Category: Manitou Cares
🤝 Manitou Cares November Programs
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Community Week 2022
On Friday night we kicked off Community Week 2022, one of the most fulfilling and exciting weeks at Manitou. We began the week by welcoming Emmanuel Jal who started his life as a child soldier in the war-torn region of Southern Sudan. Through music and motivational storytelling, he shared messages of hope and perseverance and inspired us to find the good in everything. Emmanuel is now an artist, actor, and political activist who speaks to groups around the world and, thanks to the efforts of the incredible people at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, we were incredibly fortunate to have him come to speak at Manitou.
On Monday night, we held our annual Walk of Hope. Campers and staff walked a path around camp, completing meaningful, thought-provoking activities along the way. Some of these activities include the ‘Fear Fire’ (you write down your fear and burn it in a campfire) and the ‘Wishing Well’ (campers write wishes for the world on stones and throw them in a fountain). Many campers performed poems, speeches, and songs for everyone to listen to as they completed the walk.
Prior to starting the walk, however, campers met in the theatre where they watched a video about why we walk which explained the history of famous marches and walks and what their significance has been in the world. We were also fortunate to welcome Hannah Alper, youth activist, author, public speaker, and environmentalist. Coordinated by our friends at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Hannah spoke to our campers about the power of one. Inspiring them to make a difference using whatever tools and gifts you may have; big or small. Hannah taught us how every action makes an impact and answered many questions about how our campers can start to make a difference around the world.
In camp, we have been seeing the impacts of our speaker’s words and so many campers have been busy raising money for community week! All of the proceeds that campers and staff raise will be donated to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center. At Archery, campers are raising $5 for every bullseye they hit. Gameshow is hosting a charity casino. Swim is running “swim around the world” with each lap raising money, and woodworking is making appreciation signs for hardworking staff around camp. Campers from Freshkids to CIT’s are hosting handstand competitions for charity, charity trivia contests, bracelet making to give to people to brighten their day and so much more. The ideas and initiatives that have been coming from our campers have just been incredible! So far we have raised over $8,000 and we’re not done yet!
It’s been so wonderful to see kids get together with their cabins and unite for a good cause. They are so proud of themselves when they get up in front of the camp and announce what their cabin will be doing to raise money for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and it’s amazing to watch them understand the importance of giving back. Our hope is that this is just the beginning and that this week can help spark a passion for philanthropy that remains throughout their lives.
So far, it’s been a great week and it’s not over yet! Stay tuned for even more community week info to come.
🤝 CNIB and Manitou
Friday Night Fireside is our favourite evening of the week. Some of our older campers were discussing with the directors that everyone knows at fireside to embrace it, and truly as our poem says be their best self.
This past week, we took thirty of our oldest campers, the Leaders-in-Training (LITs), to Canadian National Institute for the Blind’s Lake Joseph Camp. The LITs went on this incredible day trip to learn how people with different abilities function and enjoy their summers at camp and also how to adapt many of the activities we do at Manitou for people with different needs.
Later in the week, our LITs welcomed campers from the CNIB Lake Joe camp to participate in activities around Manitou. Our LITs used their skills they had learned previously to work with kids who are visually impaired, and it was awesome to see friendships being formed. Their visiting campers got to try their hand at Adventure Park, wheel at Pottery, and they even went to our Archery range! We think our LITs are going to be awesome when they return as CITs next year, and we can’t wait to see their leadership skills in action next summer. Please watch the short video below for our CNIB and fireside recap.
Of course, fireside has the wonderful candle ceremony and campers spoke about our theme, “Grow through what you go through”. Our junior campers had much to say and here are some favourite quotes from the night:
“An example is at the beginning things started off rough in our cabin and then we all though it wouldn’t be better but we started to grow together and now look back on how our cabin has come together and we have become better people”
“When I first came to Canada all the way from Spain I was so but people welcomed me into the awesome community that Manitou is. At Home in Spain Manitou Is a very special thing and is so important to my family.”
