Fond memories, new adventures at Roseau River Bible Camp

Ruth Morris has fond memories of attending summer camp as a child.

The food. The fun activities. The fireside chats. And, most of all, the freedom she felt.

“I was able to kind of just figure out who I was as a person, right? What I wanted to do, just making all those connections without parents hovering. I felt like a mini-adult,” Morris recalls.

Naturally, she wants her own children to have a similar experience as they grow up. But as a single mother on long-term disability due to fibromyalgia, camp simply isn’t affordable on a fixed income.

Enter the Sunshine Fund, which has helped send her now 15-year-old son, Charley, to Roseau River Bible Camp near their home in St. Malo for the past four summers.

Next month, nine-year-old Averi will join his older brother for the first time.

“When you’re just trying to scrape by, especially nowadays with the price of everything just shooting through the roof, this has made such a difference,” said Morris.

“Charley has made all these connections with other kids — he sees a lot of the same ones every summer — and he can continue with that story, continue keeping up wit them. Unfortunately, I just would not be able to afford it. So without something like this, it just wouldn’t be possible.”

Charley’s favourite activities include BMX biking, swimming, the ropes course and learning valuable survival skills. Morris has also watched her oldest son develop important social skills.

“You know, with COVID and all that happened, this is like some social conditioning for them. It was really tough for both kids, and I think they got a little bit behind during that,” she said.

Morris knows how difficult it can be these days to get kids to look up from their screens and how spending time outdoors can seem like a foreign concept to some.

But camp has a funny way of making kids forget about their iPhones and PlayStations — at least for a few days.

“It’s nice that they actually get to get out there and get dirty and have fun and march in the rain, you know, like deal with all these things,” said Morris.

“And then you also have these older kids, like young adults, teach them things, and be there for them, and say, ‘Hey, you know what, I understand how you’re feeling, because I’ve been through that, too.’”

Charley is heading to camp for a full week this summer, while Averi will spend a few days away from home getting his feet wet.

“It’s nice for the boys. They spend a lot of time together in the summers, so this will allow them to also not have to look after each other and be with each constantly, they’ll get a little break there, too,” said Morris.

Of course, she will also get a well-deserved break along with some peace and quiet in the house.

“It’s nice that it’s not very far away, so you know if someone gets sick or needs to come home, it’s just down the road,” said Morris.

“But it’s also far enough away that they can kind of have their own autonomy and feel like they’re on an adventure.”

Just like the memorable ones their mom used to have.

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