Anvil Island | Why We Volunteer At A Summer Camp

We’ve been home from Anvil Island for over a week now. If you don’t know, there is a summer camp on the island called Daybreak Point Bible Camp. It’s a place that has become special for our whole family. I’ve been going since I was 9 as a camper, then did staff training at 16, and have been volunteering each summer since then. Now, our whole family goes, Jason’s been coming since we started dating, and the girls come up as “workers kids”. We love volunteering here and wanted to share a little of our week there and why we volunteer at a summer camp. 

I pretty much grew up going to this camp for a week each summer. It became something I looked forward to so much during the school year. I couldn’t wait for school to be over because it meant I would soon be on Anvil Island. The mission of Anvil is to encourage campers to encounter the love and life of Jesus Christ through teachings during chapel, the Christian community while there, and through a safe and fun camp experience. As a Christian and as a young person Anvil had a huge impact on me, especially guiding me through those ever so “fun” teenage years. It was always a memorable week when I was there as a camper.

With camp having such an impact on me, I knew in my heart that I wanted to continue going as a volunteer. I took part in a staff training program one summer so that I could learn what it’s like being a cabin leader, about all the other different roles at camp and so much more. It definitely helped to prepare me to be a volunteer on staff at Anvil. Over the years I’ve been a cabin leader, work crew, tech crew, workers kid baby sitter, and in the kitchen. I’ve loved being in all those rolls and each provided a unique opportunity to get to know the campers and encourage them throughout the week.

VOLUNTEERING AT A SUMMER CAMP

I do have a favourite volunteer position; kitchen crew! The past few years I have volunteered in the kitchen and Jason has volunteered on the tech crew. With the arrival of our kids, we still have continued to go to Anvil and volunteer for a week. We feel it’s important for our kids to see us do something like this, but we also feel called to go back. I love helping to make meals for around 200 people! Sure my feet hurt at the end of the day after standing in a kitchen for 8+ hours each day, it’s worth it to see the campers and my fellow staff members overjoyed because they loved the meal. Nothing beats a good taco salad, and I swear toast tastes a million times better at Anvil.

Being in the kitchen also provides a unique opportunity to serve the camp and get to know everyone as they pass through to get their meal. I always try to start putting names to faces and figuring out what camper is in which cabin and who their cabin leaders are. Checking in each day, especially with teenage campers, can make a huge difference in how their whole week is going. It’s amazing what just saying “Hi, how are you doing today?” can do! Our kids are seeing us serve others every day for a whole week. It’s definitely something they have noticed and are learning from.

BE DISCONNECTED FROM EVERYTHING

Going to Anvil provides this unique opportunity to disconnect. Living in a world where we are constantly connected by our phones and computers to the internet, television, text messaging and social media, it’s so nice to get away for a week and not be tempted to check on things. Instead, you are focused on what is actually going on around you. It’s why we often say “see you in a week”. 

I love seeing what the staff have planned for the campers to do each day. There are the usual cabin activities of swimming, tubing, boating, and sports, but then there are other activities! Then there are the wide games that the whole camp gets involved in. It’s amazing how everyone gets so into a massive game of volleyball or pudding fights. Plus, a giant slip-n-side brings out the inner kid out of anyone. Seeing how things like this can bring joy to so many people, it leaves an imprint on your heart and a memory of the fun everyone had.

Going to summer camp and volunteering at a summer camp are both incredible experiences. We love being able to serve others and make one week out of their year memorable, from the food to the activities and capturing the moments in videos and photos. We take a week out of our year and actually pay to volunteer, we’re there because we feel called to do it and want to be there. It’s something that we feel is so important to do, to make an impact on young people each summer.

Did you go to a summer camp as a kid or teen?

Do you volunteer at a camp now?

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