'Nonstop action' at Echo Hill Community Day By MAEGAN CLEARWOOD Student intern | Posted: Friday, June 29, 2012 12:00 am STILL POND NECK Although they live right beside the shore, the closest many local children come to interacting with the Chesapeake Bay is watching it from their bedroom windows. Last Thursday, 90 kids had the chance to experience the water, some for the very first time, at Echo Hill Camp's 26th annual Community Day. "It's one of my favorite days of the year. It's a nonstop action day," said Program Director Lola Dalrymple. "We want to give back to the community and try to get kids out to the camp." Echo Hill Camp attracts hundreds of children from across the nation to its summer programs each year, but Community Day is special; it's a free day of fun for local children ages six through 16. The camp provides breakfast and lunch, free transportation and a myriad of handson activities, including kayaking, fishing, ceramics and archery. "It might appear chaotic, but it works," said Director Peter Rice Jr. Many of the students who come out for Community Day are otherwise unable to afford the camp's two, four, or eightweek summer programs. Along with a sampling of five activities of their choice, some of them are invited back as part of the camp's scholarship program.
Fun in the water Echo Hill Camp's annual Community Day sponsored lots of waterthemed fun for participants, including swimming, kayaking, and boating.
For those students, as well as many of the other campers, one year isn't enough; Rice said children return year after year, sometimes moving on to become staff members. "They come back for the fun, the bay, and my food," said Head Cook Cindy Jackson. "It's a fun place to be. Everybody's active," said one counselor who came to Echo Hill as a camper last summer. "When I first came, I was shy, but then I opened up to everybody." Community Day is also the final day of training for the 50 counselors, giving them an opportunity to use their new skills firsthand. They are trained in risk and conflict management, as well as lifeguarding and CPR. "It's two birds with one stone," said counselor Parker McCown. "We're getting training, and a lot of these kids live so close to the water and never get to experience it."