Forging a Path to a Bright Future: Frost Valley Life Newsletter, Fall 2014

FORGING

A PATH TO A

BRIGHT FUTURE

Frost Valley Life A Journey Through The Valley | FALL 2014 FROST VALLEY YMCA

| frostvalley.org

JOURNEY THROUGH THE VALLEY FROM THE DESK OF JERRY HUNCOSKY CEO | Frost Valley YMCA

Summer camp has concluded yet another season filled with growth for thousands of children. Now the leaves crunch underfoot and snow flurries have even fallen on the highest peaks. As one season ends and another begins, all of us at Frost Valley YMCA can easily look around and become awestruck by the beauty that exists here, not just the scenic vistas and picturesque landscapes, but also the beauty of engaging programming that never seems to take a day off and the bright smiles on the faces of the children and parents who come here.

When I consider the many wonders that make Frost Valley such a special place, I cannot help but think of the individuals who have dedicated hours of hard work to make it so. For instance, we’ve inducted four new individuals into our Hall of Fame. And this summer we re-named the first place where guests are greeted the “R. Fenn Putman Welcome Center,” after our Former Chairman and Trustee Fenn Putman who passed away in June. I invite you to learn more about his legacy in the enclosed tribute booklet. We also recently honored our board Vice President Al Filreis with the distinction of the 2014 Eric Blum Volunteer of the Year Award.

And just last month, friends, family, staff, and trustees broke ground on what will soon be the Blum Center, a building entirely dedicated to staff support and made possible by a generous planned gift from the 2013 Volunteer of the Year Eric Blum. Eric was another Frost Valley legend, and when I see the construction under way, I’m reminded of the hours he spent volunteering here, giving selflessly of his time and talent, and of the way he took on any job, no matter how big or small, always with an effortless smile.

The bar is high. We’re a camp with hundreds of miles of hiking, and it’s a fun challenge to pack a map and compass, follow the trail markers, and head out into the woods. Likewise, we can head into the future with a similar spirit, thanks to individuals like Fenn Putman, our Hall of Fame inductees, Al Filreis, and Eric Blum paving the way.

So as you’ll see within these pages, we have no shortage of inspiration, commitment, and values guiding the way. Even as winter approaches and the days get shorter, the future remains bright. Thanks to donors like you, individuals who are dedicated to supporting a mission that changes lives, we can expect continued success for generations to come.

Jerry Huncosky

So you can imagine how easy it is for us to look around and see more than buildings and programs and activities, but also to see the faces of the people who have made Frost Valley what it is today.

SUMMER 2014 REVIEW June 16-19

Former Trustee and Chairman R. Fenn Putman passes away, and the Frost Valley welcome center is soon renamed in his memory, the R. Fenn Putman Welcome Center.

“Alopeciapalooza 2014” kicks off at Frost Valley YMCA! This annual five-day camp run by the Children’s Alopecia Project at various locations across the U.S. gives children with alopecia and their family members, many of whom also have alopecia, the chance to be with others who understand their experience and enjoy traditional camp activities with their friends and loved ones.

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June 8

WHAT IT MEANS TO GIVE BACK

BRAYAN’S HABITAT FOR HUMANITY STORY “I learned about helping others. I never knew I would like it, but I really did.”

For many children, being offered help is sometimes more common than the rewarding chance to do the helping. For Brayan Zuniga, a 16 year-old with cerebral palsy living in a single-parent home with his younger brother, many people often want to do things for him or lend him a hand. However, an independent and quite capable young man like Brayan really benefits most from opportunities to explore the world and give back.

Brayan’s easy-going and try-anything attitude prepared him for a summer he’ll never forget.

Just ask him what the highlight for him was and he’ll eagerly tell you about working in the Habitat for Humanity Resale Store, which sells gently used home goods and uses the proceeds to build houses for families in need.

“What I liked most was working in the store. I was in electronics and metal,” he says.

“I got to test the speakers and the sound systems and sort the metal, so they can melt it and recycle it.”

