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The Brampton Guardian
Brampton resident fears unique scout camp could close
The Brampton Guardian
Friday June 27 2008
By Lori Sherman, Staff Writer
 
BRAMPTON - Every summer for the past 30 years children from all over Ontario gather in a 150-year-old barn just outside Acton to camp and swim, make crafts and make friends. Despite its long history and deep roots in the community, it remains a secret to most of Brampton.
For one week boys and girls ranging in age from six to 14 are introduced to the ‘scouting’ lifestyle. It is a camp based on Scouts Canada and according to Camp Leader and Brampton resident Beth Billeter, a valuable component to many children’s happy summers. However, low enrolment is threatening the camp’s existence and Billeter is working hard to get the secret out.
“We had good numbers in 2004 and 2005, but since then it’s slowly gone down,” said Billeter. She believes the reason is the public just doesn’t know about it. “The problem we have is people don’t hear about it enough. Normally, on average, we would get between 100 and 120 kids at camp but now, this year, we have 40 registered so far.” Billeter needs at least 65 participants to make the budget.
The camp runs for seven days and six nights out of the converted barn, which features hated cabins, indoor washrooms, a community kitchen and a swimming pool, in Rockwood, Ontario. The camp runs the third week of August. “Kids are dropped off by their parents on Saturday and picked up on the Friday.”
According to Billeter, once at the camp, children are immersed into an activity filled schedule. “We do some pretty crazy things,” said Billeter. “Last year we had an outdoor drive-in and we all pretended we had cars.” Children converted a cardboard box into their dream vehicle. A film was projected on the side of the barn as the children looked on from their box. “It’s really funny because parents will say ‘what did you do at camp?’ and they say ‘we sat in a box for two hours, it was great!’”
“Lunch and dinner have different themes every day. For example we have big utensil meal, backwards meal, we have sing for your supper. It’s not only the kids, the leaders get really into it as well,” said Billeter.
The leaders are all volunteer and go through an interview process by Billeter. “I choose them directly myself. I interview them. I make sure they have a police check. I get references. It’s just like a serious job except they don’t earn pay for it.” According to Billeter, the volunteerism helps keep the camp cost very low. “When people hear the price they think there is a catch.  They expect sleepover camps to cost $600, $700, even $800. Ours is $200. The only catch is, our leaders are volunteer”.
“If the program weren’t running it would feel wrong to me. It would be like losing a limb really. We are giving these children life skills and it’s such a unique and fun program,” said Billeter. “It would be a real shame to see it end after so many years.”
If you would like to sign your child up or are looking for more information, contact Dawne Redel at 905-459-6648.
 




 
 
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