Kindness at Maine Camps – Camp Kindness Day

Back in the 1980’s and 90’s when we’d rent movies from Blockbuster or a local video store, there was a sticker on the video that said “Please bee kind, rewind” with an image of a bee to make it cute, memorable, and irresistible. And, while we don’t rent video tapes for movies anymore, that saying has stuck with me. It’s like how you should return the supermarket shopping cart to the corral so it doesn’t roll and dent someone’s car. Or how you should make a spot at your table or start a new table, so no one sits alone. All these small, kind gestures are hardly inconveniences, and they really make a difference in other people’s lives. It’s like that Maya Angelou quote, “they may not always remember what you said, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel” – it reminds me of when I was new in my town and another mom asked me to come to book club. As camps observe Camp Kindness Day, which celebrates the impact and value of kindness, we think about all the many opportunities at Maine Camps that kids have the chance to be kind to others. We think about how the camps’ philosophies and practices encourage kindness as part of the core values. As the American Camp Association shares: “Camp Kindness Day will help showcase the commitment of the camp community to fostering the core values of kindness, compassion, generosity and care, and integrating those values more fully into every aspect of our society. These values are already part of the fabric of the camp experience. We share the mission for our youth to be nurtured, taught, supported, and inspired to grow into our new generation of kind, compassionate, socially-minded, community-oriented citizens.” Every day, Maine Camps encourage kids to be kind to others as they live in group settings with shared space. They clean the cabin together. They have fun together. They help each other through small challenges. They help younger and new campers acclimate. They participate in social action initiatives beyond camp to help groups in need. On Camp Kindness Day, specific activities at Maine Camps will include: writing kind notes to camp friends to express friendship and gratitude, and painting kindness rocks and plaques for others. Campers will be able to express their kind feelings on a graffiti wall and in notes that will be read aloud at meals. During sports periods, being kind will be emphasized as a complementary balance to competition and winning the game. Kind is cool! And, kindness is contagious! It just takes one smile, nice gesture or kind word to make the world a kinder place. When I was young at sleepaway camp we sang a song in rounds that went, “Happiness runs in a circular motion kind of like a little boat upon the sea. Everybody is a part of everything anyway, you can be a part if you let yourself be.” It was a song of unity and friendship and kindness, which feels very fitting for this occasion. Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools

You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.

Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child?  Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks).  It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates.  Then you can research these camps in more depth.

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