| MDA Summer Camp News 2006 |
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| Well, I�m back from my 6th year volunteering at MDA Summer Camp!! As usual it was wonderful to see everyone again, especially the kids. How some of the kids have sprouted up!! Just amazing what a year can do. We had more kids than last year�about 33 total. Sadly our counselor and general volunteer numbers were very low. Some counselors had 3 kids to take care of! Of course the veteran counselors returned as they do every year but getting new people to volunteer ended up being very difficult. Such a shame! Our camp theme this year was, Treasure Island. Pirates and parrots and treasure hunts! We had four wooden pirate ships donated for our Pirate ship-building contest. Separated into groups of 4 the campers with their counselors decided on a ship name, theme, and decoration and building the sails. Everyone got really creative! The ships would end up being our centerpiece for the dance on the last night. Then at the dance four camper names would be drawn and they would win a ship. Our VIP Day was a much better turnout than what we had last year. I think we had 3 sponsors arrive for last years VIP Day and this year�well, I lost count. A great turnout!! Sponsors were paired off with a camper and then they both, with their counselor, began the treasure hunt. The treasure hunt took them all over Wonder Valley and this was also to show the sponsors our camp. The Madera Ranchos Kiwanis Club catered our lunch in as they do every year. They are very good the MDA and the kids. Everyone was warming up his or her voices for karaoke night. It was a night of duets, solos and lots of music and dancing. Names were drawn from a bowl for them to get up and sing. Thankfully my name wasn�t called! The Boy Scouts came to camp one day to run the Slot Car Derby. The kids were each given a slot car to paint and decorate however they wanted. Some even added rocks to their car and these ran surprisingly well. Awards were given at the end of the race and every camper won for something�fastest car, coolest car, best peace car, and best originality. Everyone had a great time thanks to the Boy Scouts. We had the usual activities of swimming, fishing, canoeing, arts & crafts, pool, ping-pong, kite flying, water fights. Regardless of the activity the kids just enjoyed being a kid without all of the usual added attention from people staring at them. The camp dance was held on the last night of camp. Vicki (my roommate) and I decorated the limo more commonly known as the stretch golf cart. We made tissue paper flowers and strung them all the way around. It�s looked real nice! Then Joe, Vicki�s husband, got all dressed up in a suit with a hat and picked the kids at their rooms. A lot of dates were made and flowers given by the guys. Everyone looked so nice all dressed up in semi-formal wear. From the first day of camp dates for the dance are being pursued. Some heartbreak no�s and many heartthrob yes�. So much excitement! The highlight of the dance was the crowning of King and Queen�Tina & Phil. Phil is a counselor and Tina is a camper. She was so excited the days before camp. Phil was so good to Tina and Tina got real shy real quick. She wanted to dance with Phil but was nervous. Finally, they dance and I swear I never saw her feet touch the floor. When they won King and Queen I though Tina was float away right then. It was really nice for her. She�s probably still floating. The last song came on and everyone became a bit sad with the thought that in the morning everyone goes home. So with that thought and the last song playing everyone went to the dance floor�put their arms around each other and formed a swaying circle around the room. I wish I could remember the song�something about friends. Hmm The next morning we all got up extra early for packing and went off the breakfast. Two campers were given resort t-shirts and everyone signed them. These two campers are now 21 years old and won�t be returning as campers. 21 years olds is the cut off age for MDA Camp. One of the campers, Brandon, wants to camp back as a volunteer so maybe we�ll see him again. After saying all of our sad and tearful goodbyes people loaded up on buses and in their parents cars�wiped away the tears�smiled�and waved goodbye. Until next year� Jessie |
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| 2006 Camp photos coming soon. |