Breakfast Rotary Hosts 10th Fun-Filled Girls Camp

Lake Wales Breakfast Rotary Club's mission is "to be a service club that focuses on caring for the youth of our community while participating in Rotary's global efforts".

Our Rotary Club held an annual Boys' Camp for 27 years, but needed enough women in the club to band together to organize a Girls' Camp. Girls' Camp was created in 2011 with the theme "I AM Smart, Unique, Important, Beautiful, and Fun." Girls' Camp is an annual event, held at Lake Aurora Christian Camp in February.

This camp is funded from grants from Florida's Natural Growers and Rotary Camp Florida. Our Rotary Club has two primary fundraisers for this camp, a Fishing Tournament in November and a Calendar Sale in October and November. Corporate sponsorships also support this camp through their contributions.

Girls' Camp is completely free to the girls who are chosen from the local elementary schools by their principals and teachers. These 64 deserving fourth and fifth grade girls have the time of their lives participating in activities most of them have never experienced before. Throughout the girls' weekend at camp, there is "quiet mentoring" among counselors and Rotarians while the girls have fun with different camp experiences.

Our goal is always to positively impact these girls' lives by offering a fun-filled weekend with the counselors and Rotarians reinforcing our theme. Our counselors support the idea that the key to the girls' future success is to continue to be good students with good behavior. Girls have earned the privilege to attend camp by being respectful, cooperative, and good citizens at their schools.

Camp offers these girls new experiences such as archery, paddle boats, tomahawk throw, zipline, and a campfire with s'mores. The girls have fun on a hayride, drumming, crafts, glamour night and glamour pictures, a dance party, and team skits. Skits reinforce what the girls have been involved with over the weekend and our theme. The skits are very meaningful and highlight the girls working as a team and new friendships they have made.

Our counselors are special young, professional women or college women, who want to make a difference in these girls' lives. Volunteers include Interact members from Lake Wales High School and The Vanguard School. Thanks to the commitment from these counselors, our Rotary Club members, volunteers, and corporate sponsors, these girls experience a special weekend with lasting memories!