‘A week just to be a kid’

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This article was published 25/06/2022 (1230 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When 11-year-old Amelia Neufeld arrives at Circle Square Ranch next month, it will be her first experience at an overnight camp.

She can’t wait and neither can her mother, Evelina Wiebe.

“I am so excited she gets to have a change of scenery and not have to worry about, or stress about, the stuff at home — that she gets a week just to be a kid,” Wiebe said. “(Amelia) was super clingy when she was younger, so for her to do this is huge.”

The Lorette resident describes her daughter as a sweet, compassionate girl who is occasionally shy but friendly.

At home, Amelia is a “mother hen,” she said — someone who constantly pitches in around the house and takes care of her younger siblings.

“She’s got the biggest heart… she is an awesome big sister. She always thinks of others and makes sure everybody has something before she sits down,” Wiebe said.

At Circle Square Ranch, Amelia will make new friends, practise her swimming skills and experience the thrill of archery. But most of all, she is looking forward to horseback riding, Wiebe said.

None of it would be possible without the help of the Manitoba Camping Association and the Sunshine Fund.

The Sunshine Fund subsidizes the cost of summer camps for children and families with financial barriers. It has existed for more than four decades and has successfully sent more than 22,000 children to camp.

Wiebe discovered the fund while exploring the financial assistance tab on the Circle Square Ranch website. It is a blessing more people should know about, she said.

“Single income, three kids, (I thought), ‘Ouch. I don’t know how I can make this happen,’” Wiebe said. “Without Sunshine Fund coming in and taking a big portion of the bill out of my hands and taking it over, I don’t know if she would have been able to go to camp.”

Amelia will bring a camera and journal to camp when she goes July 10, and she plans to document her trip and record the names and phone numbers of the new friends she is sure to make. When she returns home, Wiebe will compile the photographs and other keepsakes into a memory book for safekeeping.

The friends, memories and experiences children gain from summer camp can have significant and positive life-long impacts, said clinical psychologist Jay Greenfeld.

Greenfeld, who works with children and families at Mind Matters Clinic on Waverly Street, often recommends summer camp as a way to improve a child’s independence and confidence.

“The personal growth happens immediately,” Greenfeld said. “They’re growing in the sense of their goal setting, they’re growing in the sense of pushing themselves physically and as a result of that, mentally.”

A large part of that personal development is due to the environment. Often children at camp find themselves away from home, technology and the guidance of their parents; this allows them to think and explore for themselves. The result is kids who are more resourceful and resilient, Greenfeld said.

A final benefit is a sense of financial equality once kids arrive at camp. Campers don’t get more or less out of the experience based on their family’s economic situation because the price is negotiated and settled before arriving. That places everybody on a level playing field, he added.

Programs like the Sunshine Fund exist to make summer camp accessible to every child. People seeking funding can visit the MCA website to find links to its accredited camps.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca