Erd's the Word

2011 Annual Support Campaign

2011-02-17T17:15:00.000-08:00

Your support of the YMCA of Honolulu, Camp Erdman's 2011 Strong Communities Annual Support Campaign ensures families that need financial assistance to participate in our wide range of camp programs are provided the opportunity to do so. With the current economic challenges going on in our community today the request from families needing financial assistance to participate has increased significantly.

During February and March, committed YMCA Camp Erdman volunteers and staff will be actively out in the community sharing about the positive impacts that the YMCA Camp Erdman has made in the life of children, teens and families from our special island community.

YMCA Camp Erdman’s summer resident camp program gives children and teens the chance to leave home, make new friends, gain an appreciation for the outdoors, learn from adult role models, strengthen values and allows them to take risks in a safe setting. Our own experience, as well as national research tells us that children and teens that participate in resident camp programs have a greater chance for success as the move forward in life.

Our family camp program provides families the opportunity to reconnect and enjoy each other away from the hustle and bustle of every day distractions. Families always share how much they value this program, and how they love the camp activities, staff and the food! Most importantly they have positive experiences together that help strengthen their family!

Through our Environmental Education, Leadership, Team Building and Conference Groupprograms we serve thousands of children and adults. These programs provide our island schools, churches, organizations, businesses and military opportunities to develop relationships, learn about the environment, enhance leadership skills and allows them to have a great time and in many cases create positive memories they will have for a lifetime.

All of these programs provide great value to our community and most often provides positive life changing impacts. This is especially true for disadvantaged children, teens and families. So if you are able and willing to support this important fundraising effort, please take a few moments and complete your secure online donation at www.camperdman.net.

School's In Session - At Camp Erdman!

2010-09-09T16:34:00.001-07:00

Aloha Blogosphere!

Well it's official, School is back in! Summer camp officially ended on August 13th, 2010 with just under 1000 kids signing up for camp and having a great time this summer. Whether it was the amazing Operation Purple Military Experience Days (one of which had the Mayor of Gotham City, Nestor Carbonell, visit), the exciting Wizard Week or even the challenging Olympics Week, lots of kids came to camp, had a great time, made new friends and learned new skills. It was a fantastic experience.

And all of those kids are now back to school - but they can still come back to camp! As the school bells ring to get students in their classrooms, the Camp Erdman bell rings getting students to their classrooms - at Camp! During the school year, the amazing 32 acres on the North Shore becomes one enormous interactive classroom. Students learn Beach Ecology on the beach. They learn the composting process hands-on in our garden. They learn how to challenge themselves, reach their goals, and try new things.

YMCA Camp Erdman's school programs fall under two categories: Environmental Education and Leadership. The Environmental Education (EE) program is designed for students in grades one through six and focuses on applying classroom concepts in a real-world setting. The Leadership program is designed for students in middle and high school. It focuses on learning the skills of communication, cooperation, teamwork and trust through various group and individual challenges. Students are then taught how to apply these skills in their day-to-day lives.

"We were hiking just yesterday and one of my girls made a comment that it was the first time she had ever been hiking. She just had the biggest smile on her face doing it." - Ms. Rankin, Nanaikapono Elementary.

"The best [class] was Animal Adaptations. I got to touch a turtle - a real turtle, actually." - Student

For more information on School Programs, please contact Sarah Miller at 637-4615 x.25 or email her by clicking here.

Also on the horizon is Fall School Break Camp from October 3-8, 2010 and Halloween Family Camp October 29-31, 2010. For more information visit www.camperdman.net.

As always, a great way to stay in touch with us is on our Facebook Fan Page and our Twitter Feed. Check out lots of our great videos on our YouTube Channel.

From International Trainee to Reality TV

2010-07-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

Aloha Blogosphere!

