Last Tuesday morning, a charter bus pulled up at the Martin Park hub to take the Brilliant Detroit group up north. The Taproots program’s thoughtfulness was immediately apparent with boxed lunches waiting for the group for journey. Several hours and a couple of movies later, the group arrived at Camp Walden. Upon arriving, the Walden staff delivered the campers luggage to their cabins and enthusiastically greeted each child, already having studied their names before their arrival. Camp orientation ended with a snack at the “punch and cookies benches,” where campers commonly gather for announcements. In the evening of the first day, after a delicious dinner, the children selected which activities they wanted to do for the next few days. There was a lot to choose from, including archery, arts and crafts, biking, fishing, and many, many more. To end the night, Brilliant Detroit’s own Ms. Q led a line dancing activity where she taught everyone the YMCA and cupid shuffle, among other dances.
Over the course of the next few days, the campers were awakened each morning by the sound of the wake-up bell at 8 a.m. A Camp Walden tradition is to eat breakfast in your pajamas before returning to your cabin to get dressed for the day. Once everyone is dressed, it’s time for a physical activity like archery, pickleball, basketball, biking and improv. Next the campers participated in different electives based on what they chose the first night – arts and crafts, wilderness survival, swimming, boating, and more. A highlight was making custom picture frames to take home memories of the awesome experience. Each child is asked to make a second frame to give to a donor to the Taproots program.