Local YMCA wants to send kids to camp
The YMCA in Idaho Falls needs your help. In order to send 40 kids to camp, they need to match a $6,250 donation.
The staff at the Idaho Falls YMCA says this camp experience gives kids the chance to disconnect from their phones and learn necessary social skills.
“What we’re seeing in society right now is you have a lot of youth that are actually disconnected from society because of technology. Just because of the fast moving pace of our society. And this gives them an opportunity to disconnect from society and build character, confidence and a lifetime of memories at the camp,” says Monica Bitrick, CEO of the Idaho Falls YMCA
“We’re finding in research that children and teenagers and even adults are really struggling to actually express themselves with words without devices. So, we’re hoping to get kids to interact with each other, to be able to build their leadership skills, be able to have that interaction with people that technology and devices take away,” says Erin Williams, Camp Director of the Idaho Falls YMCA.
Travis Kraemer, a local father, says the YMCA played a big part in his childhood.
“I was really involved with the YMCA when I was younger. It provided a lot of neat skills and social skills,” says Kraemer.
But his life took a turn which lead to a family tragedy.
“I struggled with addiction really bad and my addiction ended up landing me in prison several times. And every time I got out I just got wrapped back up into the same crowd and I wasn’t involved in anything positive. And eventually in my last stay when I was incarcerated my son committed suicide at the age of 20 because of addiction.”
He says after that he wanted to turn his life around and now he wants his kids to experience camp to gain back the childhood they lost.
“I was incarcerated for 5 years and they lost out on childhood. My 13-year-old son, he’s pretty much had to take on the role of dad and brother for 5 years and he needs to get his childhood back.”
An experience they say will be unforgettable.
If you would like to donate you can do so on their website or if you have a child that you would like to send to camp, you can stop by the Idaho Falls YMCA to pick up a scholarship packet.
