The following is a guest post from one of our volunteer Camp Directors, Penny Roberts. If you are interested in volunteering as a Camp Director and making a difference in the lives of young women through outdoor programs contact anna.danila@gscolorado.org
WHAT CAMP MEANS TO ME
By: Penny Roberts, CORE camp
“For the last 60+ years, camp has meant the world to me. I stayed in Girl Scouting during my difficult junior high years because I was able to earn my way to camp every summer by selling Girl Scout Cookies! My goal and my dream was to work at camp as a counselor and later on to take troops and family to camp to share in the experience.
So what’s so special about camp, particularly Girl Scout camp? Hard to wrap it up quickly, but here are a few visuals – – – fresh air and sunshine, hot and cold and wet and dry, the smell of pine, flowers and grasses, horses to ride and pet, packs to carry over the peaks, water to play in and sit next to, peace and quiet beyond compare at night, sunrises and sunsets to take your breath away, stars beyond imagining, happy voices ringing out over the meadows, critters and birds and bugs to watch, fires to build and meals to cook, songs to sing all day every day, things to learn about growing up and getting along with others. I could go on and on and on.
MOSTLY, it’s making new friends that may last a lifetime, cultivating a person-hood of confidence and patience and leadership and sharing. Even MORE THAN THAT is having FUN ! To be an older girl and then a woman with the ability to take others into the woods and on the trails and then into the wilderness to continue to live and grow outdoors. Truly, our individual and collective mental, social and spiritual health depends on this time away from the pressures and confines of buildings and cities and jobs. Except, of course, if you are lucky enough to have a real job working at camp! Let’s DO IT, OK?!! COME TO CAMP! “
