Director’s Note

Greetings!

Camp is less than two weeks away – this is a good time to send some final reminders and updated information to all our parents and staff.

Let’s start with transportation.

Transportation

Staff should arrive at camp after 12:00pm on Sunday July 5th – no later than 6:30pm. If you plan to fly and have arranged to ride the bus to camp, then make sure your flight arrives before 3:00pm to be on the bus. Please remember, the orientation and preparation period from Sunday through Tuesday afternoon is for staff only. No campers will be accepted. This time to prepare and train is critical to our ability to serve our campers. Thank you for your cooperation!

Camper arrival is on July 7th. Those who are driving to camp should arrive between 1:00-4:00pm, while those flying to Dallas/Fort Worth airport or Love Field should arrive at the airport no later than 3pm. LYC staff will be at both airports meeting campers. Staff members will be wearing official LYC staff shirts and holding LYC signs. Campers will be collected from various terminals and shuttled to Terminal E, where they’ll board the bus for camp. Shuttle vehicles can be identified by the LYC logo on the door.

Important: Campers and staff arriving at DFW or Love Field should use the LYC Travel App to let our representatives know that they’ve arrived at the airport. This app will also show the location from which the bus will depart for both staff and campers. To view the app, simply use this link: LYC Travel App (https://www.jotform.com/app/living-youth/travel-app).

Camper and Staff departure is Monday, July 20th.  If you are picking up your camper by car, please do so no later than 10:00am (unless staying over for Texas Preteen Camp). Campers who are flying home will be transported to the airport early that morning.

Cell Phones/Smart Phones

As highlighted in the camper acceptance letter, cellphones, smartphones, smartwatches and all electronic devices are not part of the camp experience. Our staff puts a lot of time and energy into preparing and delivering classes and activities that will fully occupy your son’s or daughter’s time and attention. I guarantee that they will have full days! When campers arrive, we ask them to phone or text home to let their parents know they’ve arrived safely. Then they deposit these devices into safekeeping in our office and get into the fun! We allow them to use their phones during Fellowship Time each Sabbath, so they can call home and let you know about all the friends they are meeting and the activities they are doing. Apart from this, if any camper needs to urgently speak with his or her parents, they can do so from our camp office. If you need to urgently speak with your son or daughter, please call me at (516)724-4452 and I will make sure that you can get connected with them as soon as possible.

Care Packages, Cards and Letters

I recently read an article about a camp that emphasizes the lost art of letter writing. If you’d like to really do something unique – at least in today’s world – write your son or daughter a card or letter! We’ll distribute all mail to our campers and staff each day, and what a treat it would be to see the excitement on campers’ faces when they read a real letter from home – not a text, but a letter!

One thing that we’ve seen grow dramatically in the past few years is the number of Amazon packages that are delivered to camp. Some days, we’re overwhelmed by boxes of all shapes and sizes! This is a far cry from the lovingly prepared “care packages” from days gone by. We’re not going to outlaw or boycott Amazon, but please be judicious. It’s easy to “click and send”, but is all the “stuff” that we might send to our children at camp necessary? Or does it take away from their experience?

Talent Show

We have several very talented musicians that attend camp. Some of them have performed for our camp talent show. But there’s something else that we’ve noticed. There are a lot more young people who are willing to get involved in music if we provide the opportunity. For example, our camper choir last year filled the stage! For our talent show, however, we can only highlight a dozen or less campers. This doesn’t harmonize with our philosophy of getting as many campers as possible involved and active in every way possible. So, we’re going to move in a different direction this year, as our music instructor, Mr. Chris Pringle, works to involve every dorm in the “Camp Show”, using the music classes to prepare. For those of you who have had campers who have participated in solos in years past, please support this effort to get more campers involved.

Final Note

I’ve touched on three major issues in this note, but there is much more to helping your son or daughter have a successful camp. Please take the time to read through the camper acceptance letter completely. It’s packed with helpful information about what to wear, what to bring and what to expect. Please especially read the section about attire. The letter explains our standards in terms of modesty and provides guidance about what to wear for Sabbath services and dances. By the way, the Final Banquet & Dance attire is either Sabbath wear or “formal”.

Don’t forget to check out the newly updated www.livingyouth.org site. There, you’ll find information, videos, and more!

As always, thank you for your support for our youth programs. Our goal is to support and reinforce the Godly principles that you are teaching your children. May God bless our efforts and yours!

Sincerely,
Jonathan McNair