Camp is truly a life-changing experience — one that provides a lifetime of memories, and develops real life skills needed to be a leader in today’s changing world. For many families, camp is already a holiday tradition. For those families who haven’t considered camp yet this season, there are a number of reasons to give the gift of camp:

10. Gift-wrapping a pony has never been easy. Trust us, we’ve tried.

9. Aunt Maude’s fruitcake is still on the top shelf of the pantry.

 8. According to research from The Children’s Mutual, 41 percent of toys and presents given during the December holidays are broken by March.

7. No waiting in line! The average American spends 25 percent of holiday shopping time in line.

 6. No assembly or batteries required.

5. Camp helps boost confidence! According to American Camp Association (ACA) research, 92 percent of campers reported that camp helped them feel better about themselves.

4. First-hand experiences with nature! From insects to vegetation and woodland critters to fish, the camp experience surrounds children with nature and develops a hands-on appreciation for the environment and the natural world.

3. Friends come in all shapes and sizes, and from all different backgrounds. ACA research indicates that 96 percent of campers made new friends, and 93 percent of campers met people that were different from them. The camp experience helps develop authentic friendships and a sense of community, while making children more aware of the world around them.

2. Camp helps stem summer learning loss. According to the National Summer Learning Association, most children experience some degree of learning loss in the summer months. Research has shown that participation in an experiential education program, like camp, has a positive effect on children while helping to stem learning loss.

1. Camp is FUN! Plus you can make the gift even more fun by printing a camp gift certificate and tucking it in a new backpack, roll it in a new sleeping bag, wrap it around a new flashlight, or put it in a traditional gift box complete with colorful paper and a bow. No matter how it’s delivered, the gift of camp is the gift of a lifetime.

One of the highlights of camp is a visit to the camp store. By the end of the week campers have stocked up on their favorite stuffed animals, T-shirts, and maybe a choco taco or two. Families have the option to then donate their remaining store money to our Strong Kids Campership program. We are excited to announce that we raised over $2000 through the generosity of campers this summer. In total camp supported over 130 campers with some form of assistance. What an amazing lesson for children to learn at a young age: I can make a difference in the life of another child!

This year, Camp Matawa will have a float in the Kewaskum Christmas Parade themed “Christmas Night of Lights!”  As part of our camp family, you are invited to join us!!  Come up to camp and help us decorate the wagon!  Bring extra Christmas lights and any other decorations that will show Kewaskum the Spirit of Matawa!  At 4 o’clock, we will head into town to get in place for the 5:00pm parade, followed by cookies and hot chocolate back at camp!  Start the holiday season off right, with a  winter visit to Camp Matawa!  RSVP by emailing Annie or via Events on our Facebook Fan Page!

What an amazing weekend! Camp Matawa was proud to host the 2010 Youth as Partners in Civic Leadership Conference. It is a conference for school and community organizations that partner youth and adults with a common goal of making change in their communities. We had 119 people who are completely and totally dedicated to make the world a better place in attendance! The theme for the conference was “Rise Up and Live It!” I have no doubts that these amazing adults and young people will return to their communities and do just that. With breakout sessions that covered everything from diversity to tobacco education to teen dating violence education everyone walked away with some amazing information and ideas to really make change. Even me! I sat in on several of the activities and sessions over the weekend. Thank you to YPCL for being so awesomely open to sharing their experience with me!
Wendy Mieske
Senior Program Director

Even with all the crazy wind the last few days we managed to have a great time at Camp Matawa. Elm Creative Arts School from Milwaukee was at camp and boy did we have fun! Not only did the kids climb the wall, shoot archery and make a great nature collage, they also had a drama class and performed their “machines” for all of the other students before they left on Wednesday. What a creative bunch of 5th graders! The wind blew lots of branches and other random things around camp, but it couldn’t blow away the excitement and enthusiasm of Elm and the Camp Matawa staff.

Camp Matawa is thrilled to be hosting Dodgeland Middle School this week. Dodgeland has been coming to camp for about 25 years. That’s longer than Matawa’s been Matawa! They used to come to camp when it was still run by the Wisconsin DNR. During those early years they had to bring all their own class supplies, food and even their own cooks. Dodgeland teachers, parents and volunteers still do all the teaching of their environmental education, art and recreation classes. But, now Val and all the other fantastic kitchen staff do the cooking. And, Andrew and Wendy are here to help them with anything else they might need. Here’s to a historical partnership and many more years to come!

My name is Ben and this is my first year as a international camp counselor at YMCA Camp Matawa! Woohoo! It is my first time doing anything like this, as England doesn’t have any sort of summer camp for any young children to get away from there home life and let themselves go and have fun.

The whole idea of a summer camp appealed to myself as I completed a first diploma in sport, where I had the chance to teach kids from ages 4 to 16. I had never been to America before, so Camp also gave me a chance to see a different way of living and to get to know new people from around the world. I didn’t realize how fun and exiciting this opportunity was until I arrived to a warm welcome once I got off the bus in Milwaukee and into the world of YMCA Camp Matawa.

At first I was very quiet and a bit jet lagged, so I didn’t understand that this would be my best summer of my life at the tender age of 22 ! I got the chance each week to work with different campers from different areas, different backgrounds, different ages and with so many different personalities that all got mixed together and became one cabin by the end of every week. This really did open my eyes to what I would like to do in the future and I got to learn a lot about myself and what type of person I am. I learnt so many new skills and I built relationships with each camper and counselor throughout the summer.

Camp Matawa is already classed as my second home and I want to give that sense of atomsphere to anyone and everyone that chooses to visit or stay at camp. I am so happy to have chosen this experience and that they chose me to continue the tradition of the YMCA and I always hold the four values throughout my life Caring, Respect, Responsiblity and Honesty.

This summer was very much my first at camp but definitely not my last !

Thank You

Ben Middleman

We just finished an amazing Frontier Olympics! The kids participated in seven different events with their cabins and they had tons of fun! The results are in and the winners are….

Cup Slide Challenge: Tie for first place between Hickory East and Esker East!
Bucket Pass Challenge: Tie for first between Hickory East and Hickory West!
Cup Stack Challenge: Esker East!
Matawa Trivia Challenge: Hickory East!
Football Toss Challenge: Tie for first between Hickory East and Drumlin West!
Marble Pass Challenge: Esker East!
Plunger Walk Challenge: Hickory West!

We’re looking forward to our campout tomorrow night! We’ll be learning about the constellations in the sky and going on a nature scavenger hunt. Don’t forget to check the Matawa website for pictures throughout the week!

Today the Trekker Village will be going on their camp-out. We are super excited for the foil dinners, smores, the games, and other activities. One thing that the staff appreciate about the campouts are the starry nights and the awesome reflections that we lead. The evening reflection is about differences. We pair the campers up with other campers that they may not talk to and they initiate a conversation and learn about each other. After, the buddies present their partners to the group so that we can all learn about each other. At the end of our reflections, the campers seem to have made new friends with their buddy and realize that they can be friends with anyone. They come to the realization that we shouldn’t pass judgement and that were all different. The Trekker Campout is where memories are made!

In the Spirit of the Trekker Village

We say KNEE to you!

Wow, we had an excellent start of the week! We had fun playing some new games, singing some songs, and building strong friendships quickly. As a village, we are all excited about the Trekker Camp-Out, Capture the Flag, our three activity periods, and the greatest race in the world. This is going to be an amazing week! Keep a look out for updates about the Trekker Village!
We Say Knee to YOU!
~ The Trekker Village