CYO Camp and Caritas June Alumni Newsletter

June 2021 Newsletter Highlights:

Save the Dates:

September 24th-26th, 2021
Golf Day September 25th

Message from the Camp Director
Camp celebrates the 75th (Registration now open)
Camp wish list
Connect with the alumni group
Register for summer camp
Caritas Creek is hiring

MESSAGE FROM CYO CAMP DIRECTOR: Rick Garcia

Hello Friends,

We hope you and your families are healthy and well. The State of California has issued guidance for overnight camps and can reopen as soon as June 1, 2021. We don’t expect the anticipated June 15^th state reopening to lift the CDC recommended mitigation measures quite yet. That said, Emily Ordway and her team continue to find creative ways to deliver a fun and safe summer camp program, allowing our campers to a meaningful experience in an environment that is safe, but not rigid.

There is a lot of support and enthusiasm to our reopening and the 75^th anniversary. Between the 75^th planning, GEN HEAD (alumni generation heads), zoom calls, and facility projects, I am estimating over 1,200 volunteer hours just in the months of April and May alone! This amounts to over $30K in volunteer labor! Congratulations and thank you.

Amongst these dedicated alumni volunteers are all of the efforts to plan and make Camp’s 75^th anniversary special, the GEN HEAD calls bringing our camp family together, and to make our alumni golf day another great success. An additional group of volunteers led by Steve Cline have worked for weeks and weeks on the Grotto restoration project. Beautiful and amazing work. Lastly, this past weekend, we hosted 80 Guardsmen volunteers for a work weekend that made some of our hopes and dreams a reality. New paint on the Stepping Stone cabins (Strawberry Fields), the demolition of the 8 Quicksilver cabins that were not repairable, and lastly, a 250 diameter of brush clearance around our new water tank.

We do have a few dozen boards from Quicksilver row and if any of you want a piece of that history, email me at rgarcia@catholiccharitiessf.org.

A toast to the re-opening of our CYO Camp!

Rick Garcia

REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR CYO CAMPS’ 75th ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND!

For 75 years there have been hundreds of thousands of children who attended CYO Camp and thousands who staffed Camp in some capacity, all making an impact on the children who came to experience this amazing place. We are all apart of this large group, proud to have worked in a place that made such an incredible imprint. We all experienced a time at camp that was unique to those who were there. The programs may have changed over the years, but the heart and soul of CYO Camp remains the same... love of God, love of nature... making a difference, one child at a time.

Our goal is to re-connect with other alums, helping to ensure the viability and sustainability of CYO Camp for generations to come. Each generation has many stories to tell. Think of your time at Camp. What was the culture like at the time? The programs. The structure and activities of camp. The songs. What was unique about your time spent at camp?

Due to the pandemic this past year many programs, including CYO Summer Camp and Caritas Creek, had to either completely shut down or 'pivot' in new and creative ways to help keep the doors open. It has been a tremendously challenging year for many. Your support is needed now more than ever.

We have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for after surviving the past year+. The 75th anniversary is proof that CYO Camp is here to stay and we are here to support not only the re-launch of opening Camp again, but helping to ensure the longevity for CYO Camp for the future.