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Camp

Camp Life Stories
Memories, Friends & Connections that Last a Lifetime
By Marc Honigfeld

How important is the right summer camp? Well, the friends your child makes at camp often become friends for a lifetime, impacting the rest of their life in varying degrees and giving them a constant shoulder to lean on.

So what is the secret to creating an environment where your child will come home with the connections and memories that last a lifetime? Since the early 1900s, summer camps have offered something that we cannot provide our kids at home: a stress free environment where kids can be kids.

Campers learn and grow as people with the help of bunkmates who they chat to about all their childhood hopes and dreams and get to know each other in ways deeper than anyone else in life (sometimes even their own parents).

Only at summer camp do we see artists who have the courage to be on stage for the first time in a camp production and conversely the athlete who has the confidence to get on the soccer field and play against a rival camp. Camp is a place where is it okay not to be the best—where just trying your hardest is the name of the game. Children know that at summer camp success is based on their attitude rather than their aptitude. It is this free spirited approach that allows children to let down their guard, develop lifelong friendships and grow as people.  

Furthermore, today’s camps offer something that camps of the past could not: the ability to stay connected throughout the year. Whether it is a camp reunion or bunk birthday party, a text message or a video iChat, the camp relationship extends way beyond the days that are spent together at camp. Parents often find their kids up late at night speaking with camp friends. It is the intensity of these relationships that often lead to friendships that last forever. There are countless stories of college roommates that were bunkmates at summer camp and husbands and wives that met at camp. Four of my five groomsmen were friends from summer camp. There is nothing that brightens my day more than an email from a camp friend reliving those crazy days at camp when I was 15 years old.

At a recent reunion of Trail’s End Campers, the following thoughts were echoed by nearly all attending alumni: “The characteristics that are me, all the friendships, loyalty, integrity and patience, all came about because of my summers spent here.” 

More so than ever before, camps are recognizing the overall value that this experience plays in a child’s life. No longer are camp programs simply centered around playing sports, swimming and creating projects in arts and crafts. Today’s camp is much more sophisticated with programs that look to instill confidence in their campers.      

Camps recognize the importance of helping campers to make the connections prior to the start of camp. Directors make home visits in order to meet new campers and offer suggestions on potential bunkmates. Winter and spring events for new campers are now integral parts of the camp year. A great deal of time and effort is spent to provide the camper with the correct bunk choice which is crucial to their experience. 

Camp is a magical place where many of us wish we could spend our entire lives. Some say it is not the real world, however for those of us that have been fortunate to attend summer camp, it is the place where we learned about the world and how to better live in it. Providing children with the opportunity to attend camp is a gift that every child will take with them for the rest of their life. 

Marc Honigfeld, camp owner of both Trails End Camp (trailsendcamp.com) and his new session camp, Chestnut Lake Camp (chestnutlakecamp.com), has over 25 years experience advising parents and campers about the camp experience.