A friend texted today asking “Is Cool2Care still a Camp Skylemar thing?” You betcha. We refer to these three words every day. We have it on our bracelets, wear it on our t-shirts and feel it in our hearts.
It’s not just something that we say… It’s something that we do.
We might not talk about it in every Blog, but you can feel it in what we write. You can see it in the photos – kids genuinely caring about each other. You’ll often see the C2C hand symbol: the thumb, pointer and pinky up, which means “I love you” in American Sign Language. For us, it’s as natural as a peace sign or thumbs up.
In case you missed what it’s about, here’s a refresher. C2C means that it’s cool to want to win and play your very hardest. When you do win, it’s not cool to over-react. Instead, you need to remember what it feels like to be on the other end. It’s the little things that matter, like giving a hand to someone who falls, no matter what team he’s on. That shows that you care.
It’s cool to participate and be a part of it all. Doesn’t matter if you’re good at it or not, or even if you don’t like a game. When you participate it makes it more fun not just for you, but for everyone else.
It’s cool to care about your friends here as well as your family at home. On a bigger level, it’s cool to care about the world around you, and do your best at keeping things tidy and not create waste.
Not sure if we use the term as a verb or an adjective, because sometimes they’ll say “that’s not cool to care” if someone’s rude. For the most part, what we do is try our best to “live the motto”.
Take a look at our Stars, the oldest campers. Today’s Meal Minutes were delivered by Diego V and Jack L. They demonstrated that it’s cool to care for those campers younger than themselves and talked about how proud they are to now be a role model. They thanked those who helped them over the years at camp and reminded all to be someone people can look up to.
For this week’s Cool2Care Chains, here’s what was said about each recipient:
Sometimes it’s the smallest folks that make the biggest impact. This kid does the right thing consistently, whether someone is looking or not. He’s kind, fun, warm, listens well and is wise beyond his years. Paul M (Bunk 2)
This kid always has a smile and positive attitude. He was incredible at the basketball intercamp the other day, showing outstanding sportsmanship, encouraging his teammates, being respectful to refs and congratulating opponents after the games, win or lose. He competes hard and loves even harder. Matthew M (Bunk 18).
Speaking of respecting the refs, today’s POW for Bunk 17 was all about them. POW stands for Person of Wisdom, and basically, it’s a class in something practical that boys need to know. For example, yesterday’s POW was about changing a tire. Soon they will learn to parallel park a golf cart too.
Now back to the refs: Bunk 17’s POW was all about how to be a referee. Athletic Director Mitch is very involved with refereeing in Wisconsin, and he taught the guys about how the job is a lot harder than it looks. Our hope is that through experiences like this one, we’ll all be more respectful to referees when we get home. After all, there is no game without a ref.
The Blow-up Carnival this evening was the opportunity for everyone to participate, and they did. It was like a giant party on Hejduk Field. There was the Mega Obstacle Challenge, the Triple Threat Course, Toxic Lava Run, Dual Sports Bungee Challenge, Gladiator Joust, Sports Arena and Disco Dome -- and great music too.
Best of all, there were snowballs, Baltimore-style. That means the ground ice goes in a cup, your choice of flavor (yes, you can have some of each) and marshmallow cream on top.
Blow-up Carnival is a shoes-off event. When you get to the field you leave your shoes in front of the sign that says your Division name. That way you know exactly where you left them when it’s time to go. Like we said, it’s those little things that show that you care which matter so very much.
