This morning we woke up bright and early for a delicious breakfast before boarding the coach-buses. Campers and staff were looking forward to a meaningful and exciting day in NEW YORK CITY!!!! As the buses pulled out of the campgrounds we all cheered and sang our favorite camp songs before settling down for the trip. When we peered out the window and saw the statue of liberty and huge skyscrapers we knew we were nearing the city. Little did we know that Camp Simcha would be privileged to be based out of an exclusive floor in Brookfield Place that overlooked the statue of liberty!
Each of the campers found a Camp Simcha bag at their seats filled with goodies, an American Flag, and Camp Simcha memorabilia. After dancing and enjoying our exclusive, private floor, campers and staff were honored to be addressed by Rabbi Simcha Scholar, Mr. Gross, the NYPD and fire department. Before they addressed us Grace, Sara, Malky, Ariana, and Samara sang their Camp Simcha version of Brave. Their beautiful, heartfelt song moved everyone. Mr. Gross then strengthened all who were present, saying that all the amazing campers at Camp Simcha are truly his heroes. Sarit presented Mr. Gross with a present created in glass fusion in thanks for all the care, time, and effort he puts in to making Camp Simcha all that it is for us. The Chief of Police celebrated the hope and strength our campers show every day as warriors! Chief Leonard applauded our campers for standing up in the face of adversity and fighting back! The borough commander of Manhattan spoke about what he experienced on 9/11 and shared that it’s about the hope and inspiration to keep going and working hard every day! Our final and most beloved speaker, Cara L., gave a heartfelt speech. Cara said that to her being brave means being scared but doing it anyways! She expressed her gratitude to Camp Simcha for showing all the camper that they are not alone in what can be a dark and scary world!
Camp Simcha moved on to ground zero where each camper was given the opportunity to stick their own American flag into a name engraved along the fountain memorial. Then, each camper received a piece of gold ribbon which had broken Guinness world record for the longest cancer awareness ribbon. They each wrote a meaningful message on their ribbon with words of strength and courage. Our campers were given the unique opportunity to tie their ribbon piece onto the only tree that survived the 9/11 tragedy. It was a meaningful experience for all!
When we returned to the 29th floor of Brookfield Place, the room had been transformed into a magical and fashionable venue! We enjoyed a scrumptious and special buffet together as we looked out over the magnificent view. Then came the biggest surprise of the day!!! A FASHION SHOW…with a twist!!!!! Our very own campers were the stunning models that cat-walked down the runway! Each excited camper was whisked backstage for a complete makeover. Many gracious makeup artists, hairstylists, and fashionistas gave of their time and talents to help our campers feel their most beautiful selves! The thrilled campers received bags filled with either summer, spring, winter, or fall styles to model as they walked down the runway. Additionally they could choose from a large selection of jewelry, sunglasses, and more to bedazzle themselves with. Each and every delighted model got their turn to show off their swag and style with everyone cheering them on! Camp Simcha models certainly have got the attitude, smiles, and style!!! Smiles spread from ear to ear as their gorgeous faces shined and they felt so proud! The massive goody bags that the gracious stylists gave added to the fun and magic of the day in a tremendous way!!!
In order to get a real feel of the city, the camp ordered double decker busses to take everyone on a tour of NYC! The elated campers and staff sat on the top of the busses together and rocked New York City with cheers and song! I say Fight…you say Cancer!!! I say Camp…you say Simcha!!! We soon had pedestrians of New York City waving, smiling, and shouting our cheers! The city of New York and Time Square looked magnificent from way up high. With the wind in our hair and grins on our faces, we all felt like we were on the top of the world!
After such an exciting and busy day, we piled off of the double decker busses to get our yummy dinners. Settled back on our coach-busses, we turned on a movie, sat back, and relaxed during our drive back to our happy Camp Simcha home!
Welcome back and good night! Time to rest up for our last full day at our amazing Camp Simcha!!!!!!
