Remembering Marilyn!

Remembering Marilyn!

The Marilyn Project

About

In 2006, Marilyn Ratliff founded Summer Camp Scholarships, which has since sent over 1,000 deserving kids to summer camp who otherwise would not have had the opportunity. As the lifeblood behind Summer Camp Scholarships, she applied for grants, worked with summer camps to find camper slots, held school assemblies to reach out to kids, trained volunteers to work with the families, and led our organization every step of the way. Although Marilyn left this world on February 23, those who are left behind will work to follow her lead and continue the mission of our organization.

4th and 5th Grade Overnight Camp

Who?

Erickson/Holmes Elementary, 4th/5th

What?

Many summer camp activities are team-based, thus allowing children to practice social skills such as leadership and followership, compromise, and problem-solving. These skills both aid children in the development of social bonds and help them become more capable and confident.

When?

June - August

Where?

  • YMCA Camp Copneconic, in Fenton

  • YMCA Camp Ohiyese, in Holly

  • YMCA Camp Nissokone, in Napoleon

  • Camp Wonder at Howell Nature Center


What?

The camp experience is one or two weeks of expense-paid summer resident camp, plus supportive services. Services may include clothing and gear, medical examinations, an orientation session with representatives of participating camps, and transportation to and from camp.

Grade 5 to age 16 Overnight Summer Camp

Where:

  • YMCA Storer Camps in the Irish Hills near Jackson

  • YMCA Camp Nissokone is located at Oscoda

  • Mystic Lake YMCA Camp at Lake, near Clare

  • YMCA Hayo-Went-Ha Camps Hayo-Went-Ha for Boys on beautiful Torch Lake.  Arbutus Hayo-Went-Ha for Girls is located on Arbutus Lake at Traverse City

  • YMCA Camp Al-Gon-Quian, located at Burt Lake in northern Michigan

When?

June - August

Why?

Washtenaw Camp Placement’s (WCP) mission is to connect economically disadvantaged youth to camp through community support. WCP believes that resident summer camp is a life-changing experience that provides children an opportunity for growth in social, emotional, and physical well-being.

Who?

Washtenaw Camp Placement (WCP) is the only camping program that accepts referrals from teachers and counselors in all Washtenaw county school districts, as well as from social workers in human service agencies throughout the county, and serves Grades 5 through age 16.

Why?

Overnight camp can be transformative for youngsters who are lucky enough to attend, so we make sure that the boys and girls we invite make the most of their experience. We look for camps that have a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse population, and carefully selected and thoroughly trained counselors. And our partnering camps, listed below, contribute up to 50% of the fee.

A full scholarship to camp is just a start for our families and children. The cost of secondary outlays can be overwhelming for a family living from paycheck to paycheck. SCS assists every step of the way because the cost of essential camp gear such as a sleeping bag and duffel, and enough clothes for one or two weeks, can be a deal-breaker. We choose camps that are less than an hour away or have bus pick-ups that are less than an hour away because many of our families have limited funds for gas or their cars are reliable only for short distances.

How?

WCP campers attend several different camps at different times during the summer. Separated from their peer groups and making new friends, they are just kids like any other kids. One might say that the camp is a level playing field.

Please have the following forms completed and emailed to info@mentor2youth.org or printed and dropped of at our office. These forms are mandatory and due 4/21/23.