To New Staff: Welcome to Danbee

Dear Newbie,

Camp culture doesn’t happen by accident. Here is our first step in orienting staff to the magic of Danbee.

First of all, thank you for choosing to become a member of a very special summer community. Get ready for an amazing ride. Being a camp counselor is the hardest job you will ever love. By the end of the summer not only will you have made a difference in the lives of children, you might just find you were changed for the better as well. At the end of the first day of camp we have a traditional opening campfire celebration. We all head down to the lake and take a seat on our bleachers that overlook Lake Ashmere. The air is buzzing with anticipation and excitement everyone can’t wait to get the summer started.

If we are lucky, the stars are shining brightly overhead. Fingers are all pointing upward to show others exactly where the big dipper is located in the night sky. Our oldest girls are sitting in a giant horseshoe around the campfire facing the crowd. They can’t wait to share their thoughts with everyone gathered on what Danbee means to them. The space is what we call the Danbee dome. It is our safe bubble where we can create whatever type of community we choose. The girls are free from the daily pressures that they may confront at home. No phones, no social media, no schoolyard bullies are there to mess with their chance to shine. We remind them that this is our bubble. We remind them that Danbee is a safe place where you can be yourself, take risks, a no judgement zone where your only job is to simply be happy and grow as a person.

Before we start the ceremony we reinforce to the campers that coming to a camp like Danbee is something that most girls in the world never will get a chance to do. We remind the girls that camp is an amazing gift that they should feel grateful to be able to experience. We challenge them to take the opportunity this summer to squeeze ever last bit of joy out of their time at Danbee. We challenge them to choose kindness and stretch themselves daily to try new things. Then, we spend the rest of summer working toward making all that happen. We will experience lots of bumps in road as we strive to create that perfect community. From time to time kids will need to be reminded to choose nice. There will be homesickness and bunk fights, campers that won’t jump out of bed in the morning, picky eaters and whiny girls that drive us all crazy.

And….it will all be mixed with some of the most touching and affective moments in your life. Watching a kid get up on skis for the first time, a perfect pottery bowl that they finally mastered on the wheel, girls flocking to a homesick child to lend support, a camper telling you they love you, helping someone who is sad to feel better, and these are just the beginning of all the positive memories you will collect in your Danbee memory basket this summer.

Life is a series of moments. There are sad moments, challenging moments, and scary moments right alongside happy moments, proud moments and joyous moments.
The good news, we as humans, tend to focus on the good stuff. And the good stuff will far outweigh any challenges you will face. For the challenges are what make us stronger. They are the lessons that we take forward with us. This is what we call growth. The daily pull of yin and yang, good and evil, happy and sad that is the recipe for making us better people.

The kids need you more than ever in this covid crazy world. Camp just might be the remedy we all need to move past the challenges of masks, social distancing and vaccines. Thanks for choosing Danbee. We are glad you did.

See you in June. The campfire will be lit and waiting for you.