🤝 LAST CHANCE: Join us for The Ve’ahavta Project!

LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP – DEADLINE THIS FRIDAY!

Looking for a meaningful way to giveback with your family? Join our Camp Manitou Team on Sunday December 5th from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM for an afternoon of volunteerism that will inspire you to roll up your sleeves and make a difference. Now more than ever, we are looking for ways to connect as a community and make a difference.

We are just past halfway towards our fundraising goal! These funds will go towards much needed resources for marginalized people in our city that Ve’ahavta serves each day through their ongoing programs and the Mobile Response to Homelessness Outreach Van.

 

Thank you for your support of this important cause and we hope you’ll show that #ManitouCares!

 

JOIN OUR MANITOU CARES TEAM!

To Sign up:

  1. CLICK HERE to begin
  2. Click Join an Existing Team then type ‘Camp Manitou’ into search field and click the green JOIN button
  3. Complete account information

Deadline to sign up is this Friday, November 26th!

There is a suggested minimum fundraising goal of $250 upon registration, but please do not feel pressure to fundraise to that full amount. This event is really about giving back on December 5th and being part of a larger community to learn about homelessness in our city and what we can do to help.

When signing up you will have the option to choose between 3 activities to participate in: Blanket Making, Cooking, and Baking. For this year, a second time slot has been added so you will have the opportunity to try out more than 1 activity. Our Manitou Director Team will be leading and facilitating the Blanket Making in both time slots, we would love to have you join us, but please choose the activities you feel most connected to!

Please reach to Jen at jen@manitoucamp.com with any questions!

NOT ABLE TO JOIN US? DONATE HERE!

📣 NOW OPEN: Rookie Day Application!

Greetings!

We are excited to announce that registration for our Rookie Day Program is now open for 2022!

Children age 6-9 can enjoy Manitou’s annual ‘Rookie Day’ first time camper experience on Saturday, July 16th! They will get a taste of the activities and the wonderful community of Manitou as a full-fledged one-day camper. Most importantly, our Rookie’s will make new friends and get a sense of the independence and self-confidence that come from a quality summer camp experience.

SIGN UP HERE!

 

Registration for this full-day program is $90.00 (taxes included). Bus pick-up at 7:30AM and drop-off at 9:30PM is from North Toronto.

For more information please call our Toronto office at 416-322-5888 or email us at camp@manitoucamp.com. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please share this information or have them get in touch.

Mark, Jeff, Chris, Jen, Alec and Melissa

📺 Our 2021 Video Gallery is LIVE!

As we continue to enjoy the beautiful fall weather, we can’t help but look back fondly on our incredible 2021 camp season. We are pleased to announce that all of our videos from this past summer are all finally officially posted in our video archive! Click the image below to access the gallery relive the magic of the summer, the password is summer2021 

PLEASE NOTE: there are 2 pages of videos from camp. To access the second page, please scroll to the bottom of the webpage and click the arrow in right hand corner.

Also, we have added more photos to the Bunk1 Photo Gallery with albums for the campers who participated in the photography program this past summer. We were so impressed by the creativity of our many campers who took part in this activity. If you need information on how to access the photo gallery, CLICK HERE!

We are already hard at work planning to make sure Manitou 2022 is the BEST SUMMER EVER!

We can’t wait to see you all soon.

Mark, Jeff, Chris, Jen, Alec & Melissa

Exciting News to Share

Dear Manitou Families and Friends:

As the golden days of summer fade and the seasons shift, we find this year holding particular significance.

When we bought Camp Manitou 23 years ago, our mission was to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. We took the best of what traditional camps offered, but then challenged ourselves to improve upon it. Value-based in-camp programming, year-long programming like Manitou Cares, and an emphasis on supporting each individual camper was fundamental, but our vision went even deeper.

As every parent, camper and staff knows, we take enormous pride in ensuring that every person who becomes part of the Manitou family is valued and honoured. Manitou is a village in which to grow, a place to embrace, an empathetic and caring way of being. Friendships are founded on non-judgemental acceptance of one another and the beauty of shared experience; gratitude and giving back are a way of life at Manitou.

