Every child wants to go to summer camp. I mean, why wouldn’t they want to go? Summer camp has so many benefits to it and it is a great opportunity for both kids and parents to grow. Unfortunately, not all children are given an opportunity to experience summer camp. We, as an organization, try to allow as many children to come to camp as possible by partnering with organizations such as KidSport and Jumpstart. We also offer donations to other organizations, such as Children’s Aid Society to allow more children to experience camp. There is no way we could list all of the benefits that summer camp provides, but here are some important ones:
- Providing children with an opportunity to make friends. Many children attend summer camp with their friends and many children attend summer camp not knowing anyone, however camp is a sacred place where children can develop friendships easily and with everyone. At camp, children participate in fun camp activities all day with other children and it is very easy to find common ground to build a friendship on. At school, children grow up with the same core group of friends progressing through the grades; however at camp children learn how to make new friends and strengthen their social skills.
- Children get their daily amount of exercise. They spend the majority of the day participating in physically active games and activities. Society has shifted and within recent years there is a large increase of child obesity and obsession with computer and video games. Camp provides children with an opportunity unplug from technology and get outside to move, run, swim, and jump all while making those everlasting friendships.
- Camp provides children with an opportunity to become more independent and gain confidence and resiliency. At camp, children try new things and begin to discover who they are as a person. They may discover that they really enjoy swimming or soccer and want to pursue this activity further outside of camp. Children also learn that accidents happen, sometimes they will get hurt or sometimes they will have difficulty with an activity presented to them, they just need to get back up and keep trying.
Camp provides children with an opportunity to grow and discover who they are while being active and making friends. Royal City Soccer Club offers an affordable camp program with extended drop off and pick up to not only be flexible for parents work schedules but to increase the likelihood of children participating in summer camp and experiencing these benefits.
For more information on subsidy programs we work with, contact us at 1-800-427-0536 (Canada) or 1-888-488-4188 (U.S.).
– Office Coordinator, 2017