#camp ernst

[krkspock]

Hey followers

Just an FYI, I will be at camp (camp ernst) for the next 3 weeks and therefore will be rather inactive. That is all. Stay awesome!!!

[myycamp]

Throwback Thursday: CREW!

The YMCA Camp Ernst CREW program was founded in 1994 when Jon Perry, Program Director, asked Shane Strunk and Amy Salisbury to create a program for the young teens who worked in the kitchen. Shane and Amy had fun that summer with the first crew and their goldenrod shirts. Little did they know, 20 years later, the program they initiated would have produced so many great Camp Ernst leaders, created so many memories, and taught thousands of teens how to work together to perform a (dirty) task.

Pictured here is the crew of 1998, many of whom went on to become influential camp counselors throughout their high school and college careers.

I believe teens want to feel needed and they want to feel like the role they're playing is significant. Crew does that. It gives them a sense of what's on the inside of camp (behind the scenes in the kitchens!), it gives them new responsibilities (aaak! Filling up the cereal bowls for lakeview campers--there are never enough bowls of cocoa puffs!), and of course, it facilitates friendships for life. The crew leadership philosophy promotes that EVERYONE can learn to be a leader.

Once again, it's the interplay between independence and dependence that creates the magic of this summercamp program. Teens are independent from their parents and typical peer group, yet must also learn to become dependent on others, many of whom they've never met!  But singing Taylor Swift songs at the top of your lungs while scrubbing bacon grease off sheet trays, soaked in dirty dish water, you get to know your co-workers quickly.

Last night we kicked off the Crew 2015 season with record-setting attendance at our first-ever November Crew Orientation night. More than 140 fifteen year olds and their parents came to learn about the program and make sure they get their first choice session. This fabulous turnout is just evidence of the program's popularity as well as the great job the summer staff do of building relationships and mentoring.

Wow, we sure are blessed to be in the YMCA Camp Ernst family, where teens line up to wash dishes and clean bathrooms, and smile about it! I hope you're as excited about 2015 as I am!

Ernstlove,

eli

[myycamp]

Summercamp 2014 in Review

This past summer we saw a record number of campers: 3354, to be exact. However, to me, the astonishing thing is not in the quantity but rather in the quality of the experience.

Our YMCA Camp Ernst counselors presented each week to each child as if it were their one and only. Campers were given their opportunity to shine, and shine they did!  Whether it be through conquering the fear of heights on the zipline, learning and teaching new string games, performing a strange talent, progressing up a swimming level, making music with friends, getting to know someone from another country, carrying around a log, starring in a movie, sharing snacks, leading a "dance off," setting the logrolling record, or catching the dodgeball that won the tournament, campers were ALL OVER THE PLACE this summer making me proud.

When I ask, "Why do you come to Camp Ernst?" their overwhelming response is, "You can be yourself here."

When I think about what makes that happen, I know that it is the camp counselors, who care with every fiber of their being, and their commitment to helping kids shine.

We look forward to serving more kids throughout the school year to come, but please know that mostly, our minds are on summer 2015 and how to make it even more magical!

Ernstlove,

eli

[myycamp]

Just another Manic Monday…how the Bangles reminded me that kids need summercamp

Well coincidentally, today is Monday, and earlier this morning, it was 6 o’clock and I was in the middle of a dream.  (Though the dream had nothing to do with Valentino nor a crystal blue Italian stream; rather, it was the standard “camp starts tomorrow and you forgot to hire anyone!” panic-dream)

When I was a camp counselor and unit leader, one of our traditions was to stand up on the benches in the dining hall and sing “Manic Monday” every Monday morning.  Today as I got my kids ready for school I was thinking about the value of tradition in a child’s life.  Even a silly tradition like singing the first verse (the only one we could remember) of the Bangles’ song seemed sacred at that time.

