What Summer Camp Means to Me

This year, for the first time since 2014, we were unable to hold our annual Summer Camp due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. This was disappointing news for Who Cares? Scotland Members and staff. July just didn’t feel the same without a visit to Struan!

Usually, the Autumn issue of SpeakOut is a chance for us to reminisce over this year’s crazy camp stories and share all our photos. So to fill the glaringly empty space in this issue, we asked Campers and Crew to share their stories of camps gone by and tell us what Summer Camp really means to them!

Natasha, 16

“Camp is like my second home. It’s where we all go to see our Who Cares family. For some of us it’s the only time we see them. Some of the best memories we make are made in that field that we all know and love. Sing song at night and activities during the day are just the small things that make it amazing. Not having camp has been one of my biggest losses this year. It’s like not getting my holiday and my time away from the real world. Camp for many of us is an escape. An escape from anything going on in our lives. We get to just leave it all behind for those great 3 days and make the most magical memories.

I hope that next year we can all be reunited, sing our songs together and drink hot chocolate.

But most importantly I want to be reunited with the family that sadly I won’t get to see this year.

All I can say is thank you to WC?S for letting me make those memories. I will cherish them forever and I can’t wait to make more next year!”

Chloe H, 17

“My first year at camp was the most magical moment of my life, I never thought I could feel so at home with so many lovely people. When people ask me what I miss most, I always say home. It’s not a lie. Until I walk off the sweet smell of nostalgia, these feet of mine will always yearn to return to this special place each year. When I came back for the second year, that feeling flooded back, actually making me quite emotional at the fact we had reunited once again as a big massive family. We got to welcome new people, make new friends, make people feel at home and we got to reunite with friends that stay at the other end of the country! Thank gosh for social media! What would us campers do without it? See you all next year! From Bin Lady! Xx

I’d also like to take this opportunity to remember our friend Chloe Brown (pictured). Chloe passed away on the 18th December last year. Chloe went to camp and was a great WC?S family member and we miss her so very much.”

Jemma, First Aider & Camp Postie

“Even before I started working for Who Cares? Scotland I had heard about summer camp. I knew it was something I wanted to be part of and that it would be something I would love. It was discussed a lot during my recruitment so when the time came to sign up for camp I jumped at the chance. That first camp in 2016, which was my first experience of camping, was the best mixture of sleep deprived hilarity and heart felt fun! I was hooked from day one.

Here began my commitment to camp and our campers. I’ve had some of my best moments standing in that field looking around me thinking, this is great. Highlights for me include being part of the first aid team, eating green beans as I walk around the camp My First Camp - Dean, 16 “After a lot of waiting the day rolled around and it was time to go to camp. When I arrived I was unsure of what to expect but as soon as I stepped foot on the campsite I was welcomed like an old friend and shown to my tent. I was sharing my tent with one of the boys I had travelled down with so it wasn’t like I didn’t know anyone. We put our stuff in the tent and organised our sleeping bags then went to explore. One of the crew members I met first was Euan. I will always remember this moment because he made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a while. He made me feel normal. He didn’t ask stupid questions about me being in care, he spoke to me like I was part of a family and in that moment I realised I was family. I may not have been related to him but I was family. I realised all these people at camp were all the same, we had something in common and we owned it. site, getting rivered and becoming the camp Postie. The best part is spending uninterrupted time with our members, my colleagues and friends having fun, eating great food and being together. There’s been times when I could have done with more sleep and for the midges to stop eating me but I wouldn’t change any of it. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, I think summer camp is the heart of Who Cares? Scotland. Here I get a tangible sense of the family we talk about, the WC?S family made up of our members, our volunteers and our staff team. I’m sad to have missed camp this year, my trusty bumbags and I are waiting to return in 2021. Until then please all stay safe and connected.

Love Jemma X.”

To officially start camp we went into the mess tent and were welcomed and introduced to the camp chief. Our chief was a lady called Caroline. One of the greatest camp rules is, if a crew member does something that you don’t like then you get to present a case of why they should be dunked in the river. Where else would you get to do that!? My number one favourite thing about camp is the people. We could be in the worst campsite and have the worst weather but we would still have fun.

Whilst at camp we had an opportunity to go rivertubing. We drove for half an hour to get to the activity centre, got given wetsuits then off we went. We started with jumping off a cliff then got on our tubes and started floating away down the river. We sang, we fell off our rings, we chanted and we had fun. The challenge whilst floating down the river was to stand up on our rings. I tried but fell a lot. It was really fun and I made more friends. There are 2 things I didn’t like about camp, the toilets and the end. Firstly the toilets are just eww and secondly the end of camp is bad because of how sad it is. I hated having to say goodbye to all these amazing people that I had met. I was lucky to be able to keep in contact with some of them. After camp, I realised something. I realised that people do care and that I will always have people to talk to no matter what. After camp, I felt different, I felt better about who I was and not only did I feel better about sharing that part of my identity. I owned it.”