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YMCA Offers Working Parents an Alternative for Christmas Vacation
by Eric Thomason
In today’s society, where both parents often work to support a single household or there is a one-parent household, Christmas vacation for young students may be no vacation for the adults. Many of the working parents are forced to take time off from their work to take care of their children when they are home during the day for the holiday break. Others are forced to hire hard-to-find and costly baby sitters as the end of the month comes to a close and time off from their jobs may not be available. At least those were the situations before the days of the Northern Westchester YMCA’s Camp Combe’s Holiday Vacation Camp.
Jeff Rumpf, of the popular YMCA camp located in Putnam Valley, says that the Holiday Vacation Camp "is a good service to the community" because it allows parents to continue to be able to work at their jobs when their children are not in school. He said there have been "a lot of phone calls" inquiring about the camp, which is offered to everyone in Putnam County and parts of Westchester County.
The YMCA, which is a non-profit organization, has become an important part of the community, according to Rumpf. He said that planning camps like this one is an illustration of the focus the YMCA has towards helping others in their community.
Rumpf said that most of the applicants so far have been from a fifteen-mile radius of the YMCA that includes the communities of Putnam Valley, Garrison and Mahopac but he hopes others in the county take advantage of the service they are offering. He said that he encourages those parents who are not troubled by working outside of the home to have their children participate in the merriment with the other children attending the camp during their winter holiday vacation.
Not only does Camp Combe’s Holiday Vacation relieve parents of the burden that their children’s school vacation places on them, but the camp also allows the children to enjoy the holiday vacation. Rumpf said that a variety of amusing activities abound and the children get to spend time with other children in high quality adult supervised surroundings. He said the camp is filled with fun and active events that include arts and crafts, sports, storytelling, hiking, fort building, journal writing, group games and sledding (weather permitted). It also allows children to get together and to meet and form relationships with students from different schools in the area..
"Parents that work need to support this program," said Rumpf of the camp. He cited the values of the Holiday Vacation Camp and the benefits of community working together to take care of its children when the parents can’t always be there. The Holiday Vacation Camp is open on the 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th of December. The YMCA warns that space is limited so if your are in need, call now.
Rumpf also promised a special after-Christmas visit from Santa Clause during the camp. The YMCA is also hosting a reunion of its Camp Combe Summer 2000 campers on Friday, December 29th.
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