The days of singing Manic Monday may have gone the way of poofy bangs, but the traditions swirling around Camp Ernst are still central to the experience.  Conventional parenting wisdom teaches us that children crave routines.  I will take that a step further and claim that kids (at least the ones I know) are constantly sorting their experiences into ones with and without value.  They’re looking for friendship, connection, and for someone to say, “You’re OK!”

How better to say that than by standing on a bench, arms around each other, in front of a few hundred people at summercamp, singing “Just another Manic Monday…”?

Have a GREAT DAY!  (“Great Day” was another one of those songs…) Ernstlove,

eli

[myycamp]

Meet Megan

I first met Megan Gierhart when I came to work full time at CE, halfway through the summer in 2003. Megan was on crew.  Her crew leader handed me a list of the 2003 crewies.  Three names had stars by them.  “These are your superstars,” he said. “These are the kids you can rely on.  These are the ones who are going to grow up leading this place.”  Yes.  Megan was on this list.

So it is not too surprising that now, ten years later, Megan is joining our team full time as our new Camp Ernst Program Director.

Since 2003, Megan has served the campers and her fellow staff at Camp Ernst, working almost every possible week of summer camp and weekend campouts.  Through years and years of crazy and exciting things happening at camp, Megan has always been right by my side and has never lost her cool. 

I am excited to see what Megan’s tireless work ethic, creativity, servant’s heart, and dedication to youth development will bring to our camp family in her new role.  Please join me in welcoming Megan, and feel free to ask her any questions about camp, since she already knows everything!!  [email protected]

Ernstlove,

eli

[jordanab]

Camp

I am seeing people posting on facebook about going back to work at Camp Ernst this summer and I am so sad I won't be joining them. At one point in time this was my home and the place I felt most comfortable and where I wanted to be all of the time.

I am sad that I won't be returning and that I don't really belong there anymore.

I wish I could go back but I can't. And even if I did it wouldn't be the same. And that's the worst part.

[myycamp]

Reflections of Summer Camp

Stephanie, who was on Crew in 2012, shared this reflection on her Crew experiences. 

I started coming to camp Ernst when I was 6 and the thought has never crossed my mind to miss a summer.  Coming and doing crew for 3 weeks was the best decision I have made. Crew taught me more discipline and multi tasking than I could have imagined. While on crew, I learned that waking up at 645 during summer and cleaning bathrooms all day is actually the most fun you can have. And the people are the best group of people you can meet. The friends I met my session of crew are the people whom I can't wait to spend my next years at camp with. I met some of the hardest working, most genuine, caring kids and it showed in their work.  

[myycamp]

Counselor uses skills learned at Camp Ernst for Americorp

A guest post from our friend, Leigh Ann Amspaugh. 

Hi all!

My name is Leigh Ann and I have had several great positions at camp! I have had the chance to be a red unit counselor (Go Cabin 12!), the Lake Leader, and a Fine Arts Leader.  I love camp and seeing the smile on campers’ and staff’s face alike when something is accomplished. It could be a camper going off the zipline for the first time or a counselor giving their camper Honor Camper.   So this spring, when I graduated college, I thought to myself “How can I continue to help kids make friends and experience awesome new things?”  Instead of jumping into the real world or heading to grad school, I am taking a year to serve in Americorp. 

Americorp is basically like extreme volunteering. I am serving at a homeless shelter for families. Myself, along with several other teachers run an afterschool program for kids between 5-12 years old. (That’s even younger than Lakeview campers!)  But working at camp has helped me create an environment where these children who are experiencing homelessness can just be kids. We do lots of arts and crafts, play group games, and when waiting in line outside, occasionally do some songs.  “Hip Hop, Kid’s Club rocks! Let me see that right hand drop…” Camp has also taught me how to deal with children who are not having the best day: by practicing patience and providing side-hugs when needed. 

Camp Ernst has provided countless campers with memories of great counselors and fun activities. That is something that I want to pass on through the afterschool program- the knowledge that there are adults who care and may be a tad silly along the way.