Friends,
We are more than halfway through our summer camp, and the kids are having a blast!
AMF Babylon Bowling now lets the children use their sneakers instead of renting bowling shoes, one of the positive impacts of Covid. On bowling day, I noticed three campers without sneakers, so I took them aside and asked if we could call someone to bring their sneakers; two girls said yes, and the other girl said that she did not have any. So I went to Walmart and bought a few pairs, not knowing her size, and gave her a pair to keep. However, the next day, she was back wearing the same old broken pair of flip-flops; when I asked her why she wasn’t wearing the sneakers, she said that she was saving them for school. I gave her another pair and told her to wear them now. One of many stories. We know which of the campers need extra food and very subtly give them what we have on hand so that they can have some dinner; no words are exchanged, it’s all via eye contact and a smile.
Although the camp fees are heavily subsidized at $425 ($85 a week), we waived camp fees for over 80% of the campers this year. This is why I am aggressive in trying to maximize fundraising at the golf outing; it’s so that we can afford to pay the teachers, the bus transportation, day trips for bowling, Adventureland, etc., to make these five weeks enjoyable for these children who are captive in their circumstances, for now.
Wednesday Yoga is going surprisingly well for all ages. It’s interesting that even the special needs children we have stay focused and pay attention; we have a great yoga instructor who also talks to the children and gives appropriate life lessons. The children are also very candid with her and speak of their lives and sometimes their struggles.
The homeless children are now comfortable with leaving their backpacks in the classrooms when they go to play outside; their life is one of moving or reacting very quickly and having their belongings in one backpack. We have one family with four sisters and Mom living with different relatives and friends day by day. For Jonathan Freiberger’s picture day, we offered gift cards to this Mom so the girls could get new clothes for the pictures. The summer camp offers stability, food and clothing, and a safe environment.
The ice cream cone after the pool on Mondays and Fridays is a very big treat, so if anyone would like to sponsor an ice cream day or pizza day, please let me know; 75 cones at $3 each comes to $225! We tell the campers who are the sponsors for the ice cream day to show them that there are people they may not know but who care about them. Thanks to the Mantell and Cohen families for sponsoring a few days this year.
Field day is coming up, and that is always a fun day; the Veroline Family sponsored fishing trip for the older grades is this week, and all grades are working on their talent show acts!
To me, all of the above are success stories, and I thank you for your continued support!
-Joe
