Can you believe that camp is really going to be happening in less than two months? Things have been getting very busy around the office...so busy I haven't had time to blog! The head coordinators for all three camps started working full time at the beginning of April. We've all been feeling the synergistic energy flow between the teams and we can't wait to get together with all the coordinators and assistant coordinators in just a few weeks at Camp Shanwnigan for Coordinator Orientation.

Camper applications came out at the beginning of April and Jennifer the registrar extraordinaire has been beyond busy processing them all! Some camps are starting to fill up! Exciting times!

We started a little competition on our facebook page to see which camp could create the best "google search story." If you have a moment, head over and check it out! Don't forget to vote for your favourite! And even better...try making your own little video about camp and posting it to our page. We would love to see what you come up with!

Here is a sample search story - head over to www.facebook.com/bcescamps for others!

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the BC Easter Seals Camping Community to our 2010 Camp Coordinating teams!

Drum roll please....

Camp Shawnigan:
Bubbles Korns (Head Coord)
Kim Roberts (Counselling Coord)
Cailey Lynch (Program Coord)

Camp Squamish:
Jamie Forrest (Head Coord)
Laura Brighton (Program Coord)
Corrine Van Kester (Counselling Coord)
Bronwyn Hughes (LIT Coord)

Camp Winfield
James Gagnon (Head Coord)
Katelin Christopherson (Program Coord)
Kaitlin Mooney (Counselling Coord)

We are very excited to be working with these incredible folks - they have years of Easter Seals Camps experience between them and they are STOKED to be involved in our programs!  YAHOO!!

The BC Lions Society head office staff were all wearing red yesterday as we went out on the corner to watch the Olympic Torch run by!  The torch was on route from Vancouver City Hall to BC Children's hospital.

This got us wondering if any of our campers are going to have any olympic adventures.  If you do, we would love to hear about them!  Send us an email camp@lionsbc.ca or post them to our facebook wall (www.facebook.com/bcescamps)

For the past three years, BC Easter Seals Camps have been SOOOOO thankful to receive arts and crafts donations from Alice.  Alice spends all winter collecting boxes and boxes of arts and crafts supplies for camp!  She enlists the help of her friends and goes to garage sales and thrift stores to find AMAZING treasures for camp!  Then she organizes and boxes everything up and brings it to the BC LIons Society Head Office.  Yesterday she showed up with her entire car FILLED with goodies!  This year, she also collected costumes for us!!  WOW!!  Check out the fairy wings!!

The quiet fall months are behind us now, and my days of sitting in the office with no one to chat camp with are over for this year - as the 2010 Coordinating Teams begin to take shape.  The head coordinators for all three camps are hired!  These three coordinators are now turning their attention to hiring the assistant coordinators and then each team will start reviewing the staff applications.

The coordinators have a lot of work to do in the next couple months.  They recieve all the staff applications and then set up interviews with anyone who they think might contribute to making camp the best place on earth!  Often, the applicants are located in a city other than the where the coordinators are, which means that we have to get creative in the interview process.  Most people from out of town are now being interviewed by video skype.  The coordinators are starting to get more creative in their approach as well - I think they are going to be asking applicants to wear a costume or present a game during their interview!

We are very fortunate this year in that we have a coop student, Heather,  who is going to help us find more campers!  Heather is going to be sending posters, emails and making phone calls to school districts and other community organizations to let them know about the awesome opportunity of camp!  We know that camp makes a huge difference in kids lives so we want to reach as many kids as possible!  Let us know if you have any ideas or contacts of people we should get in touch with!

Stayed tuned for the next blog posting - I hope to be able to tell you the names of all the coordinators in the next couple weeks!

Cheryl

We just finished up an epic dance party in Winfield with some great campers and their families!  Silly costumes, facepaints and whynotenchew were all part of the fun.  Staff stuck around after the party to make a cool yearbook to remember the summer.  It was a great chance for everyone to reconnect and get excited about the fact that camp is getting closer each day, and..... to have the opportunity to have that heart warming feeling of camp fill up our hearts after a busy and hectic holiday season. RADICAL!!!!

Pictures to follow shortly!!!!

As Vancouver received our first bit of snow this past week, it is definetly feeling like the beginning of the winter holidays! 

Things are starting to get busy in the camp world!  I am working on writing staff applications, interviewing 2010 camp coordinators, and working on a new slideshow/video to showcase the wonderfulness of camp!  I will post the 2010 Camp Dates and Staff Applications to the website on January 4th.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

~Cheryl

There was only one place to be last Saturday night in Vancouver...and that was the Easter Seals Camper Dance!!  We had a record number of campers, families, staff and volunteers come out to have a good time dancing to Avril, Backstreet Boys and more.  For campers and staff it was a great time to connect with old friends, meet some new ones and just have a darn good time.  For parents it was an awesome opportunity to meet other parents and enjoy the thrill of a legendary Easter Seals Dance Party!

The 2009 Psychedelic 60's Friends of We Care Bowling Challenge in Surrey last night was a huge success.  Not only did it raise a whole lot of money to send Easter Seals Campers to Camp - it was also a great time for the campers who were able to come out and bowl.  The BC Lions Society office staff managed to put together some pretty good 60's costumes (though we know their tiedye isn't quite as good as what we make at camp!)

In less than a month, the Easter Seals Campers of Vancouver, along with their families, friends and favourite camp staff, will all be getting together at the Langara YMCA gym to have a dance party!

This dance will be a great opportunity to see old friends, meet new ones and just have a darn good time!  Please invite anyone you know that might be interested in finding out more about camp - everyone is welcome to join in the fun!

More details here

Wow!  The summer went so fast, we never even had a chance to post a blog!  I guess that means we will have to make up for it in the offseason!

Yes, it is now the offseason.  Costumes are packed away, swimming pools are empty, and the dining hall has an eerie silence. 

With the costumes all packed away many camp staff are currently facing wardrobe dilemmas.  Jeans and t-shirts just aren't near as much fun to wear as spandex and tie-dye.  We are also all having a bit of trouble sitting quietly at the table without jumping up and singing every couple minutes.  But most of all, we miss the laughter and fun we have with campers!

It was an amazing summer at all three camps and we all feel fortunate that we have enough good memories to last until next year :)