Photo: Courtesy of Brian Flynn and the YMCA
MARBLEHEAD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Organizers behind a unique summer day camp in the North Shore faced added challenges in this year’s preparations after vandals damaged the property.
The local Marblehead YMCA runs the camp, which they describe as a “stunning, rustic island setting [that] offers unique opportunities on the seacoast with swimming, snorkeling, and beach exploration.”
“The Children’s Island experience is like no other day camp on the North Shore,” according to the YMCA.
Brian Flynn, the executive director of the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA, shared why this camp experience is so special.
“Children’s Island is unique. It sits in the middle of the ocean. It’s right off the coast of Salem and Marblehead,” and the summer camp has been around since 1955.
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Flynn explained that even under normal circumstances, it takes a team effort and a lot of work to get the camp ready. “It takes about three to four 40-hour work weeks for the camp to get ready and prepped.”
This year, the summer camp had the added challenge of vandalism. “Having this on top really tightened our window.”
Staff and volunteers put in extra hours to repair the vandalism and to ensure the camp was ready for the kids.
“We really made sure the camp would come to life for kids so they really wouldn’t notice any difference,” said Flynn.
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Police are still investigating the crime, so details about the exact nature of the damage have not been released yet.
But Flynn shared that “we’re estimating the damage to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.”
WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small (@ShariSmallNews) reports.
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