‘Camp with a purpose’ at Willowgrove

As a parent, you know that for your son or daughter to be successful in life they need to be well rounded. They need to be strong academically, but also socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually. At Willowgrove, your child will discover that some of life’s greatest lessons are learned in unexpected places. By offering two unique summer camp programs, Willowgrove offers choices to suit the learning needs of most children.

Just minutes away from Toronto on the north edge of Markham, Willowgrove’s Glenbrook Day Camp is on a 40-hectare site that is a perfect blend of nature, recreation and traditional farm activities. Your child will play and explore in a forest, a large pond, two heated pools, a clean-flowing stream, spacious green fields, sports facilities and an actual working farm with a full complement of livestock. Glenbrook also features premium programs like the Root Words Literacy Camp to succinctly combine education with camp activities.

Three hours northeast, near beautiful Bancroft, Willowgrove’s 107-hectare Fraser Lake Camp blends recreational and traditional overnight camp activities, and includes mature pine and deciduous forests, a large clean lake, spacious fields, hiking trails, playing areas, a climbing wall and plenty of local wildlife.

Parents appreciate that both camp programs are delivered on beautiful, natural sites that are the perfect setting for teaching life lessons based on Christian values like independence, teamwork, conflict resolution, leadership, responsibility and social justice. “Camping with a purpose” has been the motto and motivation of the camp programs for many years, and parents often report noticing increased levels of maturity and responsibility when their campers return home.

Perhaps the best description of the value of Willowgrove’s Glenbrook Day Camp and Fraser Lake Camp comes from our older campers who return year after year. “Camp creates people who are amazingly supportive, positive and creative, and puts them [back] into the world, ready to work with whatever is thrown at them,” says one former Fraser Lake camper who is now a summer staff member.

At both Willowgrove camps, programs and extra support are available for children with a wide range of special needs, as they are integrated into the daily activities of the camp community.

Willowgrove has offered quality education, camping and recreation programs for many thousands of children since 1968. Visit www.willowgrove.ca for full program details.

Eric Musselman is camp director of Willowgrove.