Camp Winfield’s virtual summer camp has been given a big boost thanks to the Central Okanagan Foundation.
In the wake of COVID-19 cancelling Camp Winfield’s in-person summer camps, a new summer program was developed to replace the traditional overnight camp that has been held for more than 50 years in Lake Country.
The Easter Seals BC/Yukon, with support from the Central Okanagan Foundation, redesigned the program to continue serving its campers through the Camp@Home Program for children and adults with diverse abilities in the Central Okanagan.
Now the Easter Seals have been granted more than $24,000 in support by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund and Central Okanagan Foundation.
“We are so grateful for the support of the Central Okanagan Foundation,” Easter Seals CEO and president Lisa Beck said June 29. “During this pandemic, our community has lost resources that they rely on every day and we wanted to make sure that our camp program wasn’t one of them.”
“It’s critical that we continue to offer programs and services to our community and raise the much-needed funds to implement them.”
The virtual camp has proven so popular that two more weeks have been added to the schedule giving campers, aged 6-49, 10 weeks of virtual camp to choose from.
The $24,497 grant is in addition to the $39,000 multi-year commitment made by the Central Okanagan Foundation last year in support of Camp Winfield.
The Easter Seals Camp@Home program begins July 6.
Campers will be able to log in alongside fellow campers and a trained counsellor for engaging programming and social connection each day. Activities, although different, include many of the camp’s beloved traditions such as sing-a-longs, the famous talent show and Kangaroo Kourt.
To sponsor a camper, visit eastersealsbcy.ca.
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