Hannah
"It is a humbling, massive privilege to be standing before you today. Once as a camper, and now in a leadership role I never would have imagined. I thought that Board of Trustees were for schools, but here we are."
From being a Kids Camper to now leading the CDN Trust Board, Hannah shares reflections on some of the people who have helped her journey to this point.
Dani
"...with social media and all the pressures that are on children to grow up too fast, I think this kind of thing is so amazing; that it's still here and it's still waiting for children to come to it and find it, so I feel really honoured that now I get to be somebody that nominates children and helps them have that experience. It’s kind of like a full circle moment."
Dani Boxall is part of the Mana Ake team at Youth Alive Trust and a former kids camper, who is now nominating young people for CDN Kids Camps.
Esme
"If I could talk to the people who paid for me to come to camp... I wouldn’t even know what to say. I'd just have to give them a big hug and just be like 'thanks so much for helping me get to camp and helping me learn so many new things.'"
Former Kids Camper and current Leader in Training (LiT) Esme shares what her first kids camp was like.
Quinn
"I’m happy I’ve gone down the path I have. I don’t really want to think about the life that I would’ve had if I didn’t go to kids camp."
CDN and Riccarton Community Church partner to send 24-7 Youth Workers into Kahikatea Kirkwood Intermediate School. Back in 2018, those youth workers invited Quinn along to CDN Kids Camp, where the kindness of his leaders kickstarted changes for him.
Donna
"One of the cool things about being a youth worker at the moment... is being at breakfast club and being able to provide young people with food so that they can start their day off really well."
Donna is one of our 24-7 Youth Workers at Kahikatea Kirkwood Intermediate School. She started her CDN journey when her youth worker invited her friend to youth group.
Jack
“Camp was really just that opportunity to step out of the craziness, to have that chance to breathe and to connect with people. And I think that’s what was the most helpful for me at that stage in life.”
After coming to a CDN kids camp back in 2013, Jack has returned to Woodend Christian Camp as the Activities/Operations Manager. He gets to be a part of helping young people enjoy the same sort of activities, structure and community that was so impactful for him.
Shelby
"Because I’ve seen how epic my leaders are and how awesome they were at camp, I would like to go back and become an LiT."
After being nominated for camp, a visit from Vicky helped Shelby to feel comfortable about going to camp. At camp, epic leaders like Donna and Quinn helped her to have a blast and connect with a youth group when she got home.
Izzy
"I would say I enjoyed pretty much all the activities because they got me out of my comfort zone. When I got home from kids camp, mum realised that my attitude changed."
Izzy is a 2nd generation kids camper, with her mum also coming to camp back in 2007. Izzy's story highlights the ways in which CDN works and connects with multiple settings like Schools, Youth Groups and Kids Camp to help young people get out of their comfort zones and make lots of new friends.