What an exciting week at YMCA Wanakita! Our site is busy with many families on site. Not only are we hosting our second annual March Break Family Camp, we have also welcomed a large group of families through Hamilton's Aboriginal Health Centre.
The snow is not quite gone yet, so many of us have been spending as much time on the toboggan hill as possible. We've been playing a number of wide games and exploring Wanakita's natural environment. The warm weather has caused the sap in our sugar maple trees to start running, so we've also been learning about tapping trees and making maple syrup.
The Aboriginal Health Centre has also brought much to this week's program. We have been learning and experiencing a number of cultural activities such as the early morning sun ceremonies, the sweat lodge, and plenty of drumming and dancing.
It has certainly been a rich week thus far, and we are looking forward to the next few days!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Strong Kids Kick Off!
Last week the YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford kicked off our 2012 Strong Kids Campaign and we are excited about what the upcoming year has in store!
What is Strong Kids?
The YMCA is committed to building healthy communities, and so it is important for us to include all community members in our programs. This is made possible through Strong Kids, which is our financial assistance program.
How much do we spend in Strong Kids?
Last year, YMCA Wanakita sponsored over $95,000 in camp experiences, making YMCA Wanakita possible for kids, youth, families, and school groups. For 2012 we aim to exceed this by sponsoring over $110, 000.
How can I give to Strong Kids?
If you would like to help us make the YMCA Wanakita experience available through Strong Kids, please donate online! Simply go to the Strong Kids website and select "Haliburton" as your community.
Thank you to all who have already been a part of the incredible growth that we have seen in Strong Kids contributions. We are proud to be a part of such an engaged and invested community!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Family Day Weekend
What a great weekend! Last weekend we welcomed a number of families to YMCA Wanakita to celebrate the long weekend. We had beautiful sunny weather, and plenty of snow to play in. Thanks to all of you who joined us, we had a blast!
After such a wonderful weekend, we can't wait until March Break Family Camp, on March 12th-16th. Want to join us? Register now!
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| Broomball under beautiful blue skies! |
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| Snowshoeing on our 1,000 acre property |
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| Learning to build a fire without matches |
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| Sisters working together on the Dangle Duo! |
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| Our toboggan hill was busy this weekend! |
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| Two of our staff took the Twin Dinner to a whole other level! |
After such a wonderful weekend, we can't wait until March Break Family Camp, on March 12th-16th. Want to join us? Register now!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Wanakita in the winter
It has been a fun-filled winter at YMCA Wanakita, where we have had no shortage of snow or guests prepared to play in it! School groups have been delighted to experience winter and to learn a number of technical skills such as fire building, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.
This afternoon we will be saying goodbye to three school groups, and then welcoming several families for our Winter Family Weekend. We are looking forward to it!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Camp Helps Kids!
As mentioned in our last blog post, many of our senior camp staff recently attended a couple of training opportunities.
We were fortunate to hear Dr. Michael Ungar share about building resilience in youth, and specifically about the importance giving youth opportunities to contribute to their communities.
It seems that Dr. Ungar was just as impacted by his time with us, and his most recent blog entry shows this.
We'd encourage you to take a look at his blog, we are proud to offer such a meaningful program to children and youth. Have you registered your children for camp yet?!
We were fortunate to hear Dr. Michael Ungar share about building resilience in youth, and specifically about the importance giving youth opportunities to contribute to their communities.
It seems that Dr. Ungar was just as impacted by his time with us, and his most recent blog entry shows this.
We'd encourage you to take a look at his blog, we are proud to offer such a meaningful program to children and youth. Have you registered your children for camp yet?!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Skiing for Strong Kids
Wow, what a weekend!
Last weekend at YMCA Wanakita was certainly a memorable one. Not only did we get covered in over ten inches of snow, but we also had a chance to play in the fresh powder for a great cause!
We hosted our first annual Strong Kids Ski Weekend, where a number of families joined us at camp for the weekend to spend the days on the slopes of Sir Sam's Ski Resort and the evenings sharing in a Wanakita campfire.
