JOHN HARDWICK
Gear Share At
Tamarack Camps
Giving camping equipment a second life.
MIKKI RUBIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
I
t’s interesting how nothing hap-
pens by accident. I’ve had a life-
long love affair with Tamarack
Camps — from age 9 to this very day.
Tamarack has always been my happy
place. My fondest memories all stem
back to the amazing camping experi-
ence and the comraderie among the
campers and staff; creating relation-
ships that stand the test of time.
It’s no wonder that I waited impa-
tiently for my own children to reach
the earliest possible age when they
could enroll at camp. I had packed
their duffel bags in my mind years
before, just waiting for their magic
birthdays to be eligible to climb on
the big green bus and head off to
Ortonville.
My children have attended a com-
bined 12 sessions of camp. With
that said, you can only imagine the
amount of camping items accumu-
lated each year. As we get ready to
start another camp season, and we go
through everything saved from previ-
ous years, I find there are so many
items outgrown, or never used — hik-
ing boots, rain gear, sleeping bags.
The camp equipment list is daunt-
ing, especially if you have a child going
to one of the outpost camps or on
a teen travel trip that requires very
specific items. I told my daughter it’s
a shame we can’t find a way to pass
down these items to other campers.
After all, there’s a ski equipment swap,
why not a camp gear swap!
And here is the nothing-happens-
by-accident situation — not long after
this conversation with my daughter,
I received a call from Gabe Neistein,
alumni relations director at Tamarack
Camps. Gabe said he had some vol-
unteer opportunities he wanted to
discuss, including a program where
gently used or new camp items could
be shared by other campers. Those
words barely came out of Gabe’s
mouth when I answered “Yes, I’m in!”
And that’s how we started Gear
Share, a gear-giving program to help
families outfit teens for their summer
adventures.
So, when getting ready to pack your
kids off to camp this year, remember
those outgrown items have many
more summers of life in them — and
can bring a smile to another camper
along the way.
Donate your gear by dropping items
off at the Tamarack Camps office dur-
ing business hours (6735 Telegraph
Road, Suite 380, Bloomfield Hills) or
our committee members will pick
them up from you! For more informa-
tion, contact jyashinsky@
tamarackcamps.com or (248) 952-
9030 or visit tamarackcamps.com/
gear-share.
Gear Share committee member
Olga Semanova says, “Tamarack has
done an incredible job through the
years providing scholarships to camp-
ers and has expanded that program
even more this year by opening up
scholarships to Travel Trip partici-
pants.
“As both a camper and a staff
member of Tamarack Camps, I know
that the cost of going to camp is one
thing, and the cost of getting all of the
supplies is another,” she adds. “Even
though a camper might have a schol-
arship to go, the cost of the gear might
be prohibitive. We decided to help
remedy that with this new Gear Share
program!
“With this new program, we are
hoping that other alums can donate
supplies that might be taking up
space in their basements but can be
used again by campers. This way, new
memories can be made and gear can
be put to good use in the back-
country again!”
Gear Share committee member
Elissa Kaufman, says, “The collection
and distribution of camping gear is
so important to me because it allows
kids to experience adventures through
Tamarack Camps that are so difficult
to replicate later in life. It is these
rewarding camp experiences that will
likely positively impact their chosen
path in life, as it has mine.” •
jn
May 25 • 2017
43