K-W YMCA ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION
1970
BUILDING ON TRADITION. INVESTING IN THE FUTURE. Above: Barb Hill and Andrea Binkle at YMCA Camp Belwood. Debbie Porter, Sandy Westfall and Martha Bean at YMCA Camp Wabanaki on Beausoleil Island
The Kitchener-Waterloo YMCA has been offering quality camping experiences since 1923. In many families, going to Belwood, Ki-Wa-Y or Wabanaki has become a family tradition—a tradition that already extends four generations. The Hill-Westfall Family is an excellent example. Fifteen or more family members have been involved as campers, staff and committee members since Britton Hill asked Margaret Schreiter to serve as Wabanaki’s camp nurse in the 1930s. “We believe strongly in the power of camping,” says Barbara Hill. “Childhood is a special time of life and camping helps build kids into strong, successful adults in a very unique way.” Having experienced and witnessed the power of camping to transform lives firsthand, the Hills and Westfalls have stepped forward to ensure YMCA camps continue to make an impact on young lives, both today and into the future. They have done so through many generous gifts to the K-W YMCA Endowment Foundation’s Camp Fund.
“By investing in the camp fund, we know that the principal remains intact while the interest can be used to ensure the best possible camping experience,” said Dave Westfall, former director of Camp Belwood (1973-75). “I was thrilled when my nephew Jono Hill became assistant director at Belwood and when his sister Katie became the type of role model at Wabanaki that she had looked up to for many years. We hope that our gifts not only allow our tradition to continue, but that it allows many new 2002 family traditions to start and flourish.”
Jono Hill at YMCA Camp Belwood