Money can’t buy happiness.

Rainbow Day Camp’s Teen camp would like to thank you all for your support and the funds which you have supplied us with in order to help our program prosper and flourish. Rainbow’s Teen camp is a source of community, friendship, and empowerment not only for Guelph residents but for surrounding cities as well. To say thank you on behalf of Rainbow Day Camp, I have been given the job of trying to convey to you what the money you have provided has meant to each camper that it has affected. The simple truth is that it is impossible for you to truly know the degree to which this grant has benefited the countless Teens, and the many ways it helps them every day – it’s simply too difficult to put into words…

But here at Rainbow Day camp we believe everything is possible so I’ll give it my best shot!

Money can’t buy happiness but this dollar made it possible for Rainbow to pay for inclusion staff at Rainbow to support the Teens at camp. This dollar made it possible for Johnny to beat me at the card game “war” 17 times when he was at camp. Seriously 17 times…he counted. This dollar made it possible for Rainbow’s Teen Camp to go on fun filled field trips like the one we went on to the campus radio station CFRU. This dollar made it possible for Davina, a charismatic and warm girl, to work her charm on the head of the radio station and get offered a volunteer position working at the Radio station. This dollar made it possible for Teen camp to secure their very own space for this summer – it’s called the fireplace lounge. Because of this lounge, Jennifer, a kind and creative, but very shy camper, no longer needs to spend her day sitting on the floor in a stairwell because she doesn’t feel like she has her own personal space within the rest of camp. The fireplace lounge is a bigger and more open space for Jennifer to occupy and get closer with her fellow Teens. This dollar made it possible for Joey, a whirl wind sparkplug of a 15 year old, to have the support he needs to make his camp experience enjoyable. For Joe, if he gets through the entire camp day without calling his mom needing to go home, punching another camper, or having a major melt down, he has had a successful day. The charm of Joe is that he can’t get through every day of camp that way. He acts out and has a tendency to show some harsh sides of himself when he is in an overwhelming situation. Rainbow Day Camp does not try to change Joey, because there is not a thing wrong with him! Instead we help Joe achieve more of those successful days. Thanks to your help, it is possible for us to embrace abilities instead of disabilities.

We don’t change people, we enable them and bring out the best side of them possible.
This job is not always smooth sailing but a large part of the reason that this program has been so successful is because the staff has the opportunity to get the training required to be ready for anything that may come their way – your funds have helped provide even more training this year. Rainbow’s Teen camp is not setting out to change people’s lives, but I can say confidently that over the past 3 years it has definitely changed mine. It has opened my eyes and allowed me to view the world through a more accepting, mature, and positive lens.
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy opportunity and long lasting memories. Because of the opportunity you have given each and every one of our campers they have risen to the
challenge and created their own happiness. Thank you for allowing these Teens to turn your funding into beautiful memories they will not soon forget.

With our more sincere gratitude,

David Jackson
Teen Camp leader 2015
Rainbow Programmes for Children