If you could give your child one thing to succeed in life, what would it be?

It’s a question we’ve all asked.
So have camps.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, spent eight weeks at camp each summer from 1937 to 1951, first as a camper and then as a counsellor. She credited camp as the source of her independence, her sense of responsibility, and her belief in her duty to others. Barbara Wortman, a lifelong friend of Ginsburg, has said that camp “opened her eyes to a whole new world.”

Ronnie Silver, an alum whose mother was at the camp the same time as Ginsburg, commented that, “so much of the Justice was instilled at camp. It was always taught to us that there is nothing girls couldn't do. Camp empowered us, and for someone extremely bright and curious, that was important." Tellingly, even into her later years Ginsburg could still sing the camp song, and apparently did.

At school you learn what you know.
At camp you learn who you are.

It’s too easy to think of camp as a place to have fun, because, frankly, it is. That said, it’s also much more than that. For Ginsburg, it set the course of her life, and what a life it was. That’s what camp does, precisely because that was what camp directors intend it to do. Growing resilience, self-regulation, generosity, and other key virtues will help your child develop leadership, open up more career opportunities, help them manage relationships and their mental health, and more.

To that end, this week we launched our Character Development hub, a section of the website that highlights how camps develop specific, advantageous character traits, including, including courage, creativity, curiosity, generosity, independence, interpersonal skills, physicality, religious faith, resilience, responsibility, self regulation, and tolerance.

This is part of a growing collection of content that will reframe camp choices on Our Kids entirely. Other forthcoming additions will include hubs on achieving summer goals, career aspirations, and more.

Watch this space!

“My mission is to help create a world where people are highly tolerant of others despite differences, where people lead others with confidence and humility, and where people love and cherish each other and the planet.”
—Jennifer Jupp, Senior Director, Camp Wenonah

“Camp teaches you to find the stuff within. … You learn to look at the good in life, even when it’s raining.”
—Dr. Roberta Bondar

“Everything I needed to know, I learned at camp. From living together in a small space, I learned that what you do affects others, so your actions have consequences. From using composting toilets, I started to learn about environmental awareness. And I learned about governance—who makes the rules, and how to change rules that don't make sense.”
—Carolyn Bennett, Member of Parliament, Minister of Crown Indigenous Affairs