Archdiocese's CYO Day Camp brings summer-time joy to hundreds of campers

It was all smiles at the Saint John Paul II Youth Retreat Center last week as campers kicked off the first week of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry's Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Summer Camp.
 
“Kids have a great time learning new skills, making new friends, and enjoying all that summer offers,” said Rich Donovan, Assistant Director of Archdiocese of Newark Office for Youth and Young Adult Ministry and CYO Camp Director. He added that the CYO Summer Camp is “a vibrant faith community that offers campers a fun-filled, week in a safe and supportive setting.”  

Hundreds of campers, counselors, and volunteers gather in the gymnasium at the Saint John Paul II Youth Retreat Center in Kearny on June 26 for the first day of CYO Summer Camp.

The day camp runs for eight weeks June 26 through Aug. 18 and supports a variety of activities, including sports, swimming, arts and crafts, Bible study, and leadership opportunities. For over 80 years, hundreds of children each summer have experienced CYO Summer camp. The camp has been hosted at the Saint John Paul II Youth Retreat Center each year since 1991, when the facility was acquired by the Archdiocese.

The camp is so popular that registration fills up by Mother’s Day each year. This year, over 300 campers will participate in programming each week, Donovan said. Campers begin each day by gathering in the gymnasium for morning prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance before they break out into their daily activities.

Campers are split into four groups based on age level. Two groups of Kinder-Campers, aged 5 and 6, participate in arts and crafts, playground time, sports, and water activities. Although Kinder-Campers do not use the pool, they do get to play on inflatable water bouncies throughout the week.

Campers aged 7 through 9 years old, and 10 through 12, can enroll in specialized activities each week such as sports, art class, computers, game room, or pool time. Many of the staff members and volunteers are college students, teachers, and youth ministers with backgrounds in day care, recreation, and youth who return each year.

And according to Donovan, nearly all the counselors and program specialists are former CYO Summer Camp graduates themselves. Only eight of the 43 staff he trained this year were not individuals who he knew as campers as he approaches the 25th year of his tenure as Camp Director, he said. The camper-to-staff pipeline that the camp has curated, according to Donovan, has created a “sense of community” that reflects directly in the quality of the programs that they offer.

Camp staff participate in training before the summer season begins. The majority of CYO Camp staff are former campers.

The camp’s goal, according to Donovan, is “to provide a quality summer day camp experience to children of various ages, interests, and backgrounds while here at the St. John II Youth Retreat Center and encouraging the campers to acquire skills and develop friendships while being a part of a safe, caring, Christian environment.”

The camp is at capacity and will not be accepting any additional campers for the 2023 summer season. Registration for the Camp program typically starts in early March. Interested parents can visit the office’s website starting in March at www.newarkoym.com to learn more. 

CYO Summer Camp is a licensed NJ Youth Camp and adheres to the health and safety guidance of the NJ Department of Health, the Kearny Department of Health, and the Archdiocese of Newark.

Over three dozen counselors-in-training will volunteer at the camp during the 2023 summer season, earning community service hours by facilitating activities for campers aged 5 through 12.