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Camp Changed My Life

This week’s blog entry if from Jenna who has participated in Camp on the Move with North Star Reach for the past four summers. As an experienced camper, Jenna shares some of her favorite moments and best advice with us.

4 Years at Victory Junction Changed My Life

Advice to New Campers

When I first arrived at Victory Junction (A SeriousFun Camp in North Carolina) in the summer of 2011, everyone was smiling and exceptionally loud. They were all so eager to talk to anyone they could, and this became a little overwhelming. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

If I were to give advice to the campers facing their first day, I would encourage them to just be themselves and hold nothing back. Campers are allowed to be silly, loud, or anything they please, and they are never judged for it. Something I always tell new campers is to sing, dance and have the time of their lives. It is important for every camper to open up, and step out of their comfort zone in a place that is totally safe.

The more experience, the better! I was eager to be involved in as many activities as I could! I would advise other campers to do the same! There is no such thing as “can’t” at camp. Try everything! If you don’t like it, that’s okay, but you’ll never know if you don’t try!Jenna2

Favorite Camp Memories

Cabin time was one of my favorite memories from my experience at Victory Junction. During this time, campers and counselors could talk about anything, from our diseases and troubles to what we would fill a swimming pool with if we could. Interacting during cabin time was memorable because that’s where I opened up the most about things I had never felt comfortable talking to other people about before.

I learned that to make friends at camp you have to engage and experience things with everyone around you. If I had never gone to camp, I would have missed out on making a lot of really good friends. I met Marie and Amy during my first summer at camp, and the three of us became inseparable. Bonding with these girls through everything we did together the past four summers has built lifelong friendships. I have these friendships and all of these life-changing experiences, all thanks to camp.

Greatest Takeaways from Campjenna3

Before attending Victory Junction, I was incredibly shy. Talking and meeting with new people was never my forte. Stepping out of my comfort zone at camp has allowed me to grow as a person in ways that my family and I had never imagined. I have talked about my camp experiences at many North Star Reach events in front of as many as 300 people! Camp has helped me conquer my fear of talking to others. These skills I’ve learned through camp have helped me become a lot less timid and more willing to step out of my comfort zone.

Camp is the place where our medical limitations do not exist. Camp is like heaven on earth, take it all in and be yourself.

24-hour Dance-a-thon benefits North Star Reach

Line Dance. Dead Bug. The Rave.

These phrases hold so much meaning to students involved in Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan. They mean hours of fundraising and planning events, hours bonding with their team and family, and 24 fun-filled, exhausting hours standing.

What’s the purpose behind all this crazy fun?

Each spring, over 1,000 college students from Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan participate in a stand-a-thon/dance-a-thon in support of pediatric rehabilitative therapies.  For this culminating event, the Indoor Track and Field Building at the University of Michigan is packed with students dancing to pop songs for the line dance, rolling on the floor in the sacred seconds of “Dead Bug” time, and going crazy at 4 am for the rave.

Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan (DMUM) strives to raise monetary support and awareness for the needs of the pediatric rehabilitative therapies. These therapies allow children with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities to live happy, full childhoods. Whether it’s riding a bike for the first time, participating in creative coping therapy, or bowling with friends, the kids of Dance Marathon and the therapies are what it’s all about. “Dancers,” as members of DMUM are called, stand for 24 hours in support of children everywhere who face staggering challenges, but the feat of 24 hours standing is nothing compared to the daily challenges that these brave children face. Pushing through the 24 hours of pain and exhaustion at the Marathon reminds Dancers of the challenges these kids face daily.

But what does a thousand college students standing for 24 hours have to do with North Star Reach?

Each year, the money Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan raises is allocated between C.S. Mott and Beaumont Children’s Hospitals, with occasional special beneficiaries. One such beneficiary is North Star Reach. Through a grant of $500,000 over 5 years, Dance Marathon has contributed to North Star Reach’s mission by enabling the construction of North Star Reach’s tree house on camp. This exciting partnership began a relationship between DMUM and North Star Reach that will impact kids’ lives for years to come.

Visitors and volunteers are welcomed with open arms to this year’s  Marathon. There’s nothing better than encouragement from friends, so come March 13-14 to the Indoor Track and Field Building to see what Dance Marathon stands for. Visiting hours are 2 pm-8 pm on the 14th and 8 am-2 pm on the 15th, and the inspirational closing ceremony is held from 1:45-2 pm on the 15th. Best of luck to Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan in their fundraising efforts as they make the final push to the marathon!

Jess Bauer
Communications Coordinator,
Dance Marathon at The University of Michigan