5 Reasons Why...

First steps toward investigating
independence. 

As a parent, it is important to know you have a support system backing you as you take on the beautiful task of raising children. Our mission at Camp Foley is to partner with parents to guide children to grow grit and investigate their independence in a safe, kid focused environment. Parents, we have your back.

Time in the muck with your besties?
Yes, please. 

Some of the best, and maybe hardest, acts of parenting occur when a child is provided the opportunity to branch out and experience life without a parent's immediate guidance. A longtime ACA member and camp director, Audrey Monk, wrote  5 Reasons Why Great Parents Send Their Kids To Camp. This is an incredible post that simply puts 5 of the major benefits of camp into words. Click the link to read why allowing a child to develop independence, experience outdoor childhood fun and adventure, relax, unplug, and become better at making and keeping friends could be the best decision you make as a parent all year.


If that article speaks to what you desire for your children, grandchildren, or neighborhood friend - REGISTER THEM TODAY!

Umuganda in Rwanda and also Gorillas

This past February, I was lucky enough to travel to Rwanda and Uganda for a once in a lifetime

experience photographing the Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees. The animals were of course very impressive and watching them interact with each other was not much different than watching my cousin’s families interact (they have lots of young, spirited children and we, as a group of adults, tend to share parenting responsibilities when we are all together). The Gorillas and Chimps are incredible animals that are threatened by habitat loss, climate change and poaching but in recent years have started to rebound (thanks to treaties by Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo). I could go on for hours about them, and probably will if you ask me, but something else has burrowed in to my soul and had me thinking since my return – “Umuganda” and Rwanda’s Plastic Bag Ban.

So what is Umuganda? In Rwanda, every last Saturday of the month, all able-bodied citizens between the ages of 18-65 spend 2 hours volunteering in their communities, in a day they call “Umuganda”, which translates to “Coming Together”. Umuganda has been practiced in Rwanda for decades but it wasn’t until after the genocide in the early 1990’s that it got a makeover and took on its current form. For many years (until 2007), it wasn’t technically the law, but the social pressure to help was so high that estimates put participation at over 80%. Those that don’t participate are often not invited to local events or shunned at birthday parties and weddings. Now it is the law and fines can be administered if people are found to be skirting their responsibilities.

It is estimated that Rwandans do 18 million hours of community service per month. They pick up trash on the roads and trails, paint houses, help a neighbor who lost their farm to a mud slide, volunteer professional services like medical or dental care, dig trenches to prepare for rain water run-off and countless other acts that better their community.

And it works! The people of Rwanda are so committed to keeping their country clean and helping their neighbor. They voted to outlaw plastic bags and when you drive around you rarely see trash on the ground. If they don’t put it there, they don’t have to pick it up at the end of each month. Neighbors are helping neighbors and the whole time, guess who is watching? Kids!.

5 million children watch each month as their parents help others, as government officials work side by side with community members and skilled professionals offer their services for free. The kids watch (and usually help) and prepare themselves for a future where they, too, will be called on to help their communities.

What does this have to do with Camp Foley? In the spirit of Umuganda, this summer we are going to have 1 block of time each session that will be dedicated to community - both directly related to Foley and in our local area.  Every camper, counselor, and director will participate in some way, giving us time to connect as a camp community and do something that makes us proud. Just think. If every person in the USA, between the ages of 18-65, dedicated 2 hours a month to helping our communities we would have 624 million hours per month.

Of course the process isn’t perfect, and they have to revisit each year how to make this work for their communities. But I have been to quite a few countries and something was different in Rwanda. I’m not sure if it was their storied past, their sense of urgency that it can’t go back to how it was or something else that I, as a foreigner don’t understand, but something was different. There was an acceptance and a community and a togetherness that I haven’t always felt when I have traveled. I came back thinking and yearning to be better and pushing to find new ways to engage my neighbors. And for that I thank Rwanda, the Gorillas and Chimps, and most importantly, the Rwandan people.

Marie and I look forward to working side by side with the campers and staff this summer as we strive to make our community a better place and partner with parents to start kids on a path to bettering the world they live in.

For more pictures that I took of Gorillas and Chimpanzees see EightLegsPhotography.com or follow @eightlegsphoto on Instagram . 

~ Alli Faricy, Director

Environmental Education Always on the Mind

The school year is well underway and our campers are comfortably immersed back in their everyday, hometown lives. As youth developers, our goal is to have a positive impact on youth year round, not solely during the summer months while campers are in camp. So how can we ensure students are remaining active and developing important life skills? We can partner with the schools, of course!

Students interacting with a western hognose snake during Critters.

A majority of ACA accredited camps, Foley included, take pride in their partnership with schools throughout the United States. We partner with schools in Minnesota by way of our environmental education program. Check out Foley's program specifically! Environmental education is such an important and unique learning opportunity that gets kids out of the classroom to learn in a hands on setting. From learning how to light a fire using flint and steel to viewing wild animals in their natural setting, the depth of knowledge and experience gained is priceless. 

Students closely observing an adult beaver while canoeing
during Enviro Education at Foley. 

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which goes into effect during the 2017-2018 school year, sets the stage for more opportunities for schools to partner with camps and other organizations which allow for out-of-school time experiences. Classroom learning is obviously important, we just can't forget the importance our natural world has in our educational growth.

Take the time to explore that state park you drive by everyday, every moment spent outdoors can be beneficial!  

If you know of a school that may be interested in learning more about our program, email fun@campfoley.com.

Students testing our their lumberjack abilities during Woodskills.

"As the young spend less of their lives in natural surrounding, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically and this reduces the richness of human experience ... we NEED contact with nature." - Richard Louv

Your Child's First Sleep Away

Make no mistake that a child’s first sleep away at a summer camp can be a scary and nerve-wracking experience – for both camper and parent! We have seen time and time again that anxious separation of kid and parent on opening day of camp and it can sometimes be difficult to wager who will burst into tears first. Russell Hyken, of Ladue News, testifies to this in a recent article. “Our concerns started to spiral. Is he too young? Will he be homesick? What if he doesn’t like his cabin mates” and will he eat the food?” These are all very natural reactions to what is often a traumatic time in a parent’s life – often the first prolonged separation from their child.

Camp can be a very anxious time for most parents.

These is no real research into a definitive rule about the appropriate age for a child’s first over night camp, and children are often ready to attend long before their parents are comfortable sending them. We feel it’s important for parents to understand the benefits that children gain from coming to camp – self confidence, personal development, huge increase in physical skills and a heightened sense of self worth to name but a few. This rationalization will make the pain of this separation seem much more worth while. After all, parents want their children to develop and succeed!

Above and beyond the question of whether to attend camp or not comes the question of how long to attend. Hyken argues this should be carefully considered. “Many parents believe that a week is a good length of time to trail the camp experience. Seven days, however may not be long enough for a camper to relax, conquer homesickness and develop solid relationships with new-found friends. Consider two weeks or more to fully maximize the life-changing experience camp can provide.”

Rest assured – we stand by our mission statement to partner with parents to make their stay stress free for the grown-ups, too!

- Ricky Searson, Assistant Director