Camp Cocoa

Camp Cocoa

The Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC) became the big 2-0 in 2019. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the Club has partnered with the Montrose Daily Press on a special project; to bring to the readers of the Press an article each week to highlight various aspects of the Club and show the impact it has had in Montrose & Olathe. The readers will get insight from current parents, former Club kids, current Club kids, past Club staff, and more. So, join us each week as we show why “Great Futures Start Here!”

Yeti, Below Zero, and Winter Wonderland; all of these are current or past themes of the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club’s (BCBGC) Camp Cocoa Club session. But what is Camp Cocoa you may be asking? Camp Cocoa is a special Club session, open to existing school session Club members, to fill that void between the dates of the school session, which follow the Montrose County School District calendar, and Christmas break when parents still have to work. While Camp Cocoa is an extra Club session, which has an additional minimal fee, it allows existing Club members to continue to be in their Club environment while their parents work. However, Camp Cocoa is a special time for the kids as it allows some flexibility for changes in programming from the normal school session.

Today, as part of this article on Camp Cocoa, I am interviewing a Montrose Unit Club kid about her experience with Camp Cocoa. Kylie is a 4th grade student at Pomona Elementary School. Kylie’s favorite part of Club is spending time with her friends after school; so Camp Cocoa is great for Kylie as it lets her spend time with her friend during the Christmas break when school is out. Kylie noted a typical Camp Cocoa day starts with meeting up in the gym of the Montrose Unit until all the kids arrive and often a fun holiday movie is on. Then there is a quick Club meeting where the schedule of the day and announcement are reviewed. Then they usually set up a game to play in the gym like gaga ball which is Kylie’s favorite to play. After that, the kids are divided by age group and taken to separate rooms where they do different activities with Kylie noting she likes to play board games during this break out time or do one of the special holiday crafts the staff has planned. Then it is time for lunch. After lunch, quiet time is scheduled for the kids to wind down. Kylie noted she likes quiet time because it can get really loud at Club sometimes and so it is nice to have some quiet time. During quiet time, she likes to read or draw. After quiet time is done, then it is time to pick up the pace again and do another physical activity. Then the day is pretty much done and it is time for the kids to go home.

Kylie is excited to come to Camp Cocoa again this year. She notes her favorite theme so far has been Yeti because the staff had a Bumble costume (the Yeti from the Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer movie) they would take turns wearing which was funny. This year’s theme is Below Zero. Staff has some special projects lined up for this year, one of which requires gallon jugs (you didn’t hear it from me but I hear they are making igloos!). So if you have any spare gallon jugs you do not need, the Club would be happy to take them off your hands for this project. You can drop them off at the Montrose Club unit at 2900 Sunnyside Rd in Montrose until Friday December 20^th.

On a final parting note, the BCBGC is doing a donor drive through December 31, 2019. Anyone who becomes a monthly donor, for any monthly amount, during that time will be entered into a drawing to win two VIP tickets to the Montrose Wine & Food Festival (valued at $200). The winner will be chosen and announced on March 1, 2020 (existing monthly donors will be automatically entered to win). As an added bonus, any amount you donate to the BCBGC will be eligible for a Child Care Tax Credit on your Colorado state taxes (so if you donate $15 a month, totaling $180 for the year, you would be eligible to receive $90 back on your taxes). You can sign up to become a monthly donor today at https://bcbgc2.ddock.gives/. For more information on the Montrose Wine & Food Festival, please visit www.montrosewinefestival.com. For more information on the Colorado Child Care Tax Credit, visit https://tax.colorado.gov/sites/tax/files/Income%2035.pdf.

Bud Taylor is the Executive Director for the Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club (BCBGC) and had been for the past three years. Prior to that, he was a BCBGC kid, junior staff member, and board director. Feel free to contact Bud Taylor by e-mail at btaylor@bcbgc.org or visit the Club’s website for more information, www.bcbgc.org.