Summer is finally here! Bissell Centre’s camps and recreation team have been working hard to plan for the approaching summer months. Spearheading the effort are Alyssa, a fourth year recreation, sport, and tourism major at the University of Alberta, and Zoée, a King’s University graduate who is now pursuing her degree in social work at MacEwan University.
Alyssa and Zoée have been busy preparing for Bissell Centre’s annual summer camps. The camps will take place at Bissell Centre’s lakefront property, Moonlight Bay, which is located an hour west of Edmonton on Wabamun Lake. Beginning on July 4, Moonlight Bay will host a series of summer camps for adults and children of all ages. Camp trips range from one to four days and include an array of fun activities including teepee weaving, popcorn and s’mores by the fire, swimming, and canoeing.
For many participants, the trip will be a brief respite from otherwise persistently stressful life circumstances. Many adults and children participating in the camps come from environments of domestic violence, drug addiction, and poverty. “Everyone needs time away to spend with family and to rejuvenate, relax, and get away from those stresses,” Zoée says. Camps also provide opportunities for individuals to forge friendships, build community, and strengthen social supports.
Both Zoée and Alyssa are adamant that recreation is not a luxury or a privilege: it’s a physical and emotional need. “There needs to be recreation,” says Alyssa. “That shouldn’t be denied to anyone.”
Since 1929, Bissell Centre’s Moonlight Bay facility has been a destination for low-income families to enjoy some respite from the daily life stresses that face them. The program relies on donations and volunteer support to remain in operation. Thank you for helping us give adults and children living in poverty a summer experience they will never forget!