Subsidy/Campership
the BLUE PADDLE CAMPAIGN
In an effort to provide amazing camp experiences to as many kids as possible, Blue Lake initiated the Blue Paddle Campaign. Through the Blue Paddle Campaign we raise funds for our Campership Program to assist those families that are struggling to provide quality activities for their children.
We believe that every child should have the opportunity to dip their paddle in the lake and push forward, experience seeing stars in the night sky like they never have before, and make true friends that will last a lifetime.
Our Campership Program is an ongoing initiative to support families who need assistance with registration fees. Thanks to the generosity of our Blue Paddle Campaign donors, hundreds of children have been given the gift of summer camp through the Campership Program.
The camp experience is transformative for kids! Camp creates:
Camp promotes community. It creates this great space that shows kids how to live together and care for one another. There are traditions, there are boundaries; there are rules. Camp is a place where kids can “practice” growing up, stretching their social, emotional and physical muscles outside the safety of their immediate family. This is what childhood is supposed to do and arguably used to do much more organically.
The camp experience reconnects kids to nature. While children have fewer and fewer opportunities to be outdoors, camp is one big outdoor science lab. Kids need to catch frogs in the pond, get lost among the trees, and feel the wind and rain on their faces to understand the importance of these things. What happens to a generation that may grow up never seeing the awe-inspiring aurora borealis let alone the stars in the dark of the night?
Camp has a lasting impact. One of the greatest gifts a family can give a child is a sense of success and achievement. Camp teaches kids how to be active participants, ask questions, ask for help, and try new things. They leave understanding that it’s okay to feel a little uncomfortable sometimes, because that’s typically what happens when you learn by trial and error. Camp embraces an “I can” attitude.
Camp teaches critical thinking. We are going to need really strong problem solvers in the next century. We need the science, math, and biology, of course — but without the ability to relate, connect, empathize, or inspire innovation, how will our kids be able to make a difference?
Camp creates future leaders. The camp experience offers kids a microcosm of what leadership feels like in the real world through direct contact with camp directors, counselors, and multi-generational staff. Also, kids get loads of opportunities to practice being leaders themselves — trip leader, team leader, cabin leader, and the list goes on and on.
To apply for a Campership:
Campership Application and Information.
Register online to temporarily hold a spot for your child. Choose the "Campership" payment method at check out.
Complete the steps to apply (page 2 of the application).
Submit your application form to info@columbiaoutdoorschool.com within 3 weeks of registering your child(ren) to the Cranbrook administration office. If your application is not received within three weeks of registration, your child(ren) will be removed from camp registration. We will contact you when your application has been reviewed.
Applications accepted until June 1st.