A hard, driving rain throughout the evening gave us every indication that Olympics would be on pause for the day, but the fields absorbed the water and the courts were squeegeed before breakfast. Our boys were able to continue their Olympic competition.
However, we started our morning after breakfast as a camp, coming together in the dining room to listen to a brief talk by World of Change https://www.worldofchange.world/ Founder Matt Hodell. Matt created World of Change after learning that billions of dollars in loose change are unused in homes, cars, and obscure places throughout our country. In his discussion with our boys, he explained how collecting change and earmarking it for housing, food, education, health, play, and animals & nature can make a huge impact on our society. Our campers and staff sat in awe, listening to the statistics, understanding that one in every five children is food deprived, and realizing how many families don’t have a warm place to sleep at night. Matt challenged all of us to go home after the summer, collect our unused change, and donate it to his worthy charity. As the boys left the dining room, they each grabbed a handful of quarters and placed them in slots labeled with each of Matt’s six charitable causes, contributing to the needs of others. If anyone is looking for a Mitzvah project or a charity to contribute to in your community, I have included World of Change’s website here.
After a brief FaceTime call to check in at home, our boys laced up and prepared to compete. Bandanas back on, face paint reapplied, we were back on the fields giving it our all. Our Warriors had an awesome track meet that included the long jump, baseball throw, football throw, cross country race, as well as sprints and relays. Our boys gave a hundred percent as cheers could be heard around the camp. I watched a Junior Grey baseball game where one team pitcher threw so hard and with such accuracy that his opponents applauded when one of their teammates made contact and fouled one off. I took in a Junior Green flag football game that ended in triple overtime. Both quarterbacks scrambled and threw on the run with incredible precision to several sure-handed teammates. The game ended with a diving catch in the end zone along with handshakes and cheers.
This evening, we paused our Olympic competition for the Takajo Art Show. The Art Center was decorated with projects that were created this summer by our boys. All ten hobbies were on display as campers and staff took their time walking through the building and admiring the attention to detail, the use of color, and the patterns and designs on display. The Art Show is symbolic of the camp’s diversity in our program. Hobby Lane is an area of camp that brings immense pride, providing the opportunity for our campers to explore their creative sides.
As the weekend comes to an end, we prepare for our whacked-up relay, final banquet, and closing campfire. We will savor every moment we have left in camp.
