YMCA Camp Clay prepping for summer

VW independent staff/submitted information

It may be cold and snowy outside, but YMCA Camp Clay staff members are already starting to prepare for summer.

Camp Clay Director Amy Grime recently attended the Mid-America Camping Conference along with new Day Camp Coordinator Brittney Boaz. They are working hard to learn new programs and activities for day camp programming and getting up-to-date on new methods in the YMCA camping movement.

The conference took place in Brookston, Indiana, at YMCA Camp Tecumseh. YMCA Camping professionals from all over the Midwest spent three days immersed in active sessions and keynotes with nationwide camping and youth development consultants. Part of the conference was networking with other camping directors and sharing ideas and activities across the camping world. Boaz will be planning and running the summer day camping programs in addition to the new YMCA after-school program.

Boaz attended the conference as a “Rising Star.” The Rising Star program at the MACC conference was designed to provide networking and learning opportunities to new Y-camp leaders. She was a camp counselor last summer and is now facilitating the day camp program as the main coordinator of staff and activities.

A major part of the pre-summer preparations will be raising funds for YMCA’s “Send a Kid to Camp” Campaign. The scholarship fund provides financial assistance for families to help afford the cost of summer day camp. The YMCA of Van Wert County does its best to ensure that no child is turned away from day camp programs for inability to pay. Van Wert donors have contributed over $10,000 to the Send a Kid to Camp program over the past two years.

In addition to community support, this year the YMCA will be have a Polar Bear Plunge to support the summer camp program. Details can be found on the Camp Clay Facebook page. You can register at the YMCA. The cost is $50 for the plunge and those participating can pay the $50 or collect pledges from friends and family in the amount of $50 or more.

Camp Clay continues to host over 20,000 visitors each year and continues to grow. For more information about this and any other programs available through the Van Wert YMCA, contact YMCA Membership Director Kevin Morrison, at kevin@vwymca.org, 419.238.0443.

The YMCA of Van Wert County is partially funded by the Van Wert County Foundation and United Way. The mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that help healthy spirit, mind and body for all.