“My son came to you one summer as a young man not sure of what he was going to do, where he was headed. When he came home from Falcon Camp, all that had changed. He was focused, driven, and so sure of himself everyone was impressed. To this day I tell everyone, my son is the one responsible for where his life is headed and I tell them Falcon Camp was the best thing that ever happened to our family.”
“At Falcon Camp I meet all kinds of new and interesting people. The other campers, boys and girls, are different from one another since they come from so many different places and families. Also they are different from most of the kids at my school and in my neighborhood. The counselors are also different in many ways and I enjoy hearing them talk about their different backgrounds and interests and ideas. I enjoy getting to know all kinds of different people and learning about how each person is special in some ways. I am in a group at school called “Unity” and our purpose is to help people find the common ground we share, rather than worrying about the differences that often keep us apart. It is fun to learn about both how we are different and how we are the same.
Activities at falcon are a refreshing break from school and from the rest of my life. I get to do things that I don’t get to do any other time. Last year I tried archery and tennis for the first time. I even played tennis against my mom in our driveway when I got home from camp and my skills improved more. The really great thing about learning new activities at Falcon that is I don’t feel like I have to be really good just to try out new things. Everyone at camp is always so encouraging and I never feel embarrassed when I try something new that I am not too good at. When I tried tennis I got some awards for improving and that helped me feel confident to keep at it. Lots of times at school or in my neighborhood, kids would make fun of me for trying something that I was not really good at doing. That does not happen at Falcon. It seems like everyone just helps you to be who you are and just keep trying to improve. “
“While my daughter was away at camp last year, I often that about how the experience would help her grow. She came home quite the new child. She was proud, walking tall. She had confidence and not afraid to try something new. I was amazed. How could two short weeks change someone so profoundly? My child left a shy 9 year old and came home a mature responsible young lady.”
“Please accept this check to the Scholarship Fund. May it support and sustain the good work of your beautiful fund. May Falcon Camp continue to embrace each and every child with an affirmative hug. May they feel love and acceptance “just the way they are.”To suspend their school months of pressure, performance, and conformity. To arrive down that stoney lane and to know in their hearts of a safe sanctuary called ‘Falcon Camp.’ “
“Dear Decker Memorial Foundation,
Thank you very much for giving me the scholarship to Falcon Camp. I spent the best four weeks of my life there. I also learned a lot about being independent at the nighttime, and at other times how to rely on friends and work together.
At camp I enjoyed a lot of activities such as crafts, drama, tennis, and sailing. I received awards in all of these activities as well as a Highflyer award in crafts.
In crafts I loved making bracelets out of string and beads. In drama, with one of the CAs (counselor assistant) and 2 girls in my cabin (.5), I did a dance to Britney Spears. In tennis I received my beginner award and I got my basic sailor in sailing. The thing at camp I loved the most was the friendships I gained. I made a lot of friendships at camp that I will cherish always and forever. More than anything, I received the gift of independence. I know that I already mentioned this but I think it is so important that every child should learn this life-long lesson, and the fact that I got to learn it while I was having a great time just makes learning all the better.
Falcon camp without a doubt changed me for the better. I learned so many things, and got the chance to do so many activities that I never would have gotten to do.
At first I was a little afraid about going away from home for a month because I had never been away from home by myself for more than a week, but when I got to camp everyone was so nice and appeared to be able to get along with me and it was great.
Falcon became my home away from home. In the beginning it was kind of weird being in a different bed with 9 other girls in the same cabin. I thought to myself, “This isn’t my home, what am I doing here?”, and when it was near time to go home and a counselor said to me, “My chica, I will miss you loads when you leave!” and I thought to myself, “Wait! This is my home, why would I be leaving?”
My summer at Falcon was great and I wish to return year after year in hopes that each year will be better than the year before.
Once more I would like to thank you for giving me this wonderful gift. I will treasure it forever and never forget it.”
