Since 1990, Camp Lots-of-Fun has offered the children residing in the IRF’s two sheltering programs for families a safe haven and a respite from the storm of homelessness. Camp Lots-of-Fun 2009 was a resounding success, providing 30 children with two weeks of fun-filled days that lifted their spirits and gave them the joy, for that precious time, of just being carefree children. Grace Lutheran Church in River Edge once again graciously hosted Camp, which ran from August 17 – 28.
Camp Lots of Fun is a fun and rewarding experience for both the campers and the counselors alike. There is a 1-1 ratio of campers to counselors at camp. Because of this, the campers get a lot of well needed special attention. There is always someone available to play with one of the campers, they are never left alone. There is constant activity at camp. The day is filled with sports, arts and crafts, special programs, swimming, and day trips. Both the campers and the counselors go home tired after a full day at Camp Lots of Fun.
Some of the fun filled activities that the campers participated in include: swimming at Park Ridge Pool, Oradell Swim Club, and Graydon Pool in Ridgewood. One 8 year old camper named Albert was so excited at the pool that he ran in and jumped off the diving board, forgetting that he didn't know how to swim. One of the counselors spent the rest of the day teaching him how to swim. By the end of camp he could hold his own in the pool. The 10-12 year old campers went on an overnight trip to Mystic, Connecticut where they camped out and went on a night hike in the woods. For many of them, this was their first experience camping. They all had a great time on the overnight.
“My Experience at Camp Lots of Fun” as seen by Counselor Caroline Hroncich
Before I walked through the doors of Grace Lutheran Church on the first day of Camp I really didn’t know what to expect. I had been assigned to work with the five and six year old campers, and I didn’t know any of the other counselors in my group. My two best friends that were also working at Camp Lots of Fun had been placed with seven to nine year olds, so I was nervous about being able to make friends with the other counselors. But once I walked in on my first day of Camp Lots of Fun, and got introduced to some of the other counselors in my group and discovered that many of them had worked at camp last year and were returning for a second year, I realized that there must be something that had made all of these counselors come back. The two weeks I spent at camp were probably the fastest two weeks of my life, but they were also two of the best weeks. Every morning all of the kids would walk in, eat their snack and then we would either do an activity, or have free time. Free time was one of the best times during camp because it really gave the counselors a chance to interact with the kids in their age groups, as well as the other age groups. One of my favorite activities during free time were the small pick up baseball games of counselors versus campers, needless to say the campers always seemed to win.
During the two week of camp we went on several day trips to places like Demarest farms, the Oradell Swim Club, the Park Ridge Pool, and Extreme Parties. There were also several groups that came to camp to play with the kids, like the Circus Project, that put on a mini circus which all of the kids enjoyed. We also went on full day trips to places like the Museum of Natural History, and Keansburg Amusement Park. Even though all of these trips were fun, I have to say the best part of camp was simply getting to know the kids. Each child had a unique personality, and I ended up getting extremely close to one of the six year old boys. Each day I would come home from camp with new stories to tell my family about what adorable thing each child had done that day. On the last day of camp many goodbyes where said, and phone numbers exchanged between counselors (we all promised to keep in touch). But one of the most touching moments of camp happened on the last day when one of the little boys came up to me and after giving me a hug told me how much he was going to miss me. At that moment I knew that my two weeks spent at Camp Lots of Fun had been worthwhile. Even though that child would probably never know it, he had greatly impacted my life, and I hope that even in the smallest way I have somehow impacted his.
