SUMMER 2024
LASTING IMPACT
HOW CAMP POWERS CHILDREN’S GROWTH Bryan Partridge, Lanakila Director
Depending on where we live, where we grew up, or what our access was to summer camp, we all have our own ideas or images of what a summer spent living outdoors entails. If we were raised in the 1980s, perhaps Dirty Dancing is the image we conjure. If we know nothing of summer camp, perhaps we imagine people standing around a campfire, swaying and singing (not too far from the truth). Having grown up in the Midwest, summer camp was not part of my parents’ thought process. To be honest, when they told me I was going away for seven weeks, I was convinced I’d done something wrong, and this was my punishment. Reflecting back, I am grateful that a work colleague of my father recommended the Aloha Foundation and that my parents made it work financially, as it was a significant commitment that pushed them beyond their comfort level. Now, 35 years later, working as a Camp Director at the place I spent every summer, I have the privilege of witnessing the profound impact of summer camp on hundreds of children each summer. Those who have had the opportunity to participate in a camp experience understand the depth of the friendships created, the connection to the natural world, and how time spent “offline” provides us with uninterrupted reflective time and space, which is a rarity in today’s world. Continued on page 3 ...
As the sun reflects off Lake Morey, Lanakila campers and counselors float through the calm and still water, enjoying the beauty of nature surrounding them.
Inside This Issue
Message from our Exective Director
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A Collaboration with Boston Children’s
The Alohas & The ACA
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From the Camp Kitchen
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