When Amani Davidson, 26 years old, was in grade school, she begged her mother to send her to camp. Ms. Davidson had loved nature for as long as she could remember. She and her best friend liked to say, “Pretty girls love dirt,” and they spent hours outside near their homes in Brooklyn. “We liked digging up worms and literally playing in the dirt,” she said. She had also been inspired by movies about summer camp, like “The Parent Trap,” and she pictured camp as involving long walks in the woods and a chance to make new friends.
She was 11 when her mother enrolled her at Camp Anita Bliss Coler, a girls’ camp in Fishkill, N.Y., run by the Fresh Air Fund, a nonprofit organization supported by The New York Times. She returned summer after summer, first as a camper and later as a counselor. Eventually, she became a camp leader at Camp Anita and the fund’s winter weekend camping programs. This summer, she was the associate director at Camp Tommy, another of the fund’s six overnight camps, in Fishkill’s Sharpe Reservation.
The word that has epitomized Ms. Davidson’s years at summer camp is “ubuntu,” an African concept that roughly means, “I am because we are.” The philosophy fostered Ms. Davidson’s sense of belonging in her camp community.
To help create the curriculum for Camp Tommy, Ms. Davidson looked back on her own time as a camper. Workshops were fulfilling and instructive, but they did not feel onerous because the heart of her camp experience was swimming, hiking and bonding with friends. It was important to her that Camp Tommy balanced skills development with unadulterated time outdoors.
“I can look at any lesson plan to be like, it is missing things. It needs structure, it needs a frame. It needs this, it needs some fun,” said Ms. Davidson, pointing to her summers as a leader planning the day’s activities. She also credits the camp environment with nurturing her ability to find solutions and execute them with confidence.
Ubuntu made it feel organic to talk about wide-ranging topics, including life back home and social issues like race, identity and education. Ms. Davidson has realized she is enthusiastic about those issues outside of camp as well. Her dream job is to be a high school guidance counselor.
As important as camp life has become to her, her initial transition to it was a bit daunting. The expansive natural life of the Hudson Valley was formidable. Camp activities such as fishing had little connection to city life. She did not enjoy being surrounded by flying bugs. Over time, though, she became more comfortable, and now she enjoys helping campers make the same transition.
“Amani has brought enthusiasm, insight and creativity to the year-round programs that she helps to lead,” said Lisa Gitelson, the fund’s chief executive.
Sometimes, those lessons can’t be planned. Ms. Davidson recalls one day at one of the fund’s winter camping programs. When the campers arrived, the last of the bright autumn leaves were falling. When they woke up the next morning, the ground was covered in snow and the kids lamented they wouldn’t be able to build a fire. Still, she insisted they try: “We make fires in the rain, guys. What’s the difference between some snow?” She helped them dig out the firepit, dry it out and gather the wood to build a fire in the middle of the wintry landscape. It was a perfect moment of ubuntu. “They were all so proud of themselves,” Ms. Davidson said.
The Fresh Air Fund aims to enroll thousands of New York City children from low-income families in its various programs. A donation of $3,975 sends a child to camp for a two-week session, and a donation of $7,950 sends one to camp for a leaders-in-training program. The fund hopes to raise about $12 million this year.
The fund has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million children since 1877.
Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to the Fresh Air Fund, 633 Third Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017. Families who would like to sign up their children for camp can call the Fresh Air Fund toll free at 800-367-0003 or visit www.freshair.org.
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