Charlotte Watkins at the moment works at a teen middle in Okotoks, however on Might 1st she will probably be with a camp counselor on the Southern Alberta Bible Camp southeast of Calgary.
Watkins says the management and problem-solving abilities she gained final 12 months had been nice, however it was the relationships with the youngsters that made her wish to return.
“How I get to be part of their lives and the way I get to spend my summer time doing that — I could not do the rest that might really feel as rewarding,” Watkins mentioned.
Camps round Alberta say they want extra folks like Charlotte.
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Summer season camp is again in Alberta, however with some hesitation
Final 12 months, day camps had been full, however in a single day camps lagged behind, a pattern that appears to have disappeared.
“There’s nonetheless time to have your little one and if you wish to, however do not go away it too lengthy,” mentioned Nick Wiggins, vp of operations. YMCA Calgary.
He mentioned that Camp Chief Hector, which is run by the YMCA, is already 95 p.c full. Final 12 months they had been at about 70 p.c of pre-pandemic capability. Nonetheless, Wiggins mentioned it is not at all times concerning the variety of youngsters who wish to attend the favored camp.
“It is concerning the counselors. Until we have now an amazing employees neighborhood, we’re not at all times in a position to accommodate all the youngsters we would like,” Wiggins mentioned.
“We additionally want kitchen gadgets. You have most likely heard tales about how onerous it’s to search out hospitality employees within the Bow Valley – it impacts us as a lot because it impacts everybody else. We want the entire workforce.”
The vice-chair of the Alberta Tenting Affiliation mentioned registrations are as much as close to 2019 numbers. He mentioned the employees scarcity is just not as dangerous as final 12 months when camps didn’t have the pool of younger folks to rent from who would have been educated when the pandemic threw a moist blanket over camps.
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“Campers who got here by way of management applications might have missed 2020 and 2021 was again in final 12 months they usually participated within the management program and are able to turn into employees this summer time,” mentioned Nick Taven with Alberta Tenting Affiliation.
The YMCA has simply began hiring day camp employees.
For your complete summer time, the YMCA has 7,454 accessible day camp spots and has stuffed 5,496 for an general fill charge of 74 p.c.
This 12 months, the YMCA is providing a number of new day camp choices, together with girls-only basketball and images.
Camp Chief Hector YMCA has been in operation for greater than 9 a long time and is elevating cash to make some main upgrades there. The purpose is to boost $14.5 million to make strategic infrastructure enhancements.
To this point, $4 million has been raised.
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