The desire to jump in Echo Lake is growing with every jump in the thermometer!  Vega is abuzz with activity and we’re are busy down in the winter office in Connecticut getting the staff and program in ready.  There are plenty of fun and rewarding activities being planned, and one important part of camp and life is giving your time to help those who need it.  We’ve been working with a few organizations, some for many years, and would like to share those with you:

Camp Sunshine – Girls from the oldest age-groups can choose to spend a day at Camp Sunshine to help families who are battling cancer and other potentially terminal illnesses.  Camp Sunshine means so much to families going through these challenges.  Their program allows girls from Vega and other camps to have fun getting to know some of the younger kids in these families. We are currently working on scheduling a day or two for Vega campers to volunteer at Camp Sunshine, so listen for more during camp.

Vega campers and staff have donated used sneakers to Dunk Your Kicks to raise money for pediatric cancer research since 2013

Dunk Your Kicks/Max Cure Foundation – Max Cure Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on raising money and awareness for pediatric cancer.  They collect shoes that would otherwise be discarded through their Dunk Your Kicks program and turn those shoes into donations towards pediatric cancer research.  There will be Dunk Your Kick bins at Vega again this summer.

ACA New England Camp Champions – This organization is part of the American Camp Association New England, and sends NE kids to camp who could otherwise not afford it.  Kyle and Emily have been serving as committee members for about a year now and are thrilled to see the positive experiences Camp Champions continues to provide to kids who would otherwise not have the opportunity to go to camp.  Vega campers can get involved this summer through a Swim-A-Thon at Vega.  Look for more information about the Camp Champions Swim-A-Thon in the next month or so.

Since 2012 campers have helped plant blueberry bushes along Echo Lake to help reduce runoff as part of Green Care Day in partnership with the Kennebec Land Trust

There are other local organizations that we help in one way or another, such as the Kennebec Land Trust, Echo Lake Association and the 30 Mile Watershed to help keep Maine, and specifically Echo Lake, clean and green.

We are always thrilled to hear when Vega campers become involved in charity events.  Remember to tell us via social media with #VegaGivesBack.  This winter we asked the Vega community to send us/tag us in pictures doing charity work of any kind with #VegaGivesBack, and for every picture we donated $10 to Dunk Your Kicks.  We raised over $100 and look forward to doing another campaign this fall.

Speaking of, we want to give a special shout-out to Vega alumna Ashley Randall (Tamary 2013), who was selected to be a delegate for the 2015 JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Children’s Congress in Washington, D.C.

We hope that all of you can set aside some time to give back to those in need and we will do what we can to help you do so this summer and beyond!

52 days and counting!

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