“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” – Mary Oliver

“All the diversity, all the charm, and all the beauty of life are made up of light and shade.”  – Leo Tolstoy

Summer camp is a wonderful place to celebrate differences. Campers and staff come from all over the world, bringing with them not only numerous elephantine suitcases, but also opinions, experiences, struggles, joys, passions, and adventure. Family dynamics are different. Life paths vary. Everyone looks a little bit different, acts a little bit different, and speaks a little bit different. But at the core of it all, we celebrate each other and we help people find pieces of light in what they might see sometimes as pieces of darkness. Although summers can be some of the most fun times, we know that people have experienced loss, grief, pain…but no matter the circumstance, challenges and differences can always bring us together. People are beautiful because they bring an aggregation of qualities to the spectrum. We at Camp Kippewa always want to make people feel  safe in their own selves and in our environment.

This video below is a good example of how unlikely pairs come together.

“What happens when a boy, who’d rather spend his time playing video games, opens a present from his mom? Much more than you’d think.”