2017 CLC and Boothbay Region YMCA Summer Camp Guide is now available. Learn about all of the incredible camp opportunities offered.

At the Y, we know that every summer can be the best summer ever. One look through the Boothbay Region YMCA & CLC YMCA 2017 Camp Guide will show you how. Summer camps at the Y provide children ages 3 to 14 with safe and exciting opportunities to explore, learn, create and discover the world around them. Under the guidance of caring, enthusiastic, and trained leaders and role models, children will create lasting friendships and lifelong memories.

Camp Directors Emily Mirabile and Joe Clark are excited to welcome youth back to YMCA Camp Knickerbocker for another fun-filled summer in the sun. Situated on 65 acres of forest and wetlands on beautiful Knickerbocker Lake in Boothbay, activities at YMCA Camp Knickerbocker include swimming and beach play, kayaking, canoeing and fishing, field and court sports, arts and crafts, Baldwin Center Adventure course, playground time, and field trips to local venues and hiking preserves.

Other programs include Scamper Camp for youth entering Kindergarten; Boothbay Critter Camp for ages 3-4; Adventure Camps for ages 8-14; Music Theatre Camps for ages 6-12; Y-Arts Camps; Boothbay Specialty Camps for half-day sessions, 9am-noon; CLC Specialty Camps for half- and full-day sessions; a variety of Sports Camps at Boothbay and CLC; and the ever popular CLC Sailing Camp at Round Pond for grades 3-9.

Our Teen Leadership program features Leader-in-Training (LIT) for youth age 13 and is the first year of a two-year program combined with the Counselor-in-Training (CIT) program. LIT youth will engage in activities and discussion about types of leadership, communication styles and methods, service work, team-building and other leadership skills while participating in camp activities. CIT, for youth age 14, is the second year of our leadership development program. Participants will study teaching styles, deliver methods, communication techniques and planning preparation. They will gain valuable hands-on experiencing working with youth, leading programs and activities, and working with fellow staff in program conception, creation and execution.

Our summer camps inspire campers to embrace the Y’s core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility and challenge them to grow physically, mentally and spiritually. Camp staff are positive role models and will encourage campers of all ages to become better leaders, friends and, of course, to have fun!

Online registration for YMCA Members opens at 8 a.m. on March 6 and for the general public at 8 a.m. on March 13. Visit your home Y’s website to register for camp (www.boothbayregionymca.org or www.clcymca.org).

This summer, we are utilizing a new, secure network called ePACT to efficiently collect campers’ medical and emergency contact information electronically. ePACT also ensures that we have a way to communicate with parents as needed. Families will receive an email invitation to the ePACT network after registering for camp online.

Camp scholarship applications will also be available online on March 6. Thanks to the “Send a Kid to Camp” fund drive at the Boothbay Region YMCA and the annual “Stackhouse Event” at the CLC YMCA, both Y’s are able to offer camp scholarships. The Y believes that all children in our community, regardless of income, deserve the opportunity to experience summer camp. Scholarship dollars are granted on a first come, first served basis, so be sure to submit an application early and by the May 26 deadline.

For more information on camp programs, contact the Boothbay Region YMCA (www.boothbayregionymca.org or 633-2855) or the Central Lincoln County YMCA (www.clcymca.org or 563-9622).