Eluna’s Expert Voices – Importance of Community

At Camp Mariposa the Seven C’s serve as a foundation of values and mantras that are woven throughout camp activities & experiences. Campers, mentors, and camper families find themselves connecting deeply to and through the 7C’s. Which is why we are more than willing to welcome in the new 8th C of COMMUNITY! In this video we’ve asked Eluna Experts to talk about what community building looks like at home, camp, and beyond. There is no question here that it takes a village…

Repetition & Positive Impact on the Entire Family

“I love this new 8th C and I think that community is so important. One thing I love about Camp Mariposa is first the repetition – how many times we get to see the same campers come to camp throughout the year…. I think it expands so more than coming to camp. For example, Chicago just did a friendsgiving activity. One of the activities we did was giving campers, friends, siblings an I’m thankful for card. One of the campers wrote on their card, I’m thankful to Camp Mariposa because it’s one of the best things to happen in my life. When they shared it, their caregivers came up to a few of the mentors and shared that without Camp Mariposa their family would truly not be where they are today in relation to their happiness and good healthy choices.” – Emily, Mentor

Transformation

“This kid, he used to come there and bully people – We don’t have that at Mariposa, so we always had to redirect him and address him. Set him on the side and let him know that we aren’t here for that. We are here for the family. We want kids to feel safe once they come here. We had to send him out maybe one Mariposa. But once he came and understood the validity of the situation and what are we here for, he started changing and he started actually doing the activities, actually hanging around other kids, actually making friends…once they started becoming friends, they started adding each other on Fortnight and they couldn’t wait to come back to Mariposa.” – Yasin, Mentor

Healing and Planting Seeds

“I honestly think that my kids will take friendship with them into adulthood from their Camp Mariposa experiences. It has opened their eyes to learning that they are not their parents addiction. And that they have qualities to contribute to the world. I know it has helped them heal, it has planted seeds. It is a program that is wonderful. Camp Mariposa is not only a camp – they do activities throughout the year.” – Tiffany, Foster Mom

Special Moments of Connection

“Our first weekend away for camp where we got to spend the night. All the girls, I guess they slept on the floor. They pushed all of their sleeping bags together and they just all wanted to be together, to be close. It’s really cool how the community has come together and flourished.” – Matt, Mentor

Click here to see a full list of Expert Voices videos!