'LIFE-ALTERING EXPERIENCE': Fiddlesticks empowering youth with camping experiences

For many, the camp experience is a memorable part of childhood and youth.

It’s where new friendships are established, new skills are learned and lifelong memories are made.

Unfortunately, for some families facing financial burdens, sending a child to camp is also a pipe dream, out of reach due to the associated costs.

Fiddlesticks Community Centre in Cambridge specializes in camps for children of all ages. And, with the help of the Waterloo Region Record – Lyle S. Hallman Foundation Kids to Camp Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation, no child is being turned away from Fiddlesticks programs.

The fund provides grants to camps, enabling children and youth who reside in the region the necessary financial means to participate.

“I think people underestimate the importance of a child attending camp. It is a life-altering experience for them (with) the memories that they create there,” Fiddlesticks Executive Director Kim Fowler said.

Founded in 1992, Fiddlesticks uses a “decentralized service delivery model” and services a specific neighbourhood in Cambridge geographically bounded by Pinebush Road, Townline Road, Clyde Road, and Franklin Boulevard.

“Instead of our families having to leave our area to access programs, we try and have what the community wants to see within the neighbourhood itself,” Fowler said.

The not-for-profit organization’s motto is “Building Friendships and Futures Through a Stronger Community” and it offers a range of programs for all ages, with a primary focus on youth and youth leadership development.

While that development happens through a variety of non-camp-season initiatives including an after-school program, various sports, and a girls’ choir, as well as several other programs and special events throughout the year, camps are at the heart of what Fiddlesticks does.

Four different summer camps are offered, including age-specific day camps for those between 4-13, and a weeklong overnight camp at Brant Conservation Area called [lead] which is an acronym for Leadership Excellence Asset Development.

Thanks to this additional funding, Fiddlesticks was able to provide financial subsidies for 25 children and youth in 2023, ensuring the door remained open for all who wished to attend.

“If we didn’t have those funds, we would have to draw funds from other areas of our camp budget to ensure everyone could participate and this would have a negative impact on everyone’s overall camp experience,” Fowler said.

Symbolic of the development and community-building emphasis, many campers and volunteers return to Fiddlesticks year after year, and many who attended a camp have gone on to become paid camp leadership staff.

Among many benefits, summer camps can help foster improved self-confidence, Fowler said, pointing to one recent example involving a [lead] participant who returned to school in September and was advised by her gym teacher that she would have to remove her camp bracelet due to safety concerns. The girl took it upon herself to ask her teacher for some time to consider the situation before speaking with the principal about the request. Ultimately, she was allowed to keep her bracelet, and the compromise was that she would apply tape around her wrist during gym class.

“This girl, prior to attending [lead] camp, would have just walked away and cut the bracelet off.,” Fowler said. Instead, the girl decided, “’I’m going to talk to an adult and ask to further this conversation.’”

Building confidence and building community connections is what it’s all about for Fiddlesticks and its camps.

“That’s what we do as an organization, and that’s how we can empower the kids we bring into the program.”

Fiddlesticks operates with the help of some 200 volunteers.

Since 2014, more than $1.5 Million has been distributed through The Waterloo Region Record – Lyle S. Hallman Foundation Kids to Camp Fund to support kids in having a camping experience. Approximately $150,000 is expected to be distributed through the fund in 2024, focused on providing subsidies for children under 18 attending camp.

For more information about Fiddlesticks Community Centre, visit fiddlesticks.ca.

The Waterloo Region Record – Lyle S. Hallman Foundation Kids to Camp Fund will be accepting applications in January 2024. To learn more and apply, visit wrcf.ca/kidstocamp.