Whoopi Goldberg Shares Influence of Summer Camp on Her Life with Children at Camp Kinder Ring
New York, NY – July 5, 2018 - On June 27th, Whoopi Goldberg appeared at Camp Kinder Ring, a not for profit coed overnight camp in Hopewell Junction, NY to discuss how her experience as a camper and counselor at Camp Madison-Felicia outside of New York City, changed her life. Goldberg, affectionately called “Sundance” in her camp years, was joined by other former campers and counselors from Camp Madison-Felicia for a panel discussion on how summer camp was a transforming experience for each of them.
“Camp is great. For me, what camp gave me was the ability to look people in the eye and listen to them tell me who they were because I didn’t know a lot of folks different from me so to meet lots of different colored people was a great thing. It allowed us not to think of them as a black person or a Latino person. When you are at camp, you’re just people,” explained Whoopi to hundreds of young campers at Camp Kinder Ring. “When you get out of camp, other people will try to push you into thinking differently and chances are because of the people you’ve met here, you’ll pause and say I don’t know if I agree. At camp, you will become a person who thinks as an individual. Camp gives you the ability to make up your own mind about what you think. Don’t let anybody talk you out of that.”
Susie Lupert, Executive Director of the American Camp Association, NY and NJ added, “Whether you attended camp decades ago or if you are here at camp right now, we are all so fortunate to understand the magic of camp. The life skills that all of you are going to gain here including confidence, resiliency, and leadership skills will last a lifetime. We consider summer camp to be a part of a child’s education. Children are provided with skills and opportunities at camp that a lot of children aren’t getting in a traditional school environment.”
Marc Rauch, Director of Camp Kinder Ring announced the creation of the Whoopi Goldberg scholarship which will allow a child to attend camp at no cost. Susie Lupert presented Whoopi with a plaque honoring her for her dedication to spreading the word about the importance of camp for a child.
For more information about the American Camp Association, New York and New Jersey visit www.acanynj.org.
For media inquiries, please contact Jess Michaels, American Camp Association, NY and NJ or call 212.391.5208.