This year, 10 families exchanged their busy city lives for a week of cabin life, delicious meals, canoe rides, and campfires at Scott Mission’s camp in beautiful Caledon, Ontario.
Families in the community we serve can’t afford vacations, so Family Camp is a way for moms to enjoy a refreshing time away from home with their children.
Donna started coming to Scott Mission camp with her mom when she was six years old. And after 15 years, Donna returned to camp this year with her three sons – describing camp as a familiar place of refuge and healing. For her, it’s a place to reconnect with herself and her faith after facing poverty, trauma, and many personal challenges,
Donna recalls, “Growing up, we lived in poverty and subsidized housing, and we visited Scott Mission’s food bank to get by. My family could never afford to send me to camp. It was such a relief to be away from the city and to feel special and to have a chance to connect with God.”
About returning to camp this year she says, “Reconnecting with camp has been a blessing in my life. It’s like I made it full circle. To be back here and to not feel judged even though I made bad decisions, and to feel that they still love me, the same way they did 15 years ago, just warms my heart.”
Now, as a mom, Donna shares, “Camp has given me a chance to reconnect with God. It’s blessed my soul to be in His presence all week. It’s the love, the support, the welcoming counsellors, and the other families we get to connect with here. Everything camp has to offer gives me a chance to be my full self.”
Donna is grateful because, “Scott Mission Camp has been such a big part of my life and I feel like, honestly, I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all the love they gave me growing up…and even though I strayed, I still had all the teachings and the love to guide me back.”
At family camp, Donna renewed her hope in the Lord, and this is our prayer for every family we serve through camp and other life-transforming programs. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31
It’s because of caring donors who support Scott Mission camp, our food banks, and other vital services, that we will continue to love and serve families like Donna’s – delivering hope across the GTA!
