A Tough Goodbye

Every summer since I can remember I have been coming to Rising Sun Day Camp. Growing up here at camp, from a camper to a CILT, and eventually into a counselor, I have learned so many life lessons that will stay with me forever. Along with that, I have made memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. Even though this is unfortunately my last summer, I know I will always have my Rising Sun family to lean on as I continue to grow up in life. The relationships a person is able to build here at camp are truly meaningful. For me personally, not only did I meet some of my best friends, but I also was able to gain true mentors and people that I will continue to look up to forever. As my own counselors turned into colleagues, and soon close friends, I was able to learn so much from others in a way that I never thought was possible. Now as a counselor, I have strived to build those relationships with campers. Your children will never truly understand the impact they have on us counselors until they are older. It’s been such a privilege to watch them grow throughout the years. They have taught us things I don’t think anyone else possibly could. I speak for everyone working at Rising Sun when I say that the memories we have made with your children will stick with us forever. As the years go on, it will be time for our campers to grow and become the amazing counselors we know they will be. Sometimes it’s honestly impossible to put into words how much Rising Sun means to all of us. Even though it is so hard to say goodbye, as I honestly wish I could be at Rising Sun forever, I feel so fortunate to be a part of a program that honestly changes lives…. for it has changed my life forever. There will always be a special spot in my heart for Camp Rising Sun, which will never disappear. Thank you to all of the counselors, campers, parents, and friends that were a part of it. I will never forget you!

Camp 1 Luau

Camp 1 had a taste of Hawaii this afternoon thanks to their head counselor Leslie. They had the choice of showing their hula hooping skills, making their own hawaiian leis, and even limbo. A luau dancing counselor competition between the boys and girls ended a great party. If only we could all fly up to Hawaii together!

RSDC Rap

For those of you don't know, our very own volunteer Kagwe is extremely skilled in the rapping department. He decided to share his talent this week with all of our campers. During Kagwe's afternoon Rap RANK, campers have the chance to write their own raps, along with perform them in front of their peers. In addition to the song writing, many decide to free style. Hearing their new raps can be very impressive....and also majorly hilarious!

Slip and Slide Soccer!

Do you love to play soccer? Do you love to go down slip and slides? Well....imagine combining both of these passions together for a spectacular game of fun. Jared and Sean decided to spice things up in honor of Jared's last day at camp this morning during our soccer RANK. A slip and slide was placed on the soccer field in between two goals. On top of the slide included huge amounts of soap and water in order to make it as slippery as possible! All of our soccer players changed into their bathing suits, and with bare feet kicked around the soccer ball while trying not to slide. As you can imagine...it was definitely a site to see!

RSDC Cheerleading Squad!

Ready, ok! Megan Warren spent all afternoon working on cheerleading skills with some of our campers. Thanks to her ability to teach, have patience, and dedicate one on one time for each child, campers were able to slowly perfect their techniques. Through paying attention to their arm placement, balance, and big smile, they were able to develop into some great cheerleaders. I can't wait to see what else they will learn this week with Megan's help!

Camp Carnival!

Ashley, with the help of some of our Camp 3 campers, put together a carnival for all of camp! During RANKS anyone was able to attend. Each visitor received tickets in order to play the games. If they won, they would receive prize tickets that in turn could be used not only for a prize...but cookies as well! Some of the games included a cake walk, toss the penny, and pie a counselor. One of my favorites was a contest to see who could blow the rubber ducky across the bucket first. The carnival definitely put a fun spin on camp this afternoon!

And the Spirit Stick Goes To....

As many of you know, this summer is sadly coming to an end. With only one more week left of camp, many of our staff will be heading back to school during our last session of the summer. You could tell all of Rising Sun was obviously cherishing one of the last assemblies some of us had together. The energy was high and everyone's excitement was CRAZY. The fight for the spirit stick was extremely close, for everyone was showing their best camp spirit. After a classic camp song, cute cheer from the Mauis, and a hilarious skit, every huddle was ready to hear who would be the lucky spirit stick winners of the morning. Camp 1 even used an adorable puppy eyed technique! However, in the end, our CILTS were the winners. Great job CILTS!

Shout out to the Parents: From all of our staff, thank you so much for those who have left treats up in the office this summer. It means so much to us that your children think so highly of their counselors! And...yummy treats are perfect after a long day. Thanks again :)

Counselor Pranks

Sometimes...counselors decide to have a little fun for campers' enjoyment. Last week, some of our counselors decided to pull a prank on Camp 2. As they posed for what they thought was going to be a group picture in Central Park, the prankers stood on top of the roof with buckets of water. On the count of three, the whole group received a wet surprise from above. Everyone was extremely soaked! Today, some of our Camp 1 counselors decided to follow in their footsteps. During a fun chocolate design activity with their huddles, they started to get a little messy amongst themselves. Some innocent fun turned into a huge chocolate frosting fight, and all of our young ones in Camp 1 could not stop laughing! Everyone was having a great time. Enjoy the pictures!

Practice Makes Perfect!

The morning started off with a hilarious visit from our friends who have been planning a trip to Wet and Wild all week. The pool was obviously a little crowded. However, when they decided to leave, they realized all of their stuff was missing! Keep your fingers crossed that they are able to find all of their belongings in lost and found before tomorrow. As the day continued, I was able to visit two amazing RANKS. One of our counselors Abbie has been leading yoga lessons for our campers in order to teach them fun ways to stay healthy and active. Also, it is a great environment for relaxing after a long hot day. The majority of them were extremely flexible! Maddie, another one of our counselors, has been offering one on one golf lessons to interested campers. After learning some new techniques, all of golf RANK incorporate fun games to play together in order to practice what they were taught. It was great to see that with our counselors help, campers were able to learn so many new skills that they can use, even after the summer sadly comes to an end.

Wild Wednesday!

It was a wild, wild Wednesday here at Camp Rising Sun! Our morning started with a ridiculously crazy assembly, filled with our weekly Wacky Wednesday costume competition, a silly skit and the Spirit Stick contest!

During RANKS today Michael, our Adventure RANKS Coordinator, ate some disgusting bugs at the tennis courts. Check it out!

























Along with all the bug eating fun, our Camp 3 campers all traveled over to Mills Park Middle School, to visit Camp Outer Limits and have our annual Camp 3 dance. All the kids brought there best dance moves and have a blast!




If you have any picture request or any questions about our camp's communication please email Becca.Rubin@ymcatriangle.org

Friends Forever

For 20 years, Camp Rising Sun has given campers a chance to create life long friendships. For me personally, as a Rising Sun camper who is now "all grown up", I am still great friends with som
e of my fellow campers from my past huddles. Ryan Whitley, one of our current counselors, and I have known each other ever since 4th grade. We were both in the Camp 2 huddle Naboo, and continued to grow up together threw Camp 3 and CILTS. Now, not only do we work together at Rising Sun, but we have continued to stay close friends outside of the Y. Since this camp impact hits close to home, it's extremely meaningful to see new young friendships develop amongst current campers. I always can't help to wonder if they will be as lucky as some of us were with gaining friends that will last a lifetime!