Hi all! My name is Álvaro, and I’m 17. If you don’t know me, I’ve been going to camp from Barcelona, Spain for the last five summers. My family and my closest friends all agree that there are very few things in my life that are as valuable and have had as much influence on me as my summers at Camp Fitch. 

I started going to camp because my aunt used to go when she was a child; she was a camper, a CIT, and a lifeguard. I initially came with the only intention of improving my spoken English; however, camp has helped me grow as a person in far more ways than I can recall or even imagine over the years! It only took that first summer to convince me to go back to Camp Fitch and contribute to the community that shaped me and supported me. During my years as a camper, I was a clipper, galleon, LIT, and CIT. This past summer was my first one on staff, and I was part of the Galley Crew Team. This coming summer I’ll be a counselor, and I can’t wait to go back and continue giving back to and improving our community!

During these five years, I’ve witnessed from a first person perspective the power that the different experiences and memories formed at Camp Fitch have to change a child’s life. There are dozens, even hundreds of meaningful moments and feelings involved in a week at camp that every child who has gone to camp has captured in its memory. 

The feeling of excitement yet nervousness that you have when you first arrive on Sunday afternoon. The thrill of passing the swim test or making your first friend. The intrigue of how your first meal or your first voyage is going to be like. The sense of accomplishment you get from climbing to the top of the rock wall for the first time or scoring your first bullseye. The joy of receiving your first or new rag or leather. The happiness you feel after your first overnight convo, sleeping a hammock under the bright stars. The sense of excitement you have when you participate in EPs or you attend clipper/galleon night social. The sadness that you have when it’s finally time to say goodbye… There are thousands of examples like these few.

All of these experiences are unique to camp simply because there is no other situation or place where the same conditions are available to you: only you and your friends sharing moments together for a week. This makes camp a perfect place to make friends. In fact, I met my best friend at camp! Every child has the right to experience such powerful emotions and to feel like you feel at camp. Because of this, my goal for this year’s Polar Bear plunge is to raise $690, enough money to send a kid to camp for a week. By reaching my goal, a child will be able to experience the same that every camper at camp has. He will have the same opportunities to form life-long friendships and memories that we’ve all had and value infinitely. 

But I can’t carry out my plan without you. If you have ever attended camp, or what I’m saying sounds familiar to you because you have such beautiful, amazing memories in the back of your head, please consider making a small contribution as to help a new camper experience the magic of my second home: Camp Fitch. Please help me support the #FitchforALL initiative!