Month: August 2020

⌛Summer 2020 Time Capsule Project!

Posted on by Alec Amato

Calling all campers! We hope all of you will participate in our Manitou Summer 2020 time capsule project. Write about your highlights and lessons learned from Summer 2020 by filling out this easy form. The time capsule will be buried at camp this fall and in 5 years, at our first fireside of Summer 2025, we will dig it up. We will then share the thoughts and feelings of our Manitou community to properly reflect and remind us of how far we will have come since COVID-19. We strongly encourage all campers to be a part of this powerful project as we know reflecting on this unprecedented summer will be an important way to learn and grow. We know your participation in the project will not only benefit you, it will also inspire our greater community in the future.

SUPPORT MARVIN’S MILLION!

Watch this video to meet Marvin Gord! Marvin is 99 years old and walks five kilometres every day around his neighbourhood. Marvin will celebrate his 100th Birthday on Dec. 31, 2020, at the turn of the calendar year.

Between now and his birthday, Marvin is on a mission to walk 1 Million steps and raise 1 Million dollars for Baycrest’s SOS Campaign, which funds critical protective measures and medical equipment to safeguard residents, patients, and staff. Every dollar donated is equal to one step that Marvin takes in his mission to 1 million steps. In the video, you’ll hear from our CIT Baycrest Buddies about why they’re supporting Marvin.

Since we were so inspired by Marvin’s story, we have created our very own Manitou team for Marvin’s Million. We encourage you to visit manitou.marvinsmillion.com to support this incredible initiative. We hope you will all join our team and help Marvin reach his goal.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT: JONAH OPLER
Longtime camper and staff, Jonah Opler has started the Don’t Give Up On Me: A Virtual Community Music Project. This is a way to unite as a community in efforts to uplift each other and pass on love, care, and cheer to all those around us through music. They are creating a virtual music video to Andy Grammer’s “Don’t Give Up on Me” featuring voices singing together in harmony. If you like to sing on stage, around a campfire, or in the shower this project is for you! All they need from you is to record yourself singing the song! They want to involve as many people as possible and no previous experience is necessary, so take this opportunity to learn, uplift, and be a part of something meaningful. CLICK HERE to sign up by Friday, August 21st to join the project!

VR Video Gallery, Time Capsule & Giving Back!

Posted on by Alec Amato
Thank you to everyone who joined us last night for our final Virtual Fireside with Baycrest and Make-a-Wish Canada. Hearing about the resilience of our youngest and oldest members of our community was truly inspiring. We were grateful that so many of us joined together as a Manitou community on what should have been the last day of our 2020 season, even if only virtually. We heard some cabins and groups of camp friends were even able to have socially distanced viewing parties – as we always say, camp is about the people rather than the place. It was also so special for us to have our fireside poem read by those who would have celebrated their 15 & 20 year Manitou milestones at camp this summer.

If you were unable to join us for the YouTube livestream, we have included a link to our fireside below – we encourage you all to watch and learn from our incredible speakers.

WATCH THE FIRESIDE LIVESTREAM

HELP US GIVE BACK
Last night, we were so inspired by Marvin’s story and in light of our new partnership with Baycrest, we have created our very own Manitou team page for Marvin’s Million. As our Baycrest buddies explained, every dollar raised represents one of Marvin’s million steps. We encourage you to visit our team page, which is manitou.marvinsmillion.com to support this incredible initiative. We hope you will all join our team and help Marvin reach his goal.

Hearing the heartfelt stories of Gabe and Lilly as well as from our very own camp doctor Jeremy Friedman, we gained significant insight into the impact of Make-A-Wish Canada. We can now see the true power that these wishes have for the children who are facing unbelievable challenges, but who have shown unimaginable resilience. If you wish to donate, we now have a dedicated fund through our Manitoucamp Foundation. Please CLICK HERE to show your support.

OUR VIRTUAL REALITY VIDEOS ARE HERE

While we have run many virtual programs, we haven’t been able to bring you home, but we are hoping to try get one step closer. Several years ago, we brought a special videographer to camp to capture Manitou in 360 degrees. From music lunch to flagpole and the waterfront, these videos are as immersive as you can get. Given how much we are missing our home away from home, we are excited to announce for the first time that we will be releasing all of this footage to our entire camp community. You will actually be able to click on the videos and explore parts of camp by rotating 360 degrees. CLICK HERE to access the VR Video Gallery. The password is: manitouVR

PARTICIPATE IN OUR TIME CAPSULE

We wanted to properly acknowledge our strength as a Manitou community by documenting our memories from the summer that none of us expected. We felt the best way to do this was by creating our very own Manitou Summer 2020 time capsule project. We are asking all of our campers and staff to fill out a form for our time capsule where you can write about the highlights and lessons learned from Summer 2020. The time capsule will be buried at camp in the fall and in 5 years time, at our first fireside of the summer, we will dig up the capsule and share the thoughts and feelings of our Manitou community to properly reflect and remind us of how far we will have come since COVID-19.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR TIME CAPSULE PROJECT!

🔥TONIGHT AT 7PM EST: Final Virtual Fireside

Posted on by Alec Amato

Please join us tonight at 7 PM EST on YouTube Live to come together for what would have been the last day of our 2020 season. We are looking forward to connecting for one final inspirational fireside as a Manitou family. Tonight’s fireside theme is “Making Connections” and we will hear from both Baycrest Foundation and Make-A-Wish Canada about how the youngest and oldest in our community are facing and overcoming challenges. We will also hear from our CITs about their experience joining our pilot Baycrest Buddies program.

