Camp Archives - Page 5 of 5

Camp is a gift

Posted on December 10, 2014October 18, 2016 by Alex

All my kids really wanted for the holidays this year was to see their grandparents and get to play with their cousins. A sweet and apparently simple request unless of course all of those family members that you love happen to live 3000 miles away in another country!

The week before Thanksgiving I surprised them with the news that we would be leaving to spend ten days across the pond. While the thought of a red eye to England alone with 2 small children was a little daunting and the cost of plane tickets blew our holiday budget it seemed like the perfect gift for everyone. With just a few tears as we waited for our late night connection in Philly we made it to an overjoyed Gran and Granddad. The smiles on everyone’s face walking out of customs into the arms of the people you have been longing to see every day for the past 8 months was definitely worth the night of the no sleep and could never have a monetary value.

Making memories that will last a life time, forging connections and building relationships has far more value than the store bought toys that soon lie forgotten or are looked over when the next fad comes along.

Camp provides children with a chance to build life skills and develop relationships away from home in a place where they are truly cherished and that they come to love. To those parents that gift camp to their kids for the Holidays while they may wish they had more wrapped gifts thank you! you are truly giving them the gift of new opportunities and lifetime memories that they can treasure forever.

Maine the Pine Tree State

Posted on November 13, 2014October 18, 2016 by Alex

Camp Runoia in the Pine Tree State

At this time of year with the leaves now gone from the deciduous trees and the ground frozen with the first hard frosts of the rapidly approaching winter, Maine’s state tree stands out tall against the clear blue sky. The Eastern white pine tree is our state tree for good reason as it is plentiful in our mixed growth forests. A tall, long living tree that can adapt to many different soil types it can survive the harsh winters and grows quickly during the short spring and summer season.

We are lucky at Camp Runoia that the pines are interspersed around camp. They provide shade for our shacks and cool places to hang out on the hot summer days. The gummy pitch sticks to our fingers on the ropes course and sometimes leaves a patch on our shorts when we are sitting in the grass or on a rock. The smell of the pine trees gently reminds us that we are outdoors, embracing nature and enjoying every moment of our time in Maine!

Did you ever learn the Maine State song at camp?

“State of Maine Song”

words and music by Roger Vinton Snow

Grand State of Maine,
proudly we sing
To tell your glories to the land,
To shout your praises till the echoes ring.
Should fate unkind
send us to roam,
The scent of the fragrant pines,
the tang of the salty sea
Will call us home.

CHORUS:
Oh, Pine Tree State,
Your woods, fields and hills,
Your lakes, streams and rock bound coast
Will ever fill our hearts with thrills,
And tho’ we seek far and wide
Our search will be in vain,
To find a fairer spot on earth
Than Maine! Maine! Maine!

We love our Pine Tree State!

Life Lessons at Camp Runoia

Posted on October 9, 2014October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

LIFE LESSONS

Life Skills: Learning on Camping Trips at Runoia

Earlier this year, one of my friends asked me “what’s the best place you’ve ever been? And I answered “camp”! Although this is only my second year here, I cannot begin to describe how much camp has impacted my life. I truly feel as if I have been here forever. Camp is all about making life long friends, as well as memories and I am so thankful that I have been able to have that experience.

The hardest part about camp for me is saying goodbye to all of the people I’ve become so close with because I’m not certain when the next time is that I will see them. You meet people, make memories and then you say goodbye. However, I’ve learned that that is what makes this camp experience so special. Being here has also taught me to live in the moment and to take every opportunity that I am given, and I am so thankful for this life long lesson. To all of my friends here at camp, you know who you are, past present and future, I want to thank each of you for letting me into your life. I love you all.

To the Camp Runoia Directors, thank you so much for keeping the Camp Runoia traditions strong and for sharing them with me.

Written by Rose B. for the Camp Runoia Log, August, 2014

Posted on September 29, 2014October 18, 2016 by Alex

The international camper perspective:

You may wonder what drives our international parents to send their girls thousands of miles from home; to a place they have often never been; to have an experience that is not only challenging in itself but must be conducted with English as a second language!

This Runoia parent sums it up beautifully:

“I have been wanting to get in touch with you since the girls came back from their camp experience to let you know what an amazing, rewarding and joyful experience it has been for them! Even V. who had a more difficult start, came back announcing she wanted to repeat next year! And the friends they have made: they are already in contact via mail with some of them, and plan on keeping it that way…

And from my side, I feel they have not only improved their English, but gained self-confidence about their capacities to go beyond their own initial limitations. So once more, thanks for all of that! And indeed I will enroll them for next summer.” (Camp Runoia Mom from Spain)

While improving English skills may be the initial drive it is apparent that the whole camp experience is what the girls take home.

International campers and staff add diversity to our Runoia population and provide opportunities to share cultural exchanges.

In 2014 we had campers and staff representing more than 10 different countries!

It is a win, win for everyone.

Pay it Forward – Overused Phrase? I don’t think so!

Posted on November 4, 2013October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

I love November and it is tied to Thanksgiving and being thankful, being around loved ones and feeling warm and fed. Thankful being the key word.

When I saw a note that said “if you left your brand new board here, we have it, call us”, it reminded me when we returned a woman’s purse and how good that made US feel (needless to say the woman!). The fascinating part of that story is that we found the purse on a hiking trail in Carrabassett Valley. When we found the ID in the wallet, it was for a student from the Bahamas. Seriously – what do we do with that? Well, when back at the condo, we searched Facebook for the purse’s owner and I shared one friend with that young woman. What are the chances? I texted my friend and viola! Purse returned. And, I digress.

November is the ultimate month for paying it forward (now a verb – the entire action of doing something for someone else after someone does something good for you).

We use the phrase liberally – giving to someone else when you don’t expect anything in return or passing along a good deed or surprising someone else with a good deed. Perhaps it’s a stretch from Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1916 book In the Garden of Delight, nearly a century ago. It was brought to current day society through Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacy’s sweet film based on a novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde – written and directed by two women, btw. Haley Joel Osment who launches a good-will movement. I hear the phrase more frequently now that social consciousness is a school yard and coffee shop subject. Maybe the film helped provide momentum for the movement – good stuff!

Overall, we just want to do GOOD. When I think of the camp experience and all the focus we have on helping others, thinking of others, including others, working as a team, giving to others, I feel #camp is all about Pay it Forward. As a camp business, we want to create good feelings, provide great experiences and hope that all the people we connect with do the same for others. #MaineCamps are exponentially doing good with thousands of campers and staff every summer and those campers and adults are going into their home communities and doing GOOD there.

So, greet November with a warm hug – go do something good for someone else with no expectation and see how great you feel. Pay it forward is easy and effective and far from overused.