At only 16, Brayan’s character speaks for itself when you consider that volunteering in the store was his favorite memory, especially since he spent his free time rock climbing, mountain biking on a recumbent tricycle, cooking over campfires, and spending each night out under the stars in a tent.

“Now I help out more,” Brayan says. “I help my brother with his homework and correct it with him. I just try to help out around the house when I can and be there for my friends at school. I learned that at Frost Valley.”

June 22 385 summer camp staff from 13 different countries worldwide arrived in the Valley to prepare for another summer filled with lifelong memories and growth.

June 29 Thanks to a generous grant from the National Recreation Foundation, we were able to create a healthy living curriculum for our campers and guests to learn to cook healthy recipes, make positive lifestyle changes, and try growing their own food.

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The Teaching Kitchen opens, which is a fully operating lab-style kitchen (with home-like flair) where campers and guests can learn and practice healthy cooking skills through programs like “Incredible Edibles” and “Healthy Home Kitchen.”

A CELEBRATION OF IMPACT 2014 ANNUAL SUMMER MEETING

Held this year on August 16, our Annual Summer Meeting is a wonderful way for our donors and volunteers to see the impact of their support. And all in attendance were moved by former kidney camper and 2014 camp counselor, Nadia Uddin, who gave an endearing testimonial of her time as a camper and the important impact Frost Valley has had on her life. Nadia was followed at the podium by Mainstreaming at Camp (MAC) Camper, Rhys Harris, who spoke from his heart about the lessons he’s learned here and the gifts he’s received through inclusive programming, challenging activities, and exemplary counselors. Another alumni, DeQuan Foster, a 2014 counselor and former scholarship camper through our Newark partnership program, spoke energetically about how camp gave him the power to believe he could do anything, including start his own publishing company and write two books.

The summer meeting is also a time to show our gratitude. CEO Jerry Huncosky honored our beloved former Chairman and Trustee R. Fenn Putman. After sharing memories of Fenn, Jerry invited two of Fenn’s children, Missy and James, to unveil the plaque that has now renamed the first building our guests enter: “The R. Fenn Putman Welcome Center.”

The day ended with several tours, which included Frost Valley’s new Teaching Kitchen, the newly renovated cabins 31 and 32, and the Friendship House.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR PROFESSOR AL FILREIS

Our 2014 Eric Blum Volunteer of the Year, Professor Al Filreis first arrived at Frost Valley in 1963 as a young Totem camper. Through a close friendship with a scholarship camper named Charlie, Al learned firsthand what he otherwise may have taken for granted, the transformative impact that camp can have on all campers, whether they’re here thanks to a scholarship or not.

Former Chairman Paul Guenther presents award to Vice President Al Filreis

After moving up the ranks from camper to counselor to staff, Al began as a volunteer in 1986, giving selflessly his time and talent each summer as he continues to do today. A year later, he created the Frost Valley Alumni Association, and in 1999 he joined the Board of Trustees, later serving as the Chair of the Development Committee and currently serving as a Vice President and Chair of the Committee on Trustees.

Al returns to Frost Valley YMCA each summer with the enthusiasm of an energetic young camper and the dedication of a seasoned fundraiser – he currently holds the record for the most raised through a Friends Asking Friends webpage at Frost Valley. He brings iconic traditions to our camp each year and many children associate summer with the words, “Hey Al!” For these reasons and countless others, the Frost Valley YMCA Board of Trustees unanimously voted to name Professor Al Filreis the 2014 Eric Blum Volunteer of the Year.

SUMMER 2014 REVIEW

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June 29

June 30

Through Frost Valley’s partnership with the Ruth Gottscho Kidney Foundation and the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, we welcomed our first kidney campers of the summer. These campers received treatment for chronic kidney disease, kidney transplants, and other illnesses requiring dialysis while also experiencing traditional summer camp with their peers.

Day Campers benefited from a generous grant from the YMCA of the USA that enhanced their experience.

The Day Camp Upgrade Pilot Program brought our campers new programs like skill cards, which marked their progress toward certain goals, and passports that allowed them to write about their days and share it with their families.