Summer Camp is underway and, in fact, it is almost over! We're in Session 6 right now with only three more sessions to go until the end of summer. If you're thinking about registering for one more week of Summer Camp, now is the time to do it! Spaces are going quickly and we're seeing more campers than ever re-registering after a great week of camp! Make sure you visit www.camperdman.net or call us at 808-637-4615 to register today!

International Training Program News:
Onto some exciting news! If you visited camp while the "Green Class" of internationals were here, you may remember Ana Moraes from Brazil. Well this International Program graduate is now starring on a Reality Television program in Brazil! Called "Bosao do Brasil," the program takes competitors around Brazil where they compete in Head to Head challenges and the chance to win R1,000,000 (One Million Real; $500,000USD). We're all rooting for Ana as she embarks on this fantastic opportunity. For more information (if you speak Portuguese) click here.

Hiroshima Program:
In it's 50th year, the YMCA of Honolulu--Hiroshima YMCA "Let's Get Together" Program participants departed for Japan this week. These ten participants are engaging in the longest running program of its kind in the United States. Participants are experiencing Japanese culture first hand and teaching their Hiroshima hosts all about the culture of Hawaii. The efforts of exchanging culture and friendship help our countries move toward mutual understanding and respect in the pursuit of world peace.

Hiroshima has the dubious distinction of being one of two Japanese cities that experienced first-hand the horrors of nuclear holocaust. Hopefully, with the important learning that will take place, it will go a long way in preventing the mistakes of the past from ever happening again.

Each program participant has engaged in a number of training opportunities and the actual trip to Japan is the result of months of hard work on the part of the program participants. YMCA Camp Erdman would like to extend a heartfelt mahalo to these young participants as they embark on a very important journey! Congratulations all.

As always, if you would like to contribute to "Erd's the Word", email your article to Peter McGregor - pmcgregor@ymcahonolulu.org

Operation Purple & Session 1

2010-06-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

Summer Camp 2010 is in full swing with lots of great things happening. The first two weeks of summer were dedicated to Operation Purple Camp. This camp for children of deployed members of all branches of our Armed Services is sponsored by the National Military Family Association through generous funding from the Sierra Club and Sierra Club Foundation. Each of these children walked away from camp with a greater sense of Environmental Education, Communication, Stewardship and their role as members of the Military Community. With an overall theme that "Military Kids Serve Too", these campers found common bonds through the unique challenges that they face every single day. Each week of Operation Purple Camp was highlighted by a special Military Experience Day that featured Military Police obedience dogs, Coast Guard boats, Helicopters (2 of them! One from the Marines, another from the Coast Guard), a Light Armored Transport Vehicle from the National Guard, a dive tank from the NAVY Dive Team and much much more. Nestor Carbonell from LOST and the new Batman movies even stopped by during the second week to pose for photos with the campers and sign autographs. It was a truly memorable two weeks and over 500 military kids attended!

Session 1 marks the first week of Traditional Camp at YMCA Camp Erdman. With eight more weeks to go, Session 1 kicks off with an Alien Invasion Theme. There are currently two aliens from the planet of Omnimata searching for their long lost children named Calcium and Sodium. Having drank a magic space potion, two counselors will be revealed this afternoon as being aliens!

There are still eight weeks of Traditional Camp ahead of us this summer and still plenty of spaces available. You can sign up by calling 808-637-4615 or by visiting www.camperdman.net

Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today is Cinco de Mayo ("The Fifth of May") and to celebrate, we've invited Memo from Mexico to share the history of the holiday with a little bit of help from Wikipedia. You can learn more about Cinco de Mayo by clicking here.

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday that commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin.

In 1861, Benito Juarez stopped making interest payments to creditor countries which put Mexico in a financial bind. In response, France attacked Mexico to force payment of its debt. France decided that it would try to take over and occupy Mexico. France was successful at first in its invasion; however, on May 5, 1862, at the city of Puebla, Mexican forces were able to defeat an attack by the larger French army. In the Battle of Puebla, the Mexicans were led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin. Although the Mexican army was victorious over the French at Puebla, the victory only delayed the French advance on Mexico City. A year later, the French occupied Mexico. The French occupying forces placed Emperor Maximilian I on the throne of Mexico in 1864. The French, under pressure from the United States, eventually withdrew in 1866-1867. Maximilian was deposed by President Benito Juarez and executed, five years after the Battle of Puebla.

