Hey, Camp Fans!

A hundred or multiple hundreds of children and teens having a blast doing awesome things away from their parents out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. Summer camp is typically a rather safe environment, but definitely not immune to unfortunate illnesses or mild wounds. That’s why camps know they need to have a nurse on hand throughout their summer sessions. No strangers to dealing with tummy aches, bee stings, and all other inopportune ailments that may befall you, camp nurses are the best.

Camp Nurses always treat their patients with absolute care and empathy no matter what’s wrong with them. Summer camp nurses (and nurses in general) are so deserving of a day designated to honoring them which is why they have one—TODAY! May 6th is National Nurse Day. Happy Nurse Day!

A great day to show your appreciation toward the world of nurses, this day actually stretches out to an entire week, ending on May 12^th which is the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Born back in 1820, Ms. Nightingale is considered to be the founder of modern nursing. She first saw recognition during her time spent tending to the injured soldiers in the Crimean War during the mid-19^th Century between France and Russia.

Soldiers started referencing Florence as ‘The Lady with the Lamp’ as she typically made her rounds at night. That’s why her birthday is honored each year now when National Nurse Week reaches its end.

So, be sure while you’re away on your summer camp stay to thank your camp nurse for the assurance of your well-being and the ever-kind manner that nurses always have. On behalf of Everything Summer Camp, we send out a giant thank you to camp nurses, school nurses, clinical nurses, emergency room nurses, and all other kinds. You truly help the people of the world every day!

Make sure you show your appreciation of nurses that you might know in your life today—I know I’m acquainted with a few! As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Siblings!

You know about Father’s Day and we all know about Mother’s Day (which is just up ahead next weekend), but did you know that there is a day to celebrate our siblings? It’s today: Brothers and Sisters Day. Happy Brothers and Sisters Day everyone. Our siblings are everything from our best friend to our arch rival—our moral support as well as our annoying roommate. There are days when you love your siblings more than life itself; other days you want to disown them.

Whether we appreciate it at the time or not, they’re there for us.

And that’s reason enough to be thankful for our brothers and sisters. You’re all in this together—on the same rollercoaster ride of your household, under the same roof. Together. Brothers and sisters rely on the older ones for comfort and guidance; older siblings learn valuable lessons in growing up and maturing.

I’m the youngest of five siblings and, take it from someone with decades of experience: the older you get, the more you come to appreciate your brothers and sisters. Now that we’re all grown up, we find that we rely on each other all the time. Heck! I work with both of my brothers here at Everything Summer Camp!

Mark, the oldest, is the Vice President. Brian, the next down the line is our Operations Manager. And—of course—the youngest, yours truly, am the Writer and Blog Administrator of Everything Summer Camp. And, altogether, I know there’s nothing the three of us wouldn’t do if we knew either of our sisters, Erica or Kim, needed our help.

You can celebrate Brothers and Sisters Day and show them that you care by connecting with them in whatever way you can make happen today. If you’re younger, maybe just do something nice for your siblings. Take the dishes for a week or some other shared household chore to give the other/s a break. If you’re older and you no longer live together, you can get together a share a meal or have a talk around a fire. If you’re separated by too much distance for getting together, just make sure to send them a card or talk to them on the phone.

Just make sure you let you’re brothers and sisters know what they mean to you at least this one time each year and appreciate that you have them in your life! Some only-children out there certainly have perks to being the only child, but they aren’t so fortunate to have built-in friendship with their kin. Happy Brothers and Sisters Day, Folks. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Physically Fit Folks!

Today is Fitness Day—a good day to consider all the good things you do for your body and maybe a reminder to do more for yourself if you’d like to see more improvements. Getting into shape can sometimes seem like a daunting endeavor to embark upon, but you may be amazed at how quickly your body will turn itself around in gratitude of you doing what’s good for it.

We’re no strangers to pushing ourselves for further fitness here at Everything Summer Camp. That’s why we’ve started our company-wide ‘Commit to be Fit!’ program in which we track our healthy habits of every day: did we stay away from sweets, did we get enough sleep each night, did we get out each day for some exercise, and a good number of other factors.

