This year was a record breaking year for Camp Promise! We had our largest numbers of campers and volunteers EVER. More people meant more fun activities, bigger pranks, and some of the best theme days we have ever had.
Camp Promise-East
Thirty-six campers! More than 60 volunteers! Our largest camp this summer, Camp Promise-East was a jam-packed, fun-filled week. We kicked it off with a massive scavenger hunt at Channel 3 Kids Camp (with a photo finish for the Green and Purple cabins!), followed by a day filled with panning for gold and hitting the high rollers tables at Casino Night. Thanks to Propaganda Tattoo for coming out and giving us all Sharpie tattoos that evening. Our CPE campers joined us in celebrating the Fourth of July with a camp-wide game of capture the flag and some sparklers and s’mores around the campfire that night. A grant from the Dralla Foundation made it possible for New England Disabled Sports to bring their adaptive cycling and archery equipment to camp, and we closed Thursday down with an amazing talent show. Brunch and Budget taught us all about financial management and budgeting, while Prepare, Inc. taught us some self advocacy and self-defense tips. The week ended with a bang with Zombie day (a huge hit at all three camps this summer!), boat building and a masquerade prom. Somehow, we also squeezed in a visit with some baby goats from Guardians Farms, swam and held a belly flop contest, made terrariums in arts and crafts (thanks to Solid Biosciences for sponsoring our arts and crafts program!), and had a color war. It was big, it was fun, it was CPE 2017!
Camp Promise-Rockies
Headshaving. An Improv performance by The Jester’s Court. Ziplining. Buckets of green slime. These are just some of the planned (and unplanned!) activities that made Camp Promise-Rockies a wacky, hilarious week! This year, 28 campers and 38 volunteers took over Rocky Mountain Village for Camp Promise-Rockies. The week began with some rain in the mountains, but it couldn’t stop a competitive scavenger hunt – congrats to the Orange cabin for the win! Day 2 brought the zombies out of the Rockies, with swimming, zip lining and fishing before a winner-takes-all Casino Night (shout out to Fallen Heroes tattoo artists for joining us!). What more could happen at camp, you ask? Only a 20-foot long ice cream sundae, power-soccer games, a mega talent show, a rockin’ 90s day and house party themed dance on the last night.
Camp Promise-West
We rounded out our summer with Camp Promise-West held at Camp Stand By Me. We had 53 volunteers and checked in 30 campers during the solar eclipse! Camp Promise-West was filled with pontoon boat rides, campfires, arts and crafts, boat making and racing, belly flopping, and checking out some corvettes with our gold rush findings and Casino Night winnings. Thanks to A New Tattoo Ink for taking our Casino Night up a notch, and to Jet City Improv who put on an improv show for us. Who knew tractor rides, the FBI, zombies, and luaus (with the Guava Jam Band on stage) went together? They do at Camp Promise-West! We wrapped up the week getting henna art from Sandy’s Henna Experience, and dancing the night away at a Bollywood-themed prom. Not to mention, we had the most delicious food all week courtesy of Stock. Yum!
Thank You Volunteers and Donors!
The Camp Promise Team would like to give a big shout out and thanks to all the counselors, volunteers and donors who made camp possible this summer. Their generosity and commitment make camp possible.
Camp Promise provides these amazing, exciting and life-changing experiences to our campers free of charge every year. If you would like to donate to support our mission and help us continue to provide these and new adventures to our campers, please visit our Camp Promise page for more information.
Wishing for Summer 2018!
We cannot wait for camp next year and have already started planning for it. If you missed our camp activities this summer (or just want to revisit some fun memories) check us out on Facebook. Each camp has their own page: Camp Promise-East, Camp Promise-Rockies, Camp Promise-West. And, follow us on Instagram @camppromise!
–Post by Shannon Healey