Finding Yourself at Family Camp: Marjorie's Story

Meet Marjorie. She’s a mother of two boys under the age of ten, Marco and Isaiah. Marjorie always dreamed of going to camp, but growing up in the Bahamas, she says it wasn’t possible. So, when she moved to Canada, she was determined to give her children the experience she never had…and that’s how she came across YMCA Wanakita and Family Camp.

“There was just something about Camp Wanakita, the little huts - the little cabins they had… I said, ‘This is where I need to go, this is the camp I want to go to’.”

Although Marjorie had found a camp she loved, she wasn’t sure she could afford the full cost. She soon discovered that as a charity, the YMCA offers financial assistance so that everyone can have the opportunity to have a life-changing camp experience. She reached out, and with the help of our supportive YMCA staff, Marjorie was able to tell her sons they were going to spend a week in the summer at YMCA Wanakita.

“The staff were so friendly,” said Marjorie. “They probably felt how much I wanted to be at camp, and they did everything they could to help me.”

Marjorie says she felt her, and her sons were safe at Wanakita, that she could give them space to learn and grow. "I completely felt that they were safe, that everyone was prepared, and that all the staff cared about my kid's safety as much as I do as a parent. That’s why I was able to let them… just let them go.”

Marjorie says Wanakita gave her the time to slow down, grow as a parent, and brought her and her sons closer together.

“I had time for them, there were no distractions. We made stuff, talked about stuff, laughed and played games. I had more time to do all the stuff that I can’t do with them on a regular day.” This bonding made Marjorie determined to bring back that carefree, laid-back feeling as much as she could to be there for her sons more.

Sitting around the campfire at night was an incredibly special moment for Marjorie. It’s something she had only seen in movies, and here she was, experiencing it in real life with her children by her side.

“It feels as if everyone’s inner child was coming out in that moment around the campfire. You’re not self-conscious about how you feel or what others might think. You’re just in the moment, you’re enjoying it, you’re happy with your friends and kids. These people who you haven’t known before now become your friends, everyone just connected right then and there at the campfire.”

It's thanks to YMCA Wanakita's generous donors that Marjorie's dreams of going to camp and giving her sons a real camp experience came true. “The boys just ran around barefoot and had frogs in their hands. They made friends and went to the beach. It felt so safe…that this is where we belong,” she said.

“I have no television, my phone only has one bar, and I can’t make a call and no emails are coming through, but I belong here, I made the right choice.”

At the YMCA, we support people at every stage of life, helping them overcome any obstacle they may face. When you donate to the YMCA you spark the potential in every young person, adult and senior.

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