Eight-year-old ready for cultural aspect of BB camp Sunshine Fund

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/05/2009 (6011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FOR someone who’s never actually been to summer camp before, Harley Greenberg seems to intuitively know that it’s not just about having fun in the sun.

Sure, he’ll get to make new friends, try new outdoor sports and games, and experience first-hand the rich traditions of his Jewish heritage. But there’s another reason the eight-year-old Winnipegger is counting the sleeps until July 5.

"I’m excited because I’m going to be sleeping in the woods," Harley says of his upcoming four-day stay at B’nai Brith Camp, located 10 kilometres south of Kenora on Lake of the Woods.

It’s a big step for the second-grader, whose only nights away from home to date have been a couple of sleepovers at a friend’s house.

"He hasn’t given me any indication that he’s anxious or nervous about it," says Carla Greenberg, adding that her son has been "counting down" for months.

"I had the camp experience myself when I was a young girl and I know what I got out of it — it’s something everyone should get a chance to experience."

That’s precisely the aim of the Sunshine Fund, a Manitoba Camping Association program that has been helping low-income families send their children to summer camps across the province since 1979.

Carla, 45, says she heard about the program years before her only child was born, and is thankful she can access it now to give him the "BB Camp" experience.

"It gives you the regular camping environment — the chance to get out and do a lot of things outdoors, like canoeing, hiking and archery — and shows you what it’s like to be more independent," she says. "And because it’s BB Camp, they also include the cultural aspect."

Although Harley is learning about the latter at school (he’s in Grade 2 at the Gray Academy of Jewish Education), camp will allow him to participate in some of the Jewish traditions and celebrations he misses out on living in a non-observant home, says his mom.

Those cultural connections were a big part of her own experience at Camp BB, says Carla, who grew up in Garden City.

"My family observed some of the high holidays, but we never went to synagogue regularly and we didn’t keep kosher in my house," Carla says. "Plus, we went to a public school with a very wide expanse of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, so I only had one or two Jewish kids to choose from."

Harley, meanwhile, has some camp goals of his own. "One thing I’ve always wanted to learn was how to go in a boat — one with a motor that someone drives," he says.

As for the actual camping part of summer camp, well, maybe he is a wee bit nervous.

"I’m kinda worried about sleeping in the woods," he admits. "Is it a safe woods? Are there any bears?"

carolin.vesely@freepress.mb.ca

 

Sunshine Fund contributions

as of May 21

 

Don Magee, $100

Robert Henley, $100, in memory of my wife Betty and son Paul Henley

John and Barbara Dempster, $100

John Baziuk, $20

Yvette Belanger, $25

Walter and Melba Kruschel, $150

Donna Lancaster, $30

James A. Hobbs, $250

Beatrice Mackenzie, $100

Dan Bigelow, $100

Elaine Bennett, $200

V.F. McKenzie, $50

Carol Rebizant, $25

Lorne Huff, $100

John Hyslop, $100, in memory of Brian Hyslop

Shirley Mercer, $50

Paul Platz, $100, in memory of Dorothy

Yvonne Schneider, $125, in memory of Ernie Schneider

Analee Hyslop, $50, in memory of my husband, Brian J. Hyslop

Bonnie Williams, $50

Lynne Claydon, $100

Marjorie Eckert, $100, in memory of Donald Eckert and our grandson Matthew

Blake Watson, $150

Linda Moore, $200, in memory of my father Wilfred T. Moore

Dr. Judith Doyle, $100

Helen Schaetzle. $100

Jacqualine Morden, $30

Miss Margaret Bishop, $200

Allan Cartlidge, $100

H. Keith Lloyd, $25

Frances E. Pollard, $200

Beryl Long, $50

Anonymous, $600

Ms. Patricia Ann Murphy, $350

Paul and Shirley Lindsay, $40

Alan and Anne Crossin, $50

Enid Durward, $75, in memory of Robbie and Winona McFarlane

Mary E. Kolaski, $200

ANAF #283 Over 55 & Retired Club, $1,000

 

Total Donations This Week $5,495

Total Donations This Year $12,020.65

Total Children Placed 337

Total Applications Received 386

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