At the heart of all that we do is our own commitment to mentorship. From CITs and unit heads, to our ten-person summer director team, we’ve always had an eye on the future, supporting those in leadership roles just as we were once supported in our more formative years. The passion we’ve always had to make Manitou the most special place on earth for our campers and staff permeates our culture.

As you may know, not only did we (Jeff and Mark) meet at summer camp but we became best friends there and were fortunate enough to be able to take that friendship and our shared values to Manitou so we could create a camp that would be like no other.

We are proud and excited to announce that three other camp friends who met at Manitou over 20 years ago, will now join us as part of our ownership team. Twenty year Manitou veteran Chris McKibbin has been, and will continue to, work full time in the camp office, while his best camp buddies, Dan ‘Goldy’ Goldenberg and Russ Verbeeten will be supporting us behind the scenes. Chris, Dan and Russ met at Manitou in 2000, and their bond is as strong as ever. It’s been their dream to be an integral part of Manitou, and to invest in the place that helped shape them into the people they are today. That dream has now become a reality.

Chris started off as a counsellor at Manitou in 2000, moving up to a director position 15 years ago, and has been our right hand man ever since. He was a teacher in the public school system for over two decades, working with children of all ages. Chris also specialized helping students with various learning challenges. He will continue to guide us with his wisdom all year long, just as he has every summer since 2000! Chris, along with his wife Nicole and two children Jack and Charlie are so excited to be back at Manitou next summer. Chris can always be reached by email at chris@manitoucamp.com so feel free to drop him a note anytime.

Daniel, a lawyer in the entertainment industry, is looking forward to following a dream of his since he was a young adult. While Dan won’t be a day-to-day camp director, we look forward to welcoming him, his wife Mohr and their two kids Hazel and Molly to Manitou for Summer 2022.

Russ, a second generation Manitou camper and staff, will be in the background as well, but will provide ongoing support. Russ, along with his brother and sisters, all grew up at Manitou going back to the early 80’s!

Together, these best friends will follow their dream and their passion, joining the two of us as owners, along with Jen, Alec, and Melissa, in making sure that Manitou grows and thrives for many years to come. You couldn’t ask for a stronger team!

What does this mean for Manitou in the days and years ahead? It really means the new energy makes us even better! We, Jeff and Mark, are still an integral part of the ownership and director team, but are excited to welcome Chris, Dan and Russ, who come with an abundance of energy, ideas and commitment. It’s time for the next generation to join us in building this legacy, so that future generations will benefit from all that has come before. True success occurs when you can create a culture, a value system and a mission that can be passed on from generation to generation.

As always, we are full steam ahead as we work towards Summer 2022. We’ll continue to work as hard as ever and feel blessed that we can mentor our younger ownership team, and learn from them at the same time.

Now it’s back to camp work. The overwhelming number of campers for next summer is so exciting! No matter what part of the Manitou family you fit into, we cannot wait to welcome you to Manitou for Summer 2022 and beyond!

Warmly,

Mark and Jeff

🤝 MANITOU CARES: Fall Newsletter

After an incredible summer, we are looking forward to continuing the magic of camp by connecting with our Manitou families to help make a positive impact on those less fortunate. Our community efforts throughout the summer at camp is only the first step. In spite of the ongoing pandemic, Manitou remains committed to supporting many life changing initiatives and charities all over the world! Due to restrictions on gatherings, we are unable to have some our most popular in person events at this time like our community meals, soup making, and more, but we have developed some incredible for families to enjoy!

Take a look at our upcoming #MANITOUCARES programs below. We are officially kicking off the year with card making in honour of Emergency Nursing Week. We are also working to support a refugee family from Rwanda through JIAS. If you or anyone you know has a lead on a subsidized 2 bedroom apartment, please get in touch with Mark at mark@manitoucamp.com. We will provide more updates on opportunities to get involved in helping welcome this young family to Canada.
Stay tuned closer to the events for more information and how to sign up. Please feel free to reach out if you have ideas of other programs helping those in need!