This weekend was an overwhelming success, thanks to the generosity of our community. We are incredibly thankful for our Strong Kids Campaign co-chairs, without whom this weekend would not have been possible. Sir Sam's Ski Resort also overwhelmed us with their support of our Strong Kids Campaign.
Finally, thanks to all who participated in the event, together we raised over $700 for Strong Kids!
Here's hoping that the upcoming weekend will be just as memorable!
Last weekend at YMCA Wanakita was certainly a memorable one. Not only did we get covered in over ten inches of snow, but we also had a chance to play in the fresh powder for a great cause!
We hosted our first annual Strong Kids Ski Weekend, where a number of families joined us at camp for the weekend to spend the days on the slopes of Sir Sam's Ski Resort and the evenings sharing in a Wanakita campfire.
This weekend was an overwhelming success, thanks to the generosity of our community. We are incredibly thankful for our Strong Kids Campaign co-chairs, without whom this weekend would not have been possible. Sir Sam's Ski Resort also overwhelmed us with their support of our Strong Kids Campaign.
Finally, thanks to all who participated in the event, together we raised over $700 for Strong Kids!
Here's hoping that the upcoming weekend will be just as memorable!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Playing and growing
Playing
Winter has been busy here at Wanakita! Since late December, our Outdoor Centre has welcomed a number of schools, teams, and special interest groups. We love being able to share our winter wonderland with children, youth, and adults from across the province.
One memorable event occurred a few weeks ago, when we welcomed a group of grade 11 students from an inner city Toronto school. This group spent an afternoon tobogganing, and the majority of the students had never experienced sliding down a hill before. Our staff were amazed to see that the seemingly toughest student in the group was noticeably afraid to go sliding. He hesitated at the top of the hill, and then screamed the whole way down. Despite his initial fear, he loved the ride and immediately ran up to the top of the hill to go sliding again! This young man learned to face his fears, overcome an unfamiliar situation, and experienced success because of it.
We at Wanakita are fortunate to be a part of these incredible outcomes of play every day.
Growing
This past week has been quieter in our full time office, as many of our staff have been away at a variety of training conferences.
The first was the YMCA Camp Kindred. Every winter, residential and day camping professionals from YMCAs across Ontario gather together. This is an opportunity to learn about other camps' successes and challenges, and to examine trends in camping and how they impact our various programs.
Following the Kindred, we moved on to the Ontario Camps Association (OCA) annual conference. The OCA is our province's accreditation body, of which Wanakita is a proud member. To learn more about the OCA, take a look here
We hope that you are enjoying the winter and taking some time to play and grow yourselves!
Winter has been busy here at Wanakita! Since late December, our Outdoor Centre has welcomed a number of schools, teams, and special interest groups. We love being able to share our winter wonderland with children, youth, and adults from across the province.
One memorable event occurred a few weeks ago, when we welcomed a group of grade 11 students from an inner city Toronto school. This group spent an afternoon tobogganing, and the majority of the students had never experienced sliding down a hill before. Our staff were amazed to see that the seemingly toughest student in the group was noticeably afraid to go sliding. He hesitated at the top of the hill, and then screamed the whole way down. Despite his initial fear, he loved the ride and immediately ran up to the top of the hill to go sliding again! This young man learned to face his fears, overcome an unfamiliar situation, and experienced success because of it.
We at Wanakita are fortunate to be a part of these incredible outcomes of play every day.
Growing
This past week has been quieter in our full time office, as many of our staff have been away at a variety of training conferences.
The first was the YMCA Camp Kindred. Every winter, residential and day camping professionals from YMCAs across Ontario gather together. This is an opportunity to learn about other camps' successes and challenges, and to examine trends in camping and how they impact our various programs.
Following the Kindred, we moved on to the Ontario Camps Association (OCA) annual conference. The OCA is our province's accreditation body, of which Wanakita is a proud member. To learn more about the OCA, take a look here
We hope that you are enjoying the winter and taking some time to play and grow yourselves!
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