FRANK KETCHAM

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE This summer we posthumously inducted Frank Ketcham into the Hall of Fame for his critical involvement in Camp Wawayanda’s move to Frost Valley in 1958, for his forging of the Westfield YMCA-Wawayanda connection, for his key role as a founding trustee, and for his inspiring work as a volunteer leader of his community.

Frank was first introduced to what is now Frost Valley YMCA in 1948, when his young family spent a week at Wawayanda Family Camp. In 1956 and 1957 Frank became very involved with the search for Debbie Goodeve, Trustee a new location for Wawayanda, whose various recent moves in northwestern New Jersey were caused Mike Ketcham, and Billy Ketcham-Heath accept by encroaching suburban development. Frank Ketcham and Ed Tomb were leaders among those who induction on Frank’s behalf planned the move, identified Frost Valley as a destination, collaborated with Walter Margetts to secure the purchase of 2,200 acres from the Forstmann family, and then handled the finances as Wawayanda prepared for its first summer here in the Catskills in 1958. In 1957 he became the Board’s very first treasurer. In Wawayanda’s early years here, the camp’s budget was precarious, and its survival owes in part to Frank’s integrity, honesty, and constant fiduciary attentions. Frank served as a Frost Valley trustee through 1965, just prior to the arrival of Halbe Brown and, with that, an era of stability and then expansion began. As Frank’s son Mike recalled recently, “He intuitively understood the value of camping and he believed very strongly in Frost Valley.”

JOHN KETCHAM

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE John Ketcham was unfailingly kind to everyone. He loved Wawayanda and Frost Valley and did everything he could, always, to make it a better place for children. He accepted far more than his share of commitments and complex responsibilities. For these attributes and his long-term involvement with and commitment to Frost Valley, we have posthumously inducted John into the Frost Valley Hall of Fame.

He attended camp at the temporary Wawayanda site at Stevens Institute in the 1950s, and by 15 he was a young Counselor-in-Training (CiT) at Frost Valley. By 16, as a very young counselor, his superstar capacities as leader of children and colleagues became fully apparent, and he was appointed the role of Village Chief. Soon he was Frost Valley’s Waterfront Director, through which he helped re-introduce YMCA-style swimming instruction. Starting in 1975 he worked with his father Frank in the accounting firm, Ketcham & Ketcham. He was writing early computer programs to aid accounting practices, and Frost Valley was a beta testing site.

As he worked on this with Halbe Brown, he was persuaded by Halbe of the value of another Frost Valley innovation: a specialty camp for kids focusing on computers. John developed the program and for at least one two-week session taught the children himself.

Jody Ketcham and Steve Ketcham accept induction on John’s behalf

John’s legacy reminds everyone to aim for constant innovation and persistent perseverance, to ever be reaching beyond our grasp.

July 6

Our art studio and dance studio open in Program Village, allowing children to gain new skills and hobbies at camp to take home with them.

We celebrated the many cultures represented here during the summer as our international staff shared their traditions and customs during summer camp’s annual Small World Festival.

The day concluded with another annual favorite – fireworks over Lake Cole in celebration of Independence Day.

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July 1

CLARA HASBROUCK HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

Clara Hasbrouck served for seventeen years as a trustee, after succeeding the influential trusteeship of her late husband Dr. William E. Morthland. When Clara succeeded Bill as a trustee, she was asked to take responsibility for sorting through the furnishings of the recently acquired home at the Straus-Guggenheim estate, “the Straus House” (now East Valley Lodge).

She dispatched that project so selflessly and so well that before long the Forstmann Castle was added to her charge of responsibilities.

Clara had been an active member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and persuasively applied its principles of conservancy to Frost Valley’s place in Catskills history.

Working with Woody English, the President of the Board then, she promulgated the commitment to the Castle’s preservation and its permanent use for schoolchildren and summer campers as a historical lab. For these commitments and selfless acts of dedication we have unanimously voted to induct Clara into the Hall of Fame.

Trustee Judy Pasnik presents induction to Janis Leas, who accepts on Clara’s behalf

“Frost Valley has a genuine purpose,” she recently remarked. “It serves adults and children and does it so well. I want people to know what an inspiration it was for me to work on behalf of Frost Valley. It was and is a happy place.”

