As CCAccess comes to a close and the school year starts back up, we are reflecting on the experiences of our campers this summer. We caught up with first time overnight camper, O'Mere, after he got home from two weeks at William Lawrence Camp, a boys camp in New Hampshire, and before he headed off to Camp Hale for a week with our CCBound cohort.

O'Mere left for William Lawrence Camp expecting it to be, "way boring." Instead, it turned out to be so much fun that he didn't want to come back home. He made friends, one of whom he is still in touch with and hopes to see soon. “We liked to do everything together.” They bonded over time spent at the lake swimming, playing basketball, and learning about riflery.

Swimming everyday at William Lawrence Camp helped O’Mere improve his swimming skills. He told us about practicing different strokes, attending daily swim lessons, and kayaking on the lake. He also enjoyed the many cabin activities and challenges at camp taking place in the evenings around the camp fire. Every Monday night there were team challenges. For instance, “You have to pick up the marshmallow but you only get to do it with your mouth.” Toward the end of camp, the challenges culminated in a celebration which included a camp fire, music, and dancing. 

O’Mere brought what he learned at camp back home to Cambridge. He explained to his friends how to make a fire - one of O’Mere’s favorite camp activities - and told them the things that he would be doing if he were at camp right now!

O’Mere said it was a little hard to be away from home but he got his mind off missing home by “doing fun stuff and having fun with my friends and laughing.” 

Following the success of his first experience, Shea, O’Mere’s mom, signed him up to attend another week of overnight camp. He was looking forward to the new activities that Camp Hale had to offer and excited to be going back to camp. Shea shared “I am so happy that he is getting to have these experiences and I am so proud of him.”

CCAccess partner camp Mass Audubon Paddle for Empowerment took local Cambridge kids out on the Charles river to learn about history, wildlife, and conservation efforts. Cambridge Camping staff Emily and Emma were lucky enough to spend an afternoon with campers on the river to take photos and visit CCAccess campers at camp. Along with the campers, we learned about the dam that controls the river, how dirt from Beacon Hill was used to fill in Back Bay, and saw wildlife like geese, turtles, and fish. They told us about algae blooms, an issue that affects the lower part of the Charles regularly, and the conservation efforts going on to make the river cleaner and more sustainable for the whole ecosystem. Thank you to the staff at Mass Audubon, Paul, Leigh, and Molly for letting us tag along and creating such a wonderful experience for our campers!

On August 31st we hosted an End of Summer Party to celebrate our CCAccess families and the return to school. There was fun, games, school supplies, backpacks from Xilio and East End House, and most importantly, popsicles! Enjoy some photos of the event and Camper's drawings of their favorite summer memories.

Benny Harris and Shakiem Sandiford are running to give back to the community that raised them.