“I loved everything about Falcon Camp. I like Falcon Camp the best. I made friends there and the counselors were funny. My favorite part of camp was sailing. I like camp because I get to be outside and there is so much space. I don’t like the bugs but I deal with that. “
“I absolutely loved camp! I love how everyone is so kind to one another and it is so easy to make great friends because of that. I learned a lot of new skills, such as identifying plants and animals, sailing a sunfish, capsizing a canoe plus a sailboat, played different sports such as gaga, and I learned how to make friendship bracelets. I was introduced to different card games I have never played before, learned to shoot a .22 rifle, and I found out that I really like performing on stage! After I left Falcon Camp last summer, I came home feeling really independent and very confident with myself.”
“Once I had arrived at Falcon Camp, I saw oodles and oodles of delighted faces socially interacting and sharing the good times they were having. I couldn’t help but to join in on the chain reaction, and immediately felt my heart warm, leaving all that depression behind in the dust. Another benefit that I gained while attending Falcon Camp was the skill to make new friends with less effort. When I had arrived at Falcon Camp, all of the counselors and the campers said that they were so happy to see me, and soon enough I was in my cabin greeting people that would become my cabinmates. Through all of the intimate times my cabinmates and I have shared, we eventually grew bonding relationships that would last forever.”
“As we drive my son and his friends to soccer and swim practices, he tells them about the fun and great friendships he has developed at camp. He is truly looking forward to the day when he can be a Counselor in Training. The activities at the camp are fantastic for him. The people that he associates with from camp have become life friends. They support each other outside of camp through emails as well as visiting and “hanging out” together. Not only has my son become a nice young man but his “camp” friends are also well mannered and fun to be around. Dave Devey and his staff have helped mold the lives of some pretty wonderful campers.”
“Wow! Thank you so much for letting me come to camp as a CIT without paying anything! I really loved it so much, I actually cannot put my feelings about camp into words. I am very blessed to be in this situation, and being able to come back…
…But seriously, I have matured, learned, and become friends with some great people here. That’s what camp is all about; molding you to be who you will be for the rest of your life, and I appreciate this opportunity you have given me to grow and mature. I wish I was at Falcon right now.
Huh, only about 300+ days til I come back (hopefully!) Thank you again for believing that I would work hard and try, I hope I was a help this year! Let me know if I’m slacking :)”
“I know I say this every year, but this summer was the best summer at camp since I started going. Every year I write to you about how at camp I make a lot of new friends and learned skills that help me. This year I learned a different skill and it is probably one of the more important skills I learned. This summer at camp I participated in the LIT program. LIT stands for Leaders-In-Training. In this program I learned various skills that improve how I lead activities and groups. I was also taught how to manage situations and to be a leader.
During camp this year I also was certified to be a lifeguard. The qualification was a long process and took a lot of work and time from my schedule. While at the lifeguarding classes, I learned the value of having supportive friends. Some of the things we did were very difficult and without the help and encouragement of some of my cabinmates and friends, I probably would not have been able to finish. We all worked together to study and pass our tests. This was great fun as we worked as a team toward our individual goals!
Camp had a wonderful impact on me this summer. I enjoyed participating in the usual camp activities from the past years and also learned some new responsibilities that I will use throughout my life. I hope to return to camp for many years to come. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support in giving me the scholarships to be at this great camp!”
“I enjoyed camp a lot this year. I was very sad when I left. The activities there were amazing. The counselors taught us how to do everything we needed. An example is when we were riding horses. We were riding bareback that day and it was my first time. I didn’t know where to jump on. Then a counselor told me where to jump on and how to hold the reins. There wasn’t one activity that I didn’t enjoy. There were all fun and active. In each activity there was a chance to do your best.
My experiences were once in a lifetime although I hope it’s more than that. I made a lot of new friends. I never felt uncomfortable in my cabin or anywhere in camp. I always felt welcome and happy. If I was frustrated a counselor would help me get through it. One of the better experiences was that I got to be a Counselor’s Assistant in sailing. This gave me the opportunity to help younger campers in sailing and teach them how to sail. These teaching skills gave me the confidence to teach or talk in front of groups of people. Camp gave me opportunities that I wouldn’t have at home and I think that is great.
My feelings about camp can only be described in one word…awesome. To me, camp is the best place I’ve ever been to. Without camp I wouldn’t have done anything all summer. I think camp is the best place to go if you’re having problems with things such as school. If you go to camp it clears your mind and you can figure out a solution. Next time I have a problem I can think about camp and that will calm me down and I can figure out an answer. This is why I love camp so much.”