Camp 2019 SUCCESS made possible by YOU:
694 spaces filled at camp – 99% filled!
113 projectDIVE! campers deepened leadership learning.
30 hours of extra staff training + 72 more hours of trekking training = an outstanding staff group.
This summer, thanks to YOU – our amazing community – 113 campers were able to return to Moorelands Camp for a SECOND week of camp to experience projectDIVE!
projectDIVE!
projectDIVE!, a Moorelands Camp 2019 pilot, is an advanced leadership program for campers who demonstrated strong potential to be positive leaders during their previous Moorelands Camp experience. Being a great leader isn’t easy, and the campers selected for the program don’t always get it right, but our camp staff trusted that by giving these kids greater responsibility and challenges, they would rise to the occasion… and boy, were they right!
What does leadership mean at Moorelands Kids?
At Moorelands Kids, we define leadership as the ability to guide, direct or influence people through our own actions and responses. We believe in service leadership. Everyone can build on their own inner strengths to make better decisions for the benefit of all and to act on those decisions.
• Leadership is not about power or position
• Leaders give others hope, encouragement and determination
• Leaders help others grow…IT’S ABOUT INFLUENCE!
Jacob, age 11, is one of the campers who was invited to attend projectDIVE! His mom, Jessica, has a life-long love of camping. But before she heard about Moorelands Camp, she feared Jacob wouldn’t get that experience. For Jessica, the “subsidized help” is a game changer “because it is really hard to find something affordable for single moms.”
When speaking about Jacob’s experiences last year, Jessica is clearly impressed by the impact camp had on her son,
“It was only a week of change but it made a huge difference… even his teachers were saying that he came back from the summer and he was more open and wanted to interact more and help the smaller kids… he has a more independent voice and wants to help out a lot.”
Coming back to Moorelands Camp for summer 2019 was a big deal for Jacob. The previous summer he had learned to swim for the first time at Moorelands where we offer swim skills to every camper, every day. But Jacob knew he had to improve if he wanted to take part in some of the water-based activities, like canoeing, when he returned.
Jacob explains, “Last year, I set my goal to do swimming lessons to better myself to be able to do more at camp.” Jessica searched long and hard to find an affordable program in the city and eventually found one, even though it meant travelling an hour and a half on the bus each way. Their efforts paid off – this summer Jacob was able to achieve the swimming level required in the dock swim to take part in canoeing. He enthuses: “My favourite thing about project DIVE was when we went on a canoe trip and together had to build a tent, and had campfires, even one on the water!!”
“It was a great feeling to be invited to projectDIVE!,” Jacob continues, “camp has shown me I can do what I set my goals to and how to be a better role model to others. Now I try to show younger kids how to be so they can see what I’m doing and they’ll do it too so no trouble happens. Camp also taught me to believe in myself because I can do it even when it’s scary at first! I’d never been camping before aside from my Opa’s backyard. I learned working with others and kindness goes a long way! I look forward to going again and again and hope to be a cabin leader one day!”
Back home in the city, Jessica explains that Jacob is “looking forward to starting a new school: grade 6, lockers… he’s excited!” and she’s hopeful that one day a Moorelands Kids’ after-school program will open up in their neighbourhood too. “You do a lot of the community. I know you’ve been talking about trying to get more after-school programs here in the west-end because we don’t really have a lot up here, yet. I hope there will be something here for Jacob after-school in the future. Until then, we’re looking forward to Festi-fall!”
Jessica, we hope so too!