DR. IRA GREIFER

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

CEO Jerry Huncosky presents induction to Dr. Ira Greifer

In 1974-75, Halbe Brown, Eva Gottscho, and Dr. Ira Greifer came together to co-found The Ruth Gottscho Kidney Center here at Frost Valley. It was the first of its kind—a program through which children with kidney disease could safely attend camp alongside healthy children. Dr. Greifer brought the resources of a major New York City academic medical center along with his pioneering experience as a pediatric nephrologist. His dedication to founding, maintaining, and growing this integral program is why we have inducted Dr. Ira Greifer into the Hall of Fame.

This type of program, in so remote a location, had never been tried. Dr. Greifer was at the time the Medical Director of the Children’s Kidney Center at Albert Einstein Hospital of Medicine (now Montefiore), the largest such unit in the northeast U.S. and the only one in New York State. In the mid-70’s this type of therapy to children would have been considered too technically difficult by many. Because of Dr. Greifer’s dauntless vision, children on hemodialysis—in those days just about as restrictive an ongoing medical treatment a child could have to endure—not only had the chance to interact with their peers at camp, but also swim in a cold mountain lake, play soccer, perform their village cheers after lunch, make real lasting friendships, and even hike to overnight campsites and sleep out under the stars. Dr. Greifer gave these children, through his vision, expertise, and commitment, the gift of a childhood.

Sadly, Dr. Ira Greifer passed away shortly after his induction on September 17, 2014, but his legacy will live on here at Frost Valley for generations to come.

SUMMER 2014 REVIEW

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July 20-21

August 4

Another year of sportsmanship, cultural exchange, and spirited cheers filled the Valley during summer camp’s annual Olympix. Congratulations to Armenia, this year’s victors!

During summer camp’s annual Battle of the Themes, campers and staff brought technology to life here in our screen-free zone. With a video game theme integrated into every activity, days were filled with costumes, challenging activities.

FATHER’S DAY IN THE VALLEY CORE VALUES IN ACTION

Each year, our guests join us for dozens of specialty theme weekends – from Halloween Weekends to Festival of the Holidays to Women’s Wellness. And Father’s Day weekend, which happened to coincide with one of our Autism Family Support weekends this year, is always a great way for families to create lifelong memories.

Cindy S. said goodbye to her husband Glenn and their son Brian on June 13th as the two of them headed north for the Catskill Mountains and a weekend together at Frost Valley to celebrate Father’s Day. She didn’t hear from them again until Sunday, when they regained cell phone service and called home to regale her with stories of their trip.

“I could tell by the excitement in Brian’s voice how much fun he had and how much he enjoyed himself,” she said. It may not come as a surprise that two men out in the woods might have a great time, but for Cindy it was unexpected.

Brian has autism and has a lot of trouble adjusting to change and new places. In fact, his parents considered canceling the father-son trip for fear a weekend at a strange place would be too difficult for Brian. However, that Sunday afternoon phone call proved to her they made the right decision by not canceling. She said, “Brian was so happy…which is all we really hope for.”

Brian told his mom that his favorite activity was the Flying Squirrel, a high ropes element that allows participants to safely fly above the treetops as fellow guests hoist them up with a rope. Glenn told his wife that Brian, who has an affinity for the Sesame Street character Super Grover, was thrilled that the instructor leading the activity played right along with him as he pretended to soar high in the clouds, just like his idol. Glenn was quick to inform Cindy that all of the Frost Valley staff members were more than happy to engage Brian and support him, which allowed Brian to constantly feel happy about being at the Valley. “He was really thrilled,” reported Glenn, “I am sure he is going to be talking about it for years to come.”

For parents like Glenn and Cindy, a weekend away can be a rare commodity, but they’re excited to plan for future trips back to the Valley. They’ve already registered to return for their father-son weekend during the June 2015 Autism Family Support Weekend, and Glenn and Cindy even hope to send Brian here for summer camp one day.

“Opportunities like this help you realize,” adds Cindy, “even though we spend most of our time fighting for what our child needs, it’s important to just let him be a kid and enjoy time together as a family, just like everyone else.”

