Stewardship in Action: Letters to your Counselors

05/25/2017

Hello everyone and happy Core Values in Action Thursday!

I hope you have all taken action to put Stewardship into Action! We are always encouraging our guests here at Frost Valley to be “green” and take what they’ve learned about Sustainability here back to home!

This week, I would like to focus on Stewardship from the perspective of the Camp Counselors that work at Frost Valley. We have an 80% retention rate for our staff, most of whom grew up as campers here at Frost Valley. The biggest reason why they want to be Counselors is to give their future campers the same magical experience that their counselors gave to them. It is our counselors’ goals to give our campers the most life changing (in the best way) summer of their lives! Our counselors are the Stewards of the Frost Valley Summer Camp experience.

Here is how I am asking YOU to put Stewardship into Action.

Please send us a letter that we can give to our counselors. Anyone can write a letter, parents of our campers, new campers, long-time campers, family members of previous campers, anyone who at one time was a camper or had a camper attend a Summer at Frost Valley. In this letter, please write your hopes and dreams for your camp experience! This could be a letter from a camper telling their counselors everything they want to do this summer, this could be a parent telling the counselors the goals they have for their child this summer, it could be anything!

Here is an example of a letter: https://www.michaelbrandwein.com/pdf/brandwein%20letter%20to%20staff%20person1.pdf

I am hoping to use these letters to inspire our counselors to understand the amazing responsibility that they have to be Stewards of the Summer!

If you would like to write a letter, please email it to me at lhutchinson@frostvalley.org, or send it to:

Lindsay Hutchinson
Frost Valley YMCA
2000 Frost Valley Road
Claryville, NY 12725

In return, I will send you a Core Values in Action tshirt for participating! Excited to receive your letters!

Peace, Love, Bibbley,

Lindsay

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Lomauro

Nick Lomauro is a lifetime lover of camp (overnight and day), outdoor recreation, and value-based programs. Nick grew up in the YMCA and discovered his passion for working in youth development as a summer camp counselor. Full of curiosity, Nick graduated from Montclair State University with a degree in General Humanities. Immediately following graduation Nick set off to Spain to hike the 500 mile ancient pilgrimage trail, El Camino de Santiago. Nick then returned to his childhood YMCA in NJ, of over 20 thousand members, as the Director of Youth Development. In this role he designed, developed, and implemented day camp and teen programs. In 2015, Nick returned to Frost Valley and he is now the Director of Camp Wawayanda. This is Nick's 16th summer at Frost Valley.