On The Soccer Field

Camp Friendship is hard at work preparing camp for next summer. Every year we take a look around camp and we take our families suggestions into account to decide what we need to work on this year to make Camp Friendship the best it can be. Last year we added central air to the dining hall, our maintenance staff worked hard on projects all over our Junior Villages, and we even redesigned our Dance Pavilion with new floors and wall mirrors.

This year we have a few projects planned which include adding new bathrooms to our Junior Boys Villages, leveling out the soccer field, and a few other projects that are still in the planning stages. As you can see our work never ends. All of us at Camp Friendship are dedicated to offering our camp families the best camp experience possible, from quality programming to quality facilities.

I recently visited the lower field to see how the work was going and it looks like we are moving along quite nicely. I hope to have a few more photos as the work is finished and we prepare for our other projects. Until then keep an eye on this page for more updates from Camp Friendship.

See you soon

Cris

Let’s Watch a Video!

Update: The video has been taking down due to a song in the video that wasn’t accepted by YouTube. I’m sorry for the inconvenience and I hope to have an updated version up very soon.

Here’s a little camp video for all to enjoy! A nice compilation of our 4th of July “Color Wars” camp event.

Building Social Capital

Today I find myself lucky enough to have discovered my Camping Magazine, the Sept./Oct. issue, under a pile of papers on my desk. It’s always nice when one discovers those small little surprises during the day. Just like finding a few dollars in your freshly washed jeans! So I took a moment to read through the issue since I will most certainly loose it again somewhere on my desk. While reading I discovered a rather interesting article called “Camping Alone” by Steven Wallace, M.S. Ed. The title immediately captured my attention; it just doesn’t make much sense to me to go camping alone. It seems Mr. Wallace and I are in complete agreement.

The article goes on to talk about the considerable decline in social capital in America and how summer camps combat this decline by building communities, friendships, and respect for each other. Mr. Wallace goes on to cite certain examples and quotes from the likes of Michael Eisner, Robert Putnam author of “Bowling Alone” and some research studies on the subject.

Here’s an excerpt borrowed from Steven Wallace’s very own website. www.stevenraywallace.com

Eight years ago, Harvard University Professor Robert Putnam published a book, Bowling Alone, chronicling the demise of connection in modern-day American society and warning that the precipitous decline in “social capital” (the collective value of all social networks and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other) impoverishes our lives and communities. As evidence, Putnam cites plummeting rates of membership in PTAs, unions, and clubs of all kinds; long-term declines in blood donations, card games, and charity; and drops of 40-60 percent in dinner parties, civic meetings, family suppers, picnics . . . and league bowling.

Like many of our camp families already know camp is not just about having a good time in the summer but about building relationships, friendships, and social skills. Camp Friendship works hard to create this kind of positive atmosphere at camp and we are very proud of our 42 years building social networks. This article by Steven Wallace highlights one very big benefit of camp that we should all be a part of.

To read the entire article please visit http://www.acacamps.org/campmag/issues/0809/wallace.php

See you soon

Cris