Every time Lauren Eufemia Italiano pulls onto Frost Valley Road, she is transported to her childhood. She reminisces about her first visit to Frost Valley YMCA in the early 1980’s, while on a trip to her family’s home in the Catskills. After stumbling upon the camp during a long car ride, her parents offered to send her as a camper the following summer. She eagerly obliged and returned back as a camper for the next four years, then as a CiT and finally as a counselor.
Fast forward to present day and Lauren returns to the Valley each summer, as she drops her daughter Allee off to have the same memorable and life-changing experiences that she was so lucky to have 20+ years ago. After saying goodbye to Allee at camp, Lauren and her husband return to their home in the Boston area where she works as a high school librarian in Newton, MA.
When she thinks back on her time at Frost Valley and how it has played a role in her life, Lauren explains that her time at camp allowed her to develop self-confidence and independence, traits that to this day she still credits to her time at Frost Valley. That is why she wanted her daughter to have the same experience. Allee has just finished her sixth and final year as a camper in Windsong and she plans to return as a CiT next year. Lauren hopes that Frost Valley can have the same impact on future generations as it has on her, which is why she has recently become a member of the Neversink Society, where members plan a gift bequest in their will confirming their long-term commitment to the mission of Frost Valley YMCA.
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