GREATER JOLIET AREA YMCA

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Our 2022 Summer Day Camp season officially came to a close earlier this week, and it was another incredible experience for everyone involved!  

We’d like to thank all of our camp families for spending the summer with us here at the YMCA. We hope you have a wonderful school year and look forward to seeing you back at camp next year.

We’d also like to thank all of our wonderful community partners who opened their doors and their hearts, allowing us to provide much-needed summer child care at locations throughout Will and Grundy Counties.

Finally, we’d like to thank our top-notch summer camp team for their endless energy, compassion, and creativity. Your hard work and tireless dedication helped to ensure that each of our campers had a summer full of fun and memories.

As we take a look back at the summer that was, let’s take a closer look at YMCA Summer Camp By the Numbers:

10 Camp Locations

With a little help from our friends, we hosted camps at our YMCA facilities and at offsite locations throughout the community. Thank you, Salvation Army Joliet Corps Community Center, Messiah Lutheran Church, Saratoga School District 60C, Plainfield School District 202, and Valley View School District 365U for helping us serve families this summer.

1,818 Campers

We are so proud to provide a memorable camp experience for each and every one of our incredible summer day campers. 

142 Counselors

Summer day camp would not be possible without the dedication, versatility, and leadership of our Summer Camp directors, counselors, and volunteers.

40 Field Trips

This summer saw the return of summer day camp field trips! Whether it was catching a baseball game, taking an adventure to the zoo, or enjoying a day at an amusement park, our campers got the chance to explore the community and make incredible memories!

$2,125.39 donated to charity by Teen REACH Summer Day Campers

The Teen REACH (Responsibility, Education, Achievement, Caring, and Hope) Summer Day Camp program was a new YMCA camp experience this year for students in grades 6-8. Offered for free thanks to a generous Department of Human Services grant from the State of Illinois, this program helped the campers improve their organizational skills, establish leadership roles, promote kindness in their community, and learn about the importance of helping others through charitable giving. As a portion of their camp curriculum, campers held weekly fundraising events including a car wash, a ‘Pie Your Counselor’ day, and snack sales. Funds raised were then donated to the Lil Loves Ministry program at Messiah Lutheran Church, which provides essential baby items to families in need throughout Joliet and the surrounding communities. 

Over 15,000 meals served 

We remain dedicated to assisting children who are faced with food insecurity and providing resources that support a healthy lifestyle for growing minds and bodies. This summer, we partnered with the Northern Illinois Food Bank and Valley View School District 365U Nutrition Services to provide daily meals and snacks at many of our camp locations.

Over $31,000 raised by the YMCA’s Send a Kid to Camp Campaign 

At the Y, nobody is ever turned away due to the inability to pay. Nearly half the children who attend YMCA summer day camp programs receive financial assistance, and this is made possible by the incredible generosity of YMCA donors. This spring, our Send A Kid to Camp Campaign supporters generously funded nearly 800 days of camp for children in our community.

We look forward to seeing you next summer. Camp registration for the summer of 2023 will get underway in March!