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The Chicago Youth Centers' Camp Rosenthal Seeks Student Groups and Camp Counselors
"Thank God for Camp Rosenthal," says mother Daniel Cooper, "It takes my children from the streets of Chicago to the peace of camp." Camp Rosenthal is located 115 miles from Chicago in Dowagiac, Michigan, where for more than forty years, the Chicago Youth Centers (CYC) has provided a unique outdoor experience to the children of Chicago's inner-city. Every summer, children from the Chicago Region come to CYC-Camp Rosenthal to have an experience far different from their typical day of hanging out in their neighborhood. Here, campers have the opportunity to fish, ride bikes, sail, canoe, swim, and engage in many more camp activities. But youth also have the opportunity to learn teamwork, develop leadership skills, learn self-reliance, and make new friends. As Camp Director Judith Stanton puts it, "Time and time again, we have seen how the experience of living in this beautiful camp setting and being part of the camp family is truly life changing." Children come to camp to have fun, but in the process they learn about nature, about how to live with it and take care of it -- from the basics of why we don't need to kill every bug we see, to learning about pond ecology and ecosystems. "We're always looking to reach new groups, new organizations, and more children to come to camp and experience the outdoors," says CYC-Camp Rosenthal's Recruiter and Program Director Ryan Yepsen, "We have all these great resources, all this beautiful nature out here that is so different from the city environment; we believe every child should have the opportunity to experience this." CYC-Camp Rosenthal also works with individual schools and organizations from all over Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana to bring groups to camp in the spring and fall. Organizations bring groups to camp to work on team-building and development, as well as to take advantage of the foreign environment to break kids out of their shells and confront issues like violence and young relationships. If you would like more information about bringing your organization to CYC-Camp Rosenthal, or if you are interested in a seasonal position as a Camp Counselor, contact Recruiter / Program Director Ryan Yepsen.