August 10

Frost Valley campers and staff enjoyed a night in Japan, right here on camp, during our annual “Tokyo Night.” Through Frost Valley’s partnership with Tokyo YMCA, this exciting event introduces campers to traditional Japanese games, dances, foods, and customs.

The final Habitat for Humanity Adventure trip heads out to volunteer in the Ulster County Habitat for Humanity Restore. Campers help to refurbish and stock gently used home goods to be purchased in the store, where all proceeds benefit the building of homes for families in need.

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August 5

MAKING MEMORIES FOR LIFE A SPECIAL FAMILY CAMP MOMENT

Each August, during Summer Family Camp, hundreds of families come together to enjoy traditional camp activities, spend time bonding with one another, gather with friends they’ve made through the years, and simply relax for six days in the mountains. From August 24th to 29th, over 400 guests united here for Frost Valley’s Annual Summer Family camp. Many of these families joined us for their very first time, while others have been coming for generations – several families for over 50 years!

A lot of us grow sentimental when we think back to our summer camp days, so family camp is an opportunity, no matter your age, to truly go back to camp. Throughout these five days children of all ages and families of all sizes enjoy time-honored camp pastimes such as boating and canoeing, singing around the campfire, arts & crafts, hiking, archery, horseback riding, as well as activities and programs that can only be enjoyed here at Frost Valley.

This year, our guests witnessed a Family Camp first! Everyone put on their very best, and laced up their dancing shoes, and enjoyed a fun-filled Camp Prom in the Margetts gym. We even had a prom proposal! Craig and Jennifer Williams happened to be celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary while they were here, and Craig wasn’t going to let the special day get overshadowed by all the fun of Family Camp. He surprised Jennifer when he stepped up to the podium at dinner on Wednesday night and announced over the microphone that he wanted to ask his wife to prom. With Craig in his military uniform and Jennifer in her wedding dress (which he managed to pack without her noticing) the two danced the night away in the gym just like a couple of kids. Moments like these are what Family Camp is all about – showing the people who mean the most to you how much you appreciate and care about them.

Our camp families each bring their own unique excitement and creativity every year, and this year certainly had no shortage of memories and stories that everyone will reminisce about, perhaps around campfires, for years to come.

SUMMER 2014 REVIEW August 16

August 17

Frost Valley hosts another Annual Summer Meeting and BBQ, with over 100 donors, trustees, close friends, family, and volunteers in attendance to celebrate the impact our supporters have on all that we do.

Another Frost Valley tradition continues!

Hirdstock, a camp-wide festival and talent show, was a huge hit with plenty of singers, dancers, musicians, face painting, and more!

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A YMCA CHAMPION

FENN PUTMAN RECEIVES THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CHAMPION AWARD When Chairman of the Board of Frost Valley YMCA Fenn Putman passed, the staff, trustees, and volunteers felt a deep loss. However, his legacy remains, which is why on October 2, 2014 the New Jersey State Alliance posthumously named Fenn the recipient of the Social Responsibility Champion Award. As Frost Valley’s longest serving trustee (1972-2014), he gave his time, talent, and treasure to Frost Valley, whose service area largely includes North Jersey children and families, as well as his local YMCAs, including the Montclair, Somerset Hills, Spears-Eljabar, and Westfield Y’s.

His generosity also inspired him to take on numerous roles in his New Jersey church and throughout his community, including leading a local soup kitchen. Fenn helped assure that diverse, underserved populations were supported by the YMCA through advocating for Frost Valley’s partnerships with organizations in Newark, NJ, which serve children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend camp. He was also an advocate for Frost Valley’s Kidney Camp, which helps send children on dialysis to summer camp. To that effect, he drove the capital campaign to build the Guenther Family Wellness Center, complete with a dialysis unit. He also supported Frost Valley’s Tokyo YMCA partnership, serving children and families from Japan and offering a place to bond with others who share their culture while also acclimating to American life.

As a former U.S. Marine Corps Captain and President of the Mendham NJ Township Board of Education, Fenn understood the importance of strengthening the wellbeing of families and communities and addressing key issues, such as obesity and diabetes.

