By Robin Rosenberg | Administrative Director, Sunrise Day Camp
Every fall we hold a “Fall Festival Family Reunion” at camp in Rockland County before the weather turns cold to celebrate fall and bring campers, their families and staff together. It is always so wonderful to see everyone and enjoy the Sunrise facilities decorated with scarecrows, hay, pumpkins and other fall symbols. We planned for this fall’s reunion to take place at camp on Sunday, October 4. It rained for a few days before that, so we moved the event to our off-season offices at the Rosenthal JCC in Pleasantville, but that did not hamper attendance, spirit or enthusiasm.
The morning of the reunion 11 volunteers (1 adult and 10 teens) arrived at the JCC to help decorate and set up for the day. They set up the s’mores kits, filled backpacks with donated school supplies and cut out papers that were later used for art projects, and set up an outdoor corn “maze”! They also had a chance to learn about Sunrise from our Camp Director, Sandy Haft. Then gradually about 25 Sunrise Staff members and 90 campers, siblings and parents from all over the Metro NY area – from various towns in New Jersey, Orange County, Rockland, the Bronx, Westchester and Manhattan, arrived by bus and car to enjoy the Fall Festivities at the JCC. Laughter and joy filled the air as staff and campers greeted and hugged each other.
Campers and their families enjoyed participating in a variety of activities. The JCC was decorated for fall and we used most of the rooms in the facility for all of the different events. Campers and families had their photos taken and then they decorated photo frames. Other projects included creating door hangers and colorful fall-themed sun catchers, and pumpkin decorating. Campers and families gobbled s’mores and chocolate covered pretzels, which they had made. Sports activities enjoyed by all included basketball, “Moon Bounce” jumper, outdoor playground and the outdoor corn maze.
At the end of the day, each child received a brand new school backpack that was filled with a variety of school supplies. The backpacks and supplies were collected by UJA Federation and given to Sunrise. The children were so thrilled with these backpacks! We were happy too about receiving the donations!
Thank you to all of the volunteers and donors who made this reunion possible. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Our next reunion will take place on December 20 at the JCC and this get together will be limited to children and camp staff. We will have a musical performance for all to enjoy. We invite the campers without parents to this reunion to allow parents to go holiday shopping or just enjoy some personal time. We can’t wait to see everybody again in December!
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