Rock Point Summer Camp may have closed its doors in 2019, but thanks to a growing partnership with the Greater Burlington YMCA, campers are back at Rock Point. Now in its fourth year, the Y Adventure Camp held at Rock Point Commons has brought a new generation of campers to the shores of Lake Champlain.
Rock Point’s camp history dates to the summer of 1933, during the Great Depression, as the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont sought to provide children and families with respite, joy, and connection at a difficult time. Now, the YMCA seeks to do the same thing for their campers. “Our families come from all walks of life,” said Dan Smith, president and C.E.O of the Greater Burlington YMCA, “A lot of the campers don’t have the opportunity to spend a day outside in a setting like Rock Point.”
Y Adventure Camp is open to children who have finished 3rd grade through the age of 13 and offers 3- and 5-day options. Campers experience “a traditional outdoor camp” per the YMCA website, with opportunities to swim, kayak, play games, create arts and crafts, and even take advantage of Rock Point’s pizza ovens. But that’s not all. “Our camps are also value-based,” Smith noted. “While we don’t proselytize or directly teach how Y values are rooted in Christian teachings, we really stand on the values of honesty, caring, respect, and responsibility. The kids are immersed in those thought processes as they experience their day.”
As the camp has continued to grow, so has the strength of the partnership between Rock Point Commons and the Greater Burlington YMCA. Kelly Kimball, executive director of Rock Point Commons, recently spoke at the Greater Burlington YMCA’s annual meeting. In her remarks, Kimball spoke about the grief former campers and staff at Rock Point felt when the camp closed its doors in 2019. “The Rock Point Camps were a special thing- and people who grew up going to summer camp know how meaningful those memories and traditions are,” she said.
However, Kimball is particularly hopeful about where this partnership will go. “I believe that the partnership with the YMCA will help shape the next generation of stewards who care not just for Rock Point but for the natural world in which we all live,” she said.
“That ministry of place is still there,” Smith added, “it’s still a spiritual experience to be there.” He and his team are grateful for the partnership. At summer camp and at Rock Point, “everybody plays, everybody belongs,” said Smith, “Everybody develops. Everybody has fun, and that is how our Y values are rooted in the inclusivity of Christ. This is what his love looks like in action.”