“Our theme of the summer is to learn from past experiences. An example of this is I signed up for wakeboard and at first was really nervous but with the help of the staff I was able to get up, and I learned to trust others to help me and grow through what I go through.”
I guess we all could learn from our campers this summer!
🚌 The Tour of Humanity
Friday Night Fireside is our most special time of the week and once again, this week was no exception. Every Junior, Senior and CIT participated in the “Tour of Humanity” bus through the Simon Wiesenthal Center and this wonderful presentation opened up their eyes to ensuring we always take a stand and never turn away in the face of injustice and racism.
We hope you enjoy the video below showcasing this incredible #ManitouCares program!
🇺🇦 Help us Support Ukraine
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🎁 GIVE BACK: The Manitou Cares Shoebox Project is here!
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🤝 MANITOU CARES: Fall Newsletter
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CITS 2020: Adopt a Grandparent Program!
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Manitou Cares Presents: Les Miserables
With 2 weeks to go 280+ tickets have already sold – reserve your seats NOW!
The Manitou theatre is coming to Toronto in just 2 weeks! This past summer, a talented group of campers put on one of the best performances Manitou has ever seen. It was the broadway musical ‘Les Miserables’ and we can’t wait to share it with everyone. Join us for what will be a spectacular evening of Manitou entertainment!
If that isn’t enough, everyone’s invited to join us at our post performance get-together where rumour has it there will be delicious camp treats, games and hidden clues to next summer’s Tribal Games theme and World Games countries!We are excited to announce that the Manitoucamp Foundation is supporting Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada for our 2019 season. Through the foundation, the proceeds from Les Miserables will be donated to help CAFC improve the lives of children and youth in the welfare system. In honour of this announcement, CAFC will be joining us to give a short presentation before the play and we will have a donation bin for packaged diapers in the lobby – please bring what you can and support families in need!
Tickets are available now and are $40.00 for adults or $25.00 for students.
You can order online anytime by clicking HERE. Tickets are also available at the box office by calling 905-303-2000 and press 4 to purchase.
We can’t wait to reunite as a camp community and relive the magic from the past summer. We hope to see you there!
– Mark, Jeff, Jen, Alec & Melissa
The Walk of Hope
A special evening of learning and hope to make a positive difference in our world:
Last night before our poignant Walk of Hope, we shared with our campers and staff the many values that we hold so important here at Manitou. We ask that you set aside 15 minutes of your day to watch the video below as a way of connecting with our message and experiencing the same magic that your kids did yesterday evening.
As we embarked on our annual tradition of the Walk of Hope, each of our units discussed the many charitable endeavors that Manitou is supporting this summer but more importantly, discussions were held around the theme of the video below. All campers were asked to contribute their ideas on what might be pursued when they get back home to positively impact their world. The senior unit spent several hours discussing incredibly well thought out concepts for new charitable initiatives that were then presented to us all for consideration. We are proud to say that the ManitouCamp Foundation is providing a $500 donation for what we feel is the most inspiring cabin idea to support!
As day three of Community Week came to a close, we had kids in every activity doing events to support Autism Speaks Canada, as well as cabins and campers coming up with dozens of fun events. But last night soared to new heights as we lit up main field in blue to support our charity of choice. Everyone walked around the hundreds of candle lit bags, each one decorated by every camper with the themes of hope, change, and the power of one. Campers stopped first at the bonfire where they would symbolically burn their fears, signifying a letting go of all that holds them back. After that, they joined in the footprint canvas, leaving their painted feet as a remembrance of our special evening. An uplifting photo booth where campers took photos holding inspirational slogans marked the end of the Walk while in the background, our campers and staff sang and entertained us all night long with wonderful music. It was one of those remarkable Manitou nights to remember and one which had a profound impact on everyone who was present. While the attached video can’t replace the magic we all experienced together, it does capture the wonderful Manitou spirit that shone throughout! Enjoy…