The Battle of Puebla was important for at least two reasons. First, although considerably outnumbered, the Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army. Second, it was significant because since the Battle of Puebla, no country in the Americas has been invaded by an army from another continent.

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated primarily in the state of Puebla and in the United States. The date is observed in the USA and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

New Internationals Arriving Soon

2010-04-30T17:34:00.000-07:00

Aloha Blogosphere!

We have not updated in quite some time and we apologize for this but we have been very, very busy preparing for one of our busiest and most exciting times: Summer Camp! Summer Camp is a great opportunity for kids from all over to join us here on the North Shore for fantastic weeks of safe, fun and adventure combining summer tradition and aloha spirit. If you have not already registered, be sure to do so soon as our registration is certainly picking up speed as we get closer and closer to the summer camp kickoff!

This summer we will have two fun-filled sessions of Operation Purple Camp for children in Military families followed by nine weeks of traditional summer camp adventures for kids of all backgrounds. Not only do these nine weeks of traditional summer camp include all of the amazing activities that our keiki love (archery, swimming, Alpine Tower, sports, games, exploring and more) but also Specialty Camps like Surf, Horsemanship, Rock Climbing and ESL! Be sure to click here for more information on our exciting summer programs.

We are excited to welcome twenty American camp counselors to help us this summer. These dedicated young men and women have gone through an extensive interview process that includes reference checks and background checks - we are confident that we have hired the best of the best for these positions. They will join the ten international program staff that are already here. Additionally, May 9th, 2010 welcomes the arrival of a whole new International Class full of ten exciting individuals. For more on that, we come to our guest blogger, Kaiulani from our Metro office:

Exciting News from YMCA Camp Erdman!

This May, ten new staff members will be joining the International Training Program out at YMCA Camp Erdman. The already prestigious program started just five years ago with a handful of staff and is now one of the most successful international training programs in the U.S.A.

If you are not familiar with the International Training Program, trainees from all over the world instruct school programs that oversee more than 5,000 keiki and teach them about the environment, leadership, and team building. All trainees are equipped with degrees in Education, Physical Education, Sports and Recreation or with a minimum of five years of experience working with kids in similar areas.

The current staff of eleven is a diverse group hailing from countries like Japan, England and everywhere in between. Once the ten new members join the group the amount of trainees will double in size! YMCA Camp Erdman hosts international trainees from Brazil, Canada, Columbia, England, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Senegal and Spain.

Hawaii has always been a diverse community and we are proud to say that YMCA Camp Erdman is carrying on the inclusive tradition of aloha.

Wow! Thanks for that great article, Kaiulani! Don't forget, all of those exciting International Trainees will be Summer Camp Counselors living in cabins and working with our keiki this summer! This can be seen on the YMCA of Honolulu website (click here).

Remember, you too can submit a blog article. Just email Peter McGregor or Sana Hanible to have your voice heard!

YMCA Camp Erdman's Family Camp Weekends

2010-03-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Aloha Readers!

After a three month break, Family Camp season is back up and running at YMCA Camp Erdman! We've got various family camps coming up over the next nine months and we're very, very excited about them! If you're a military family, we've been lucky enough to partner with various organizations to provide family camps to members of our military community thanks to the fantastic generosity of these organizations. Click here for more information on military family programs.

Health, wellness, and a 10K race? Sounds like a recipe for family fun! Our Health & Wellness Family Camp is happening Easter Weekend (April 2nd-4th, 2010) with lots of great activities for the whole family. In the morning of Saturday April 3rd, we'll be running a 10K race for adults and a 2K race for keiki. Come and spend the entire weekend at YMCA Camp Erdman or participate in the race. Our program is designed to help you and your family connect together with many great activities. Do as much or as little as you choose! Do activities together as a family or divide up so that each member of your family can do they activities that they like to do. For more information, click here. Evening programs include family games and the infamous YMCA Camp Erdman Campfire Spectacular! Space is limited to be sure to sign up today!

