First Ever Alumni Retreat for Past Camp Rainbow and The YES Participants & Staff

1 Mar 2010

From March 6^th-9^th, 2010 past participants, staff, sponsors and friends of the YES program will be gathering at the Loon Lake Education Centre in Maple Ridge to celebrate the long history of The YES (formerly Camp Rainbow).  The camp has operated for over 35 years in BC, and has touched the lives of thousands of the province's outstanding youth.  With a rich and varied program drawing on the best of The YES experience, we are inviting anyone with a connection to the program to join us for the whole weekend, or for a shorter visit.  Please check it out on the website at www.theyes.ca, or get in touch with the Camp Director, Chelsea Lake at youth@bcca.coop.  Subsidies are available, and some transportation is provided.

Chelsea Lake
Director, Youth Program

Amazing Camp Experience Shared

We here at BCCA couldn't help but include the following piece by a former YES Camp participant that expresses so well the heart and spirit of this unique learning experience.

Westerly News, November 19, 2009

Dear Editor,

I would like to thank the Tofino Co-op for sponsoring me on my YES (Youth Excellence Society) Camp journey.

This camp brings teenagers from all over B.C. together to take part in this powerful experience. Last Friday I made my way up (along with two other Tofitians) to Loon Lake to attend a camp reunion.

When I arrived I had mixed feelings and predictions about how the weekend would unfold. After attending the Basic Camp in July 2008, the reunion last November, the Advanced Camp in spring 2009, and a Grad Camp this summer, I knew that this would be my last YES Camp experience. I also knew I was not ready to let it go yet.

Being at the YES Camp has had such a severe impact on my life. This camp taught me how to love myself unconditionally, to form connections and friendships I will treasure for the rest of my life, to always have hope and faith in myself, to feel the fear and do it anyways, to push myself not to hold back, and how to build a trusting community in under a week.

I also learned to use snail mail as a great form of communication, to build leadership skills, to dance with sweet moves, to look at things using many different perspectives, and to listen with not only my ears, but also my heart.

The camp taught me to communicate using FELOR, to believe that I am loveable and capable, to be myself, to hold onto something so tightly and eventually let go, to build self-awareness skills, to know I'm cared for, to believe in myself and follow my dreams, and something that was really hard for me before, to know my tears are okay.

Now that my YES experience is over I've noticed a lot of changes in myself. I like the person I am because of this camp, and I hope other youth from around our community can one day have this experience too.

My plan for the future is to apply to be a part of the YES staff team. To have the feeling I get when I'm there every day would be a miracle. There were moments in the past year when I could feel my heart lift up, like it was taking off. I've never felt so joyous or warm before, and to me, that is the single best feeling in this world.

In July of 2008, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into, but am I ever glad I did it. The Co-op's sponsorship, my family's support, and the camp magic are the important stepping stones I took to finding myself. Despite the tears it took to write this, I am so insanely happy. I feel so lucky to have had this great opportunity in my life. It couldn't have happened without the Co-op. I did the best I could to put my appreciation into words, but they still aren't enough to explain my thanks. There's always a happy ending. If it's not happy, it's not the end.

Category: Community