EMERGENCY NURSING WEEK

Manitou is excited to support the nurses in the ER at SickKids Hospital in honour of Emergency Nursing Week with a card making program. Many of our families have benefitted from the incredible nursing team at SickKids and now it’s time for us to show our appreciation. For any family who signs up, we will provide the name of a nurse in need of some uplifting during these challenging times. Please email Jen to get matched with a nurse. We hope to be able to send at least 1 letter to each of the 100 nurses who work in the Emergency Room department. Time is of the essence for receiving letters, so if you are interested, please let us know right away!

EVANGEL HALL SANDWICH PROGRAM
 

We are now able to restart our successful Evangel Hall Sandwich Initiative! We have partnered with Evangel Hall for many years to help in food insecurity for both their residents and marginalized people in the area. We are reaching out to Manitou Families to ask that one family sign up each month from October to June to take on preparing 200 sandwiches. These sandwiches will then be delivered by the family to Evangel Hall Mission to be given out to their clients.

Please email Jen at jen@manitoucamp.com to sign up!

ECHOAGE BIRTHDAY PARTIES

We are proud to be part of ECHOAge with the Manitoucamp Foundation as a charity for birthday parties. By choosing ECHOage, you are allowing your child to understand the joy of giving back as part of the birthday party experience. This is a great way to have a birthday party with a meaningful impact. Please visit www.echoage.com to learn more!

2021-2022 MANITOU CARES CALENDAR
CARD MAKING
Letters Against Isolation
October
We are excited to report our first Manitou Cares Program of the season exclusively for our 2021 LITs helped kick off another year of incredible Manitou Cares events. We created cards with words of encouragement for senior citizens who are dealing with isolation due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Thank you to all who participated!
SHOE BOX PROJECT
Gifts for Shelters
Month of December
Let’s start the new year off on the right foot by supporting The Shoebox Project. Each thoughtfully created and decorated Shoebox is filled with items valued at $50 that can enhance self-esteem and reduce feelings of isolation for women in crisis. Create, decorate and then drop off your box throughout the month of December at our Toronto office to help!
VE’AHAVTA PROJECT
Ve’ahavta
December 3
The Ve’ahavta Project is back for it’s 3rd year! As a Manitou community we will once again come together with Ve’ahavta for an afternoon of virtual volunteering and learning. With our family and friends of all ages we will have an opportunity to work together on hands-on projects that will directly benefit Ve’ahavta’s clients.
MANITOU FEEDS THE WORLD
Manitou Cares
March
Once again this spring, we are excited to continue our 4th annual Manitou Feeds the World campaign. Campers, parents, staff, alumni, grandparents, aunts and uncles – join us as we help curb  hunger across the globe.
BAKING FOR A CAUSE
Irresistibly Delicious
Spring
Long time parent of the Manitou Family, Jennifer Grossman, of Irresistibly Delicious is going to be leading baking sessions where participants will make treats for those facing food insecurity benefitting Ve’ahavta, Seaton House and Evangel Hall.
MANITOU GOES GREEN
Seeds of Hope
May
Please join us to clean up the Seeds of Hope garden. As a Manitou Family, we can make a difference in our environment by working together to get this garden ready for the summer and for residents to grow their own vegetables!
WALK FOR THE AGES
Baycrest Foundation
June
Join Manitou for the 2nd annual Walk for the Ages. This event includes an exclusive walk around Canada’s Wonderland before the park opens to the public and full access to rides for the remainder of the day. This is a great day for the whole family! Stay tuned for more.
BAYCREST BUDDIES
Baycrest Foundation
CIT Program
We are excited to announce our 2nd year of our Baycrest Buddies Program open to our Summer 2022 CIT Unit. This is a fantastic way to receive community service hours, be part of a movement and show that #ManitouCares. This will allow CITs to connect with seniors in our community, one of the most vulnerable and isolated populations right now, and embody our Manitou values of supporting and learning from the wisdom of the older generation.
WELCOME REFUGEES
JIAS
Winter 2021-2022
Want to help a refugee family in need? Mark and Jen are joining forces with JIAS to welcome a family arriving from Rwanda in the next couple months. Please be in touch if you are interested in becoming involved in assisting with helping the family settle into life in Toronto.