutes period in the afternoon for cabins to relax, socialize, and, of course, play carpetball!

Our staff receives extensive training on team-building, safety precautions, and tactics to create an safe and fun camp community. Camp is a place for every child to be themselves, experience different cultures, and gain independence.

Fun Healthy Habits This Summer
By Steve Sumnick, Food Service Director

Healthy eating is an important life skill, and it is our goal that campers learn healthy habits while at camp.

Camp’s Garden Grows in Size

This summer, camp’s garden aims at inspiring campers to start their own garden at home. Campers will discover basic gardening techniques such as composting, plant maintenance, and the joy of tasting a vegetable right off the vine. 

In 2010, our ten cucumber plants produced more than 120 cucumbers for our salad bar. This year we’ve developed a workshop where campers will harvest the vegetables and sample them with a variety of toppings.

Easy Window Garden: Don’t have space for an outside garden? Grow your own vegetables at home by using flower pots.

Locally Grown Produce

Did you know? The average food ingredient travels more than 1,100 miles from the farm to our plate. While traveling, it loses its freshness and nutritional strength. Camp buys our produce from a local farm that is only 20 miles away in Pine Island, NY. The produce arrives fresh with all its nutritional value.

Building a Healthy Plate

Through images, teaching, and practice, campers will learn what a healthy plate looks like and how they can construct it at camp. Creative and eye-capturing displays will show campers what percentage of the plate should be veggies, fruit, dairy, etc.

Fun Food Facts at Each Meal

Our education will continue with healthy food facts about the food they eat at camp. For example, during breakfast, we serve oatmeal as one of the components. 

Did you know?

• Oatmeal helps us concentrate and focus more. Kids that eat oatmeal perform better in school than those who don’t. 
• Eating a citrus fruit with your hot dogs help diminish the effects of the preservatives in the hot dog. 

Simple food facts like these are provided to inspire healthy eating.