We will close with our classic fireside traditions of singing the Manitou song and a special rendition of the camp poem honouring those who would have celebrated their 15 & 20 year Manitou milestones this summer.

The Virtual Fireside will be streamed via YouTube Live. Please click the button below to join the stream and give us a shout out in the live chat. Don’t forget to press the Set Reminder button to receive an e-mail alerting you that the stream is going live!

YOUTUBE LIVE STREAM

 

We hope all of our families, staff, alumni and friends join us for tonight’s final fireside of our 2020 summer.

-Mark, Jeff, Jen, Alec & Melissa

Our Final Fireside, Camp Newspaper and More!

Posted on by Alec Amato

THIS THURSDAY IS THE FINAL FIRESIDE: MAKING CONNECTIONS

This Thursday, August 13th would have been the last night of our 2020 camp season. We are looking forward to reuniting for one final fireside to connect as Manitou family. This week’s fireside is about “Making Connections” and we will be highlighting some who have been the most impacted by the ongoing pandemic. Mark and Jeff will give an opening address and then we will hear from both Baycrest and Make a Wish Canada about how the youngest and oldest in our communities are facing and overcoming challenges. We will also hear from some of our very own CITs about their experience joining our pilot Baycrest Buddies program. We will close with our classic fireside traditions of singing the Manitou song and a special rendition of the camp poem honouring those who would have celebrated their 15 & 20 year Manitou milestones this summer. The link to the livestream will be sent by e-mail on Thursday and the final fireside will take place at 7:00 PM EST.

LAST CHANCE: MOSQUITO SUBMISSIONS

Our very own Julie Foster is compiling a special virtual edition of our camp newspaper, “The Mosquito”. Campers and staff: please e-mail us your articles, crossword puzzles, drawings, photographs, mazes and more to be featured in our first ever online edition. All submissions are welcome – please make sure to send them to us by Monday, August 17th!

MANITOU SPOTLIGHT: BAKING FOR A CAUSE

Members of our Manitou family Maya & Emily Froman and Katie & Jaimie Hyman along with their families were recently featured on Toronto.com for banding together to focus on their passion for baking while supporting their community during the pandemic. Since late May, they’ve sold home-baked goods and raised over $7,000 benefitting the Jewish Family and Child Service’s COVID Relief Fund. Thank you to the Froman and Hyman families for showing that Manitou Cares and creating this incredible initiative. CLICK HERE to read more!

WATCH OUR WORLD GAMES OPENING CEREMONY
For those of you who were unable to join us for the YouTube livestream of our World Games opening ceremonies, we have included a recording of the epic evening below – watch to relive the magic of our incredible World Games program. Thank you to all of the campers and staff who joined us for the program on Sunday and huge congratulations to Team Bermuda on their World Games victory!

🌎TONIGHT: World Games Opening at 8PM EST!

Posted on by Alec Amato
Tonight is our epic opening ceremonies for our 2020 Virtual World Games! Join our livestream on YouTube LIVE at 8:00 PM EST to experience the magic of World Games from home. It’s going to be a night full of surprise guests and World Games legends that you will not want too miss! The hype has been building all week on our social media and it’s now time to finally come together to keep the spirit and tradition of World Games alive for 2020.

Please click the button below to join the stream and give us a shout out in the live chat. Don’t forget to press the Set Reminder button to receive an e-mail alerting you that the stream is going live!

WORLD GAMES CEREMONY LIVESTREAM!
The program will be taking place tomorrow on Sunday, August 9th and it’s not too late to sign up to participate and be placed on a team as long as you fill out the form by the end of today. The events for our younger campers are scheduled for the morning and for our older campers in the afternoon. CLICK HERE to sign up for what is sure to be a very memorable day in Manitou World Games history. Even if you haven’t participated in either World Games at camp or any of our virtual programs this summer, this event is something you won’t want to miss and we strongly encourage all of you to join us!

We hope to see all of our Manitou families, staff and friends join us for tonight’s special show!

🌎 WORLD GAMES 2020 IS COMING!

Posted on by Alec Amato
Every summer we count down the days until it’s time for our World Games program that ends off each summer. The energy of two teams competing for glory through 3 days of spirit and sportsmanship is unparalleled. From Track & Field and the Marathon, to Cabaret and the cultural Dinners, this colour war is like nothing else we’ve seen before.

While we wish we were all up at camp to compete in our 2020 World Games program, we are very excited to announce our FIRST EVER VIRTUAL WORLD GAMES! Even if you haven’t participated in either World Games at camp or any of our virtual programs this summer, this event is something you won’t want to miss and we strongly encourage all of you to join us! We have a jam packed program filled with the Manitou spirit and fun competition that will bring the energy of Manitou’s World Games to all of us at home. Keep checking our Instagram account throughout the week for exciting teasers and the best memories of World Games past.

Our epic opening ceremonies (the break) will stream through YouTube LIVE on Saturday, August 8th at 8:00 PM EST and then the program will be take place on Sunday, August 9th. Events for our younger campers are in the morning and for our older campers in the afternoon. Please click below to sign up for what is sure to be a very memorable day in Manitou World Games history. Please sign up by August 8th at 11:59 PM EST to be placed on a team!

WORLD GAMES SIGN UP!