We're constantly updating more than just our blog! Check out our Facebook Page and become a Fan, Follow our Tweets on Twitter, and watch our Vids on YouTube. If you're interested in learning about more of the great programs at YMCA Camp Erdman, make sure you subscribe for Email Updates.

That's all for now! If you're interested in contributing to the blog, be sure to email Peter McGregor with your article!

After 13 Months by Ana Moraes

2010-02-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

Aloha Blogosphere!

We've got an exciting update today from Ana Moraes! Ana came to camp approximately a year ago as a member of our International Training and Mentorship Program and is writing specifically for any individuals thinking of coming to join the program. But, of course, all are welcome to read!

Before we get to Ana's post, be sure to come visit camp this Saturday, February 27th, 2010 between 11am and 4pm for our FREE Community Celebration Day! Camp activities will be open and free to the public! Food and refreshments are available for purchase! And now, on to today's article!

Aloha readers! I’m writing today specially for the people that think about came to camp to enjoy the international training or volunteer program at YMCA Camp Erdman.

When I knew about the program I thought “ok, sounds good, live and work in the North Shore of Oahu for a year, make international friends, have fun with keikis and families …” what I didn’t know was how much this experience could make difference in my life.

All the moments that you live here, will stay with you forever. Working here you don’t have just a fun job, but you also learn and teach a lot, share moments that will be forever in your mind. You make friends from around the world, you learn new languages, different cultures and also how much we are the same doesn’t matter which side the world you are from. You live in one of the most beautiful islands in the world and learn what’s the ALOHA life style.

Here you always will find people able to help and support you, we live all far from our families, but we´re together a big Ohana.

So if you are thinking to come and enjoy the program don’t lose your time. Don’t be afraid, the time here pass so fast and when you look back, you just have “mahalos” to say for all the people that shared with you in your Hawaiian life.

Huge Mahalo for all my camp friends and coworkers!

Ana Banana

Thanks so much for the great post Ana! Remember, if you are interested in our International Training and Mentorship Program, be sure to email Valdon McKinnon for more information! For more on our Blog and other Social Media Networking, email Peter McGregor!

Christmas - Brazilian Style!

2010-01-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

Aloha readers!

We apologize that it has been so long since our last update for things going on at camp! We had a very busy Christmas season welcoming back our friends at the National Military Family Association with our first ever Operation Purple Family Retreat. This was a huge success and it was great to partner with our friends at the NMFA once again. Additionally our Winter School Break Camp was more successful than ever before with 27 youngsters coming out and enjoying a week of camp here at YMCA Camp Erdman with their counselors Trish, Keilla, Paulo and Memo! Such a great week and we promise that the slideshows are coming soon!

Coming up for the rest of January and February, Camp is ultra busy with our Annual Support Campaign. Our ASC raises funds to help send kids, families, groups and other individuals to camp. Often, many campers cannot afford Camp Erdman's programs and our ASC helps those families who need support. If you are interested in helping us by donating, being a volunteer, or using your skills somehow, please call camp at 808-637-4615

Onto today's article coming from guest blogger and brand new volunteer Thais from Brazil. Thais is spending three months here at YMCA Camp Erdman and is already showing some great initiative.