To that end, he was influential in acquiring a generous grant from the National Recreation Foundation, which allowed Frost Valley to lead Healthy Living initiative programs for campers, school groups and weekend guests; tailor a curriculum to be taught in a teaching kitchen and garden; and plan to present Healthy Living programming materials at the YMCA Program EXPO and the Northeast YMCA Camp Conference.

Fenn also modeled the principles of inclusion and diversity by supporting Frost Valley’s Mainstreaming at Camp program, which partners with the Young Adult Institute to offer campers with developmental disabilities a traditional camp experience alongside their peers. This program allows campers with disabilities the chance to be a part of the group and teaches their peers about inclusiveness.

Ever humble, Fenn Putman would have never called himself a “champion,” but to all who knew him, he was the epitome of a YMCA Champion. His son, James Putman, accepted the award on his behalf at the Forsgate Country Club, in Monroe Township, NJ, while dozens of YMCA supporters, friends, and family applauded his commitment to social responsibility.

August 22 East Valley Ranch Horse Camp concludes its fourth year as summer 2014 comes to an end, providing hundreds of girls a summer filled with growth, friendship, laughter, and new skills.

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By the end of the summer camp season over 20 new campers, who have never experienced the magic of summer camp, joined us through the Resident Camp Access Grant from the YMCA of the USA.

MY PROMISE TO FROST VALLEY

A NEVERSINK SOCIETY MEMBER TELLS HER STORY ”Before setting foot at Frost Valley, I wondered: what could be so special about it?

It’s over 25 years after my first summer at Frost Valley now, and I can simply say: everything. I spent four years as a camper, one as a CiT, and five as staff. I don’t think I can pick a favorite summer. Being a camper gave me a certain sort of freedom – the joy of trying out new things with new friends, not stuck in whatever social ruts form at home.

Staying in touch with all my camp friends during the school year, waiting for summer to begin again. Or did being a CiT give me that freedom? That memorable time in the Catskill wilderness changed me and toughened me up (in a good way) more than anything I’ve ever done. Being a counselor was an extension of this.

As a parent now, I look back and think – how was I responsible for other people’s children? But we took that responsibility so seriously, and it was a wonderful challenge to not only make sure everyone was safe and happy, but also to invent ways that every experience could be more fun. As a counselor, I had plenty of campers who only spent two weeks at Frost Valley but learned so much!

I’ve always wanted to give back to Frost Valley for my experiences there, and for the experiences that I hope my son and my nephews will have, and all the other kids as well. That is why I’ve chosen to join the Neversink Society, and include Frost Valley YMCA in my estate plans. I want the legacy to continue long after I’m gone because Frost Valley is an oasis that truly changes lives.”

--KARIN TURER Frost Valley Camper & Staff 1988-1997

2014 SCHOLARSHIPS SUMMER PROGRAM

CAMPERS

SCHOLARSHIPS

Adventure Camp

31

$40,122.00

Overnight Camp

248

$283,862.00

Farm Camp

20

$22,760.00

East Valley Ranch

24

$42,360.00

Mustang Village

8

$10,077.00

Leadership Programs

11

$14,263.00

Newark Partnership

141

$256,620.00

Kidney Program

14

$26,320.00

Day Camp

93

$21,900.00

TOTALS

590

SUMMER 2014 REVIEW

$718,284.00

5% 16%

2%

42% 24%

2%

1% 4% 4%

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August 24-29

September 1

Over 400 guests join us for our Annual Summer Family Camp, six days of bonding with loved ones, enjoying traditional camp activities, and making memories to last a lifetime.

By the end of the summer, supporters of Project 332, part of Frost Valley’s annual giving campaign, send over 500 children to camp this year, giving them values, memories, and friendships that will guide them for life.

THE CHANCE TO JUST BE A KID

CAMP HLC GIVES RESPITE TO CHILDREN OF PARENTS WITH ALS A group organized by Hope Loves Company (HLC), a charity dedicated entirely to children of ALS patients, and HARK, whose mission is to share the real story of ALS and to provide a network of resources for families, brought a very special group to Frost Valley this fall. From October 17th to 19th, children whose parents suffer from ALS or have passed away from ALS were given three days of a well deserved break from the difficulties of living with, and often caring for, a terminally ill parent.

