Every day at Camp Agawak, the girls are reminded that “Kindness Matters”, as this is a message printed on a pine-wood board, and tacked onto many of our trees.

Being kind to one another is what, indeed, matters most for campers to learn in order to grow and thrive in a large community. Some of the phrases I often hear from parents when their children return home from camp is: “My daughter came back a more caring person. She is nicer to her siblings. She helps me more around the house.”

Camp is full of important lessons that pave the way for transforming our girls into responsible and loving adults.

Along with learning self-care in the weeks away from Mom and Dad, our mantra from Day One of each session is stressing the importance of caring for one another.

We believe in the power of kindness so much that today, at Agawak, we designated an entire morning to this character trait. This morning, your girls spent time expressing love, respect, and gratitude in different ways around camp.

They wrote letters to children in hospitals, and to police officers who help keep our community safe. They wrote loving messages to one another and created beautiful kindness chalk drawings on our walkways leading down to the beach. In another activity, they shared specific acts of kindness bestowed upon them by cabin-mates.

Wherever I walked this morning, I saw girls with their arms around each other, smiling, so full of love.

Although I feel the love that is infused in our camp community each day, our Kindness Day was special in so many ways. A camper’s day is generally all about movement and racing from place to place. This morning we stopped, to reflect, to be grateful, and to appreciate one another more.

Your daughters will come back to you at the end of the summer having learned many new sports. They will have gotten up on water skis for the first time, climbed the Tango Tower, shot a bulls-eye in archery and perhaps they braved the Lake Swim.

For 31 summers, I have always felt the most essential takeaway from camp is learning to care for others. Here at Agawak, they learn how to be a better friend. I hope our morning spent focusing on kindness reminds them that kindness does indeed matter and to put those words into action all year long. 

Tonight, we will host Camp Kawaga for a social. The smell of homemade brownies and shampoo is in the air.

Smile-on & full speed ahead!

Mary