Well, i´m going to tell how i usually spend my Christmas holiday.
There´s a long time that I spend Christmas holiday working, I was a lifeguard for 6 years in Brazil, then I didn´t have much time to celebrate.
At the Christmas night I used to go to my grandma´s (by father) house, with all these part of the family. At midnight we always had a wonderful dinner. Then early in the morning, before go to work, I used to go to the church take a time for myself and thanks for one more amazing year.
I was born on Dec 26st, I could never had a party, so usually, we had a double celebration at the Xmas day, at my house, with all family - that was already waiting for me and my brother return of work with a party for me!
But this year was reeeaaalllyyy different!
I spend my holiday on air!!!! I was in the aeroplane coming to Hawaii - that was a dream to me.
It was weird, cause I didn´t have time to go to the church, and celebrate with my family, although it was such an experience because it was the first step of a new journey! I could´t gave myself better Xmas/bday gift than this trip... I was anxious, and could´t sleep during the day , because we was flying over many beautiful views, and i didn´t want to miss one detail! I was counting minutes to arrive!
When I arrived in Honolulu, I felt a strange but good thing... It was like I´ve been there before! Even when I saw that one of my best friends in Brazil was there to pick me and take me to the camp. Wile we waited for other friend of us to arrive from Brazil too, she told me a looot of good things about the camp, making me feel much more comfortable.
Now, I´m really happy here! Me and my new friends went to a nice place in Haleiwa to celebrate my 24th year, we´re always together hanging out, meeting new places... With many new friends, one lovely dog, in a paradisaical place, a thankful and pleasant, it´ll be for sure one of the best experiences of my life!!!

Mahalo Thais! If you are interested in contributing to the blog, please email Peter McGregor - pmcgregor@ymcahonolulu.org

Bye for now!!!

Volunteer Perspective Part 2

2009-12-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

Aloha All,

Sorry that it has been a while since we've updated. We're going to swiftly get into "Volunteer Perspective Part 2" -- today's guest blogger is Trish Nolan from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Keep in mind, Winter School Break Camp is fast approaching and fast filling. Make sure you sign up today!

My name is Trish and camp Erdman accepted me as an international volunteer for 3 months. I have only been here about a month and can truly say that it has been the most exciting time in my entire life. One of my favourite things about this camp is the fact that they have a giant beach right outside my volunteer cabin that is all to ourselves! They took us on a few field trips last week first was Waimea Valley which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! Second was Sea life park which is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Those dolphins left me in aw! I highly recommend people to come here to Hawaii to work at camp Erdman or to at least visit the islands!

Thanks Trish! Remember, if you want to contribute to the blog, email the blogmaster, Peter McGregor!

Volunteer Perspective

2009-11-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

Aloha All!

We haven't updated in quite some time and for our newest update, we have another guest blogger! If you're still interested in submitting articles for our blog, please email BlogMaster Peter McGregor at pmcgregor@ymcahonolulu.org and we'll be sure to do our best to include it. Just an update on some things happening at YMCA Camp Erdman! Today is Furlough Friday and we've got a small and mighty group of kids having a great time learning while having fun here at camp! At this very moment they're doing some arts and crafts with their counselors Trish (from Canada) and Memo (from Mexico)! Later this afternoon they'll hit the pool with Ana (Brazil) and Phillip (England)! It's going to be a great day! Speaking of later this afternoon, today is day one of Operation: Military Kids Family Camp! Families will be checking in from 3:30-6:00pm tonight and having an amazing fun-filled weekend. We're expecting close to 100 individuals from our military community to be joining us! Most of these individuals are new to YMCA Camp Erdman so we're very excited to be able to reach more and more people. Thanks to our partnership with OMK, we've been able to host many family camps for our military community and we're excited to continue this wonderful relationship. For more information on Operation: Military Kids and their programs, click here.