ALS has seen a recent surge in awareness, although a cure remains yet to be found. This terminal and incurable disease affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord and progressively diminishes voluntary muscle action. Patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. According to HLC, “It is estimated that 85% of ALS patients have children, so those children will witness a parent struggling with terminal illness.”

Nearly 40 guests joined us for “Camp HLC” and were given a chance to forget for a few days what can often be a very difficult home life. Campers enjoyed traditional campfire sing-a-longs, teambuilding activities, ropes courses, outdoor survival skills classes, an ice cream social, journaling, arts & crafts, and plenty of carefree downtime.

These children often face troublesome demands at home, such as watching their parent suffer, no longer being able to run and play outside with Mom or Dad, or missing out on everyday kid activities because caring for a sick parent has become the priority. This is why one of the many things that made this weekend so special, and what is often the case for the groups we serve, was that these children were the ones who inspired us the most, certainly much more than they realize.

The children who joined us for this weekend were incredibly fun, energetic, and upbeat.

In fact, despite the difficulties they and their families face, laughter drowned out every meal, enduring positivity motivated even the most challenging hikes, and contagious smiles beamed throughout the entire weekend.

September 20

Our school trips season is kicked off with our first group - 5th graders from Kipp Amp Academy in Brooklyn, NY as well as 7th and 8th graders from Tuxedo Park School in Tuxedo Park, NY joined us for classes in orienteering, outdoor survival skills, water ecology, and more.

Frost Valley breaks ground at the site of the new Blum Center, and construction immediately begins on this exciting project, which is planned to be completed by Summer 2015.

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September 3-5

FROST VALLEY YMCA 2000 Frost Valley Road Claryville, NY 12725 TEL (845) 985-2291 EMAIL info@frostvalley.org WEB frostvalley.org facebook.com/frostvalleyymca

BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIRMAN Robert B. Haines

TRUSTEES Dr. Rafik Ghobrial Ted B. Hilton VICE CHAIRMAN Catherine M. Harvey Dr. Frederick J. Kaskel Michael D. Ketcham PRESIDENT Robert Lomauro James S. Vaughan John O’Brien Cheng Ong CEO Barbara Spitz Jerry Huncosky Robin Wachenfeld TREASURER Mary T. Wheeler Peter E. Sundman ADVISORY SECRETARY COMMITTEE Jerold W. Dorfman William H. Abbott VICE PRESIDENTS Mitchell Brock William E. Baker Andrew Chapman Professor Al Filreis H. Corbin Day Robert Messick Barton C. English Judith L. Pasnik Michael P. Lahue Thomas M. Moriarty

TRUSTEES EMERITI Thomas W. Berry Hunter Corbin Helen M. Geyer, Co-Director Paul B. Guenther Dr. George J. Hill James C. Kellogg, Co-Director W. Thomas Margetts Gerald H. McGinley

LET’S PUT GIVING BACK IN THE HOLIDAYS

GIVING TUESDAY AND FROST VALLEY YMCA At Frost Valley YMCA, we’ve already begun thinking about how we can put our mission and values into the holiday season. One way we’re excited to do that is by participating in “Giving Tuesday” this year. Three years ago the United Nations Foundation decided it was time to put giving back into the holiday season, which is what Giving Tuesday, every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is all about.

When you make a contribution to Frost Valley on Giving Tuesday, you’ll give a gift to a child or family that can’t be bought in a store. So please mark your calendars, and remember to join us by participating in Giving Tuesday on December 2, 2014!

To learn more, visit: www.givingtuesday.org

Frost Valley YMCA is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to put Judeo/Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. We raise funds throughout the year for camperships that cover the costs of camp for children who would not otherwise be able to attend. To help us give the gift of camp to children, families and students, please contact our Development Office at 845-985-2291 or email development@frostvalley.org. To donate online go to www.frostvalley.org/donate

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