YMCA summer camping sessions now accepting registrations

Since 1971, Y7CF Camp Marrowbone provides a safe environment every summer for kids to learn, explore, and grow. The goal is to teach life skills through the character traits of Caring, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility and traditional Lakota values. The camp experience results in new friendships, the opportunity to try all sorts of activities, and “a place to call home.”

For summer 2025, Y7CF has scheduled six weeks of traditional youth camping and one week of a specialty water sports camp, designed for youth who love fishing, canoeing, paddle-boarding, kayaking, and boating. Camp Marrowbone’s newly refurbished and enhanced waterfront sports center makes all this possible.

To register a child for camp, parents/guardians can go to https://tinyurl.com/3rywtpr9 . According to Nick Nathanson, Y7CF Director of Camping, fees are based on a “tier system” according to the family’s ability to pay. “We ask that each family pays what they can towards camp tuition.” Agreed upon tuition must be paid by May 1st in order to secure a spot at Camp Marrowbone for Summer 2025.

Y7CF believes that every camper deserves the opportunity to experience the magic of camp, regardless of financial circumstances. For more information about scholarships, contact Nathanson, at nick@siouxymca.org.

Nathanson says this year the staff will be “rolling out new activities and structures” now possible with the completion of a new “massive” multipurpose dining hall which has a dining capacity for 200 people. When not being used for dining, the building was designed to accommodate in-door sports activities and other features on the camping schedule.

“This new dining hall is a real game changer,” said Nathanson. “It frees up other spaces for enhanced camper programming.” He also is excited about a new welcome center and some refurbished cabins at Camp Marrowbone.

Volunteers are welcome! Those interested in volunteering at camp can contact Brittany Brooks at brittany@siouxymca.org.

Recently, the Y7CF and the Cheyenne River Lakota Tribe collaborated with Clemson University to conduct a study to gather data about the long-term impact for campers at Camp Marrowbone. The research showed that having a stay at Camp Marrowbone resulted in lasting positive indicators for the campers.

The Camp also invites groups of families and friends to reserve space for family reunions, weddings, and get-togethers of all sorts. Nathanson said, “Family camp is an opportunity for groups to disconnect from technology and experience the inner peace that comes with reconnecting with nature.”

An invitation published by Y7CF recently about family camp says, “Come glamp with us! Use our cabins to connect with your family and friends. Join us on the beautiful shores of the Missouri River, Lake Oahe. Explore the campus with our nature trails, scope the bay in our kayaks, and hang out with some prairie dogs.  Sign up for daily excursions: buffalo pastures, ranches, powwows, rodeos, and much much more. Want to give back? We have service projects that allow you and your family or friends to give back to our communities.”

Families and friends can reserve space in cabins that accommodate as few as 5 or as many as 12-15. Cost for rental of the cabin space includes access to the camp kitchen. Optional meal plans are available for those in family and friends groups. The camp is also open to self-contained RV’s and has space available for rustic tent camping.

Those who come to Camp Marrowbone for a friends and family camp have an option to request camp staff to facilitate sports activities, including water sports. There is no additional charge for this service.

Nathanson stressed that friends and family camps are tailored for each unique group depending on the group’s needs and wishes. The family camp registration link is at https://tinyurl.com/2nzxzhxb.

A schedule of specialty camps and mini-camps includes:

Specialty: May 9-11 (Mother and Me)

Specialty: May 23-May 25 (Alumni Weekend)

Specialty: June 8-June 13 (Work Week Session)

Specialty: June 13-June 15 (Father’s and Me)

Mini Camp: June 16-June 18

Mini Camp: June 18-June 22

Session 1: August 8-August 14

Session 2: August 15-August 22

Final Summer Session: August 29-September 1 (Labor Day)

Y7CF is the only YMCA located on a Native American Reservation. It is one of the few groups providing tutoring, leadership development, meals programs and recreational activities for many in isolated communities on the Cheyenne River Reservation. It also runs gang intervention and prevention programming, child abuse prevention training for parents, diabetes education, health/wellness/fitness programming, as well as residential camps in the summer for children, families and friends.

The YMCA is one of the largest volunteer organizations in the world. It has a presence in 10,000 communities across the U.S. and in over 120 countries globally, but the work to strengthen community expands well beyond its physical locations. Its global network enables it to pool knowledge and resources to address critical social issues everywhere.

(Contact Grace Terry at graceterrywilliams@gmail.com)

SOURCES:

Personal interview with Nick Nathanson

E-newsletter:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/YMCA/FMfcgzQZTMTtpJXDFsCJbllVqsjGvqSH?projector=1 

 

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