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Discovering confidence for life.
Campers gain self-esteem and confidence by challenging themselves with a wide variety of skill set tracks and activities, including: sailing, horseback riding, kayaking, canoeing, high ropes course, climbing tower, arts and crafts, disc golf, target or team sports and much more. Campers also enjoy nature hikes, campfires, and making new friends, all while learning to succeed in a community environment and of course, having fun!
The mission of YMCA Storer Camps is to put Christian principles into practice through programs and experiences in the natural environment that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
We are an inclusive organization. We embrace the values of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility and faith.
YMCA Storer Camps strives to model right relationships with God, others, nature and the environment in which we live.
We help children and adults leave with the knowledge to make good choices, and the inspiration to act on those choices.
---------Outdoor Environmental Education (OEE)---------
The Storer Outdoor School is a hands-on total immersion learning center serving more than 120 elementary and middle schools each year.
“The Great Outdoors” makes science and related curriculum come alive, and significantly more relevant, for each student.
Each year, more than 10,000 students and teachers spend 3-5 days and nights on-site at our Outdoor School. Storer’s staff of educators offers more than 30 courses that teach natural sciences, environmental issues, cultural history, and team building through active participation.
The importance of outdoor experiences reported in independent studies that show OEE programs raise science scores by as much as 27% and that OEE programs have a positive effect on student achievement in general.
In addition, studies show that outdoor educational experiences positively impact student behavior and interaction with peers as shown through improved conflict resolution skills.
The results are measurable and significant.
-----------------Summer Resident Camps-----------------
Disguised as adventures that create lifetime friendships, our programs cultivate life-skills critical for success in academics, career, family and community.
Living together in cabins and villages, taking open-air classes, and participating in a wide range of outdoor activities provides opportunities by design for 1) sharing of knowledge and ideas, 2) conceptualization of needs and solutions, 3) development of interpersonal skills for helping people, 4) guidance to individuals and groups in the completion of tasks, and 5) learning day-to-day skills that result in the satisfaction of “a job well-done.”
Between 2001 and 2004 the American Camp Association conducted research with more than 5000 people to determine the outcomes of the summer camp experience. Parents, camp staff, and children reported significant growth in:
~ Self-esteem and Peer relationships
~ Independence and Adventure and exploration
~ Leadership and Environmental awareness
~ Friendship skills and Values and decisions
~ Social comfort and Spirituality
------------------Specialty Programs and Group Retreats---------------------
Storer's custom programs are tailored to meet the needs of more than 5,000 people who are members of community groups from a wide variety of backgrounds.
These programs are designed and conducted by YMCA Storer Camps in collaboration with the group. Shared goal setting for outcomes as well as combined leadership of activities ensure that each group’s needs are met.
These collaborations include church retreats, youth sports, family camps, environmental groups, women’s and men’s associations, teen leadership and service-learning, Girl Scouts, and parent/child programs.
100’s of groups find sanctuary here. They benefit from a love of place, a sense of community, and a shared identity.
In recent years, some of our most memorable experiences have come from reaching out to communities with unique needs.