All of the healthy deeds we chart throughout the days are assigned to a point system that gets added up and when we hit certain mile markers, we get have prizes like ‘Commit to be Fit!’ team spirit apparel and a water bottle. The shirt and hoodie advertise that we’re a part of something that we’re proud of while the water bottle goes to help one of the most important parts of being fit—hydration!

Just the same as a kid getting the most out of the summer camp experience, we know our Everything Summer Camp family operates much smoother when we’re all healthy and happy, so the ‘Commit to be Fit!’ program seemed like a the best way to boost morale and give every day our best!

We’ve had excellent Blog posts in the past about fitness and summer camp. Check out the first Blog of a whole fitness series when you click right here. Have fun getting fit and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Forest Fans!

You’re certainly not alone if you think trees are the bees’ knees! Today is Arbor Day—a day designated to encourage groups of people and individuals to plant trees. While typically observed in the springtime, the date of Arbor Day can vary depending on climate and suitable planting season of different geographical locations all across the world.

There are many countries that participate in observation of this holiday. Recognized by nearly 50 countries all over the world, Arbor Day has a wonderful following of tree-lovers! Arbor Day is a great reason to educate yourself on the importance of trees and plant a tree yourself.

Dating back to 1872 on a spring day—April 10—the first American Arbor Day was put forth by one Nebraskan of Nebraska City named J. Sterling Morton. That first Arbor Day saw about one million trees planted in Nebraska!

Arbor Day was off to a good start here in the states, but it was more than another 10 years before it started to catch on with the rest of the world. It was a man from Connecticut, named Birdsey Northrop who traveled to Japan to spread a message of Arbor Day and Village Improvement. This sparked a domino effect of other countries interested in Arbor Day observation and brought great enthusiasm to the idea of a worldwide celebration.  

In the same year that Northrop made his trip to Japan, the man was made Chairman of the Committee to Campaign for Arbor Day Nationwide by the power of the American Forestry Association. Northrop ended up bringing his enthusiastic message of Arbor Day to other countries like Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Check out this Blog post from earlier this month to read about the benefits supplied to us by trees and plant life in general. Look into your own research and root yourself in tree education! Maybe you’re even able to take part in planting a tree today! However you spend it, I wish you a Happy Arbor Day. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Earth Lovers.

Today is Earth Day. A day designated to reminding everyone to appreciate the Earth we all walk on and to do your part in pitching in and keeping it the beautiful land it’s meant to be. This holiday got its start in 1970 when one US Senator for Wisconsin, Senator Nelson initiated our own National Earth Day. But, really, every day should be Earth Day, as we ought to appreciate our living home and treat it with respect at all times—not just one day a year.

The environment is worth it! Last week was Plant Appreciation Day which was featured here on the Everything Summer Camp Blog. We covered a few different ways in which plants are absolutely essential to our existence and well-being. From the air we breathe to medicinal food and even positive moods, plants do so much for us every day; it’s only right that we return the favor!

Simply picking up litter may seem like help on such a small scale that it’s not worthwhile, but that is definitely misguided thinking. A clean room influences further organization and tidy routines (just the same way that an unclean room only encourages further recklessness). A clean Earth works the same way.

The folks from UCO Gear can tell you all about it. Their very own Steven Reinhold is responsible for the #Trashtag Project that puts a fun spin on a noble deed of picking up random litter (especially in natural spaces like state parks and local trails).

Steven Reinhold, a UCO Gear ambassador was so haunted by an accidental littering moment that he was compelled to clean up heavily littered spots throughout his travels to make up for his one mishap. It was recording his deed by snapping pictures that inspired him and spawned the #Trashtag project.

“Instead of taking self-fulfilling summit selfies,” says Steven Reinhold of UCO Gear, “We should be ‘Trash Tagging’ ourselves in pictures where we are cleaning up our wild places!” What a fun way to do good! Do some cleanup in a local spot that sees more litter than it should. It’ll make you feel productive and the site will look a million times better! And don’t forget to take before and after pictures. Happy Earth Day, Everybody.

- John