Onward, now, to our guest blogger, Natalie from Canada for a little perspective on what it's like to be a volunteer at YMCA Camp Erdman:

Volunteering at the YMCA Camp Erdman just goes to show that you are never too old, or too young for that matter, to have fun. I arrived on the island of Oahu October 4^th(first time to Hawaii). It was late at night and I was a bit jet legged but happy to have finally arrived. The drive to camp was overwhelming as I enjoyed the warm air, much nicer than the weather that I had just come from, sleet. Waking up, I couldn’t believe how beautiful my new home was; mountains to one side and ocean to the other. The day was to get even better as some of the staff were going skydiving, so why not, what better way to spend my first day? Another first for me. Over the course of my first few weeks I enjoyed working with the rather zainy staff in the Camp’s kitchen and exploring the island in my off time. I soon got my bearings and learned the way of the land only to find out that every day you find something new. Hiking, swimming, skydiving, snorkelling, surfing, shark diving, parks, beaches, and so much more. After a while I also started helping out with the Camp’s school programs and weekend camps. It’s amazing how you feel when you know that you have positively impacted another person’s life. I have only been here for a month in a half now but still have so much more to see and do. I have met many interesting people with truly wonderful hearts and I look forward to the next month in a half. Life is an adventure that you get to lead.

Aloha, Natalie

Natalie is one of our volunteer participants involved in our three-month volunteer program. If you would like to volunteer at YMCA Camp Erdman, please contact Valdon McKinnon for more information.

Halloween Around the World

2009-10-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Aloha Bloggers!

YMCA Camp Erdman's Halloween Family Camp is this weekend from October 30th to November 1st. Due to the high number of international staff we have here at the Erd, we'll be getting them to weigh in on what Halloween is like in their home countries!

We'll start with Mexico's Dia de Muertos... article by Guillermo from Chihuahua, Mexico!

The "Day of the Dead" is one of the most ancient traditions that Mexico holds in honor of their dead. This is a festival filled with music, color, food and joy -- typical of a major popular festival.

Unlike a series and unfortunate habit, Mexicans celebrate on November 2nd. For them, the "Day of the Dead" is one of the biggest holidays of the year as they get their ancestors back to life on earth. A day of joy and bliss! Currently, the Dead of the Dead in Mexico represents a mixture of Christian devotion and pre-Hispanic customs and beliefs and is embodied in the traditional altar-offering, one of the most Mexican traditions.

The altar is a ritual offering respectful to the memory of the dead, their purpose is to attract spirits. On November 2, the dead have obtained permission to visit with their families, and their families are waiting for them with food and their favorite objects in life - a way to settle back and enjoy their brief visit. In the offering, the altar must not miss the representation of the four primordial elements of nature: water, wind, earth and fire. The offering also contains salt (purified), incense (the spirits are guided by smell), and Cempasuchitl flower that is watered from the door to the altar to show the way to the souls.

This is a festival dedicated to those who are no longer with us and where music, color and typical food make a great holiday.

Isn't the Internet Amazing?

2009-10-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

YMCA Camp Erdman is so happy to be actively participating in "the internet"! Whether it's our blog, our twitter or even the slideshows and movies we post on YouTube, we're very excited to be online and active! We even have our own website!!!

As we forge bravely ahead into the world wide web, we're excited to announce that we will have guest authors of our various blog posts and we're hoping to have a recipe of the month from our amazing Chef - Chef Charlotte!

Stay tuned for more details!!

with love,

Camp.

First Blog Post!

2009-10-13T16:28:00.001-07:00

Aloha from YMCA Camp Erdman!

We've finally entered the blogosphere to talk about some of our great upcoming events and other things that are on the go to keep our families and friends informed!

YMCA Camp Erdman will be hosting Furlough Friday Day Camps starting October 23rd, 2009. Cost is only $40 for a spectacular day of friends, learning, recreation and fun! Bus pickup is available from Ehukai and Waialua beach parks for an additional $5/child. For more information, check out our website!!

Halloween Family Camp is fast approaching. This popular event features many classic Family Camp activities and of course, lots of fun Halloween activities like our Haunted House, Costume Party, Trick-or-Treating and more!

Fall School Break just wrapped up! The small and mighty bunch had an amazing week with their counselors Ana, Phillip, Keilla, Jordan and Azusa! What a great week! You can check out the slideshow at http://www.youtube.com/ymcacamperdman

Anything you'd like added to the blog? Email us at pmcgregor@ymcahonolulu.org !!