Summer fun begins at Cradle Beach
Small army of kids fills air with zest
They came rolling in by the bus-loads, dragging their suitcases behind them.
They carried pillows under their arms and backpacks over their shoulders.
They came ready for summer camp at Cradle Beach in Angola.
One hundred fifty-five playful, energetic kids from all over Western New York showed up Monday for the first day.
“Boys take a seat at the table,” shouted one camp counselor as the young people ages 8 through 16 filed in.
“Girls in the rec room,” shouted another.
This summer, Cradle Beach Camp will host almost 800 kids — some disabled, others economically disadvantaged.
Monday was the start of the first 10-day session. There are five sessions in total throughout the summer, and each has between 150 and 160 kids in it, said Tim Boling, chief executive officer of Cradle Beach, which runs a Summer Enrichment Program.
Kenny Rumph, 12, and his 10- year-old sister Tamare Hover Rumph, are geared up for their fourth year at the camp.
The siblings are looking forward to meeting new friends and competing in Sunshine Day, a carnival-style event where kids get to participate in activities like games of chance and the water dunk. In that game, someone sits inside a tank filled with water and a player tries to hit a button with a ball. If the ball hits the bull’s-eye, the person falls into the water.
Both Kenny and Tamare want a chance this summer to get dunked. Tamare said she has dumped others twice in years past. “It’s fun here,” said Tamare. “Lots of fun,” Kenny said.
Veterans at Cradle Beach Camp, the siblings will show the ropes to four of their cousins, who are attending the camp for the first time. The newcomers were a little nervous, at first, about being away from home.
“I gotta show them around,” said Kenny.
The program funds most of each child’s expenses, using donations from contributions raised all year. This allows Cradle Beach to operate on a sliding scale to help low-income families afford payments, averaging $100 for 10 days per child.
There are nearly 100 counselors and 12 professionally trained staff. Campers can experience swimming, dance, theater, a culinary program, arts and crafts, music, nature, computers and photography.
Some former campers, like 24-year-old Shawn Isaacs, return to become camp leaders.
Isaacs, an East Side resident who graduated from the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, was a camper for four years, but Monday was his first day as a counselor.
“I have really fond memories of being at camp. Camp helped change my life,” said the recent graduate of Alfred University.
“I wanted to come back and have that same influence,” he added.
Isaacs will be attending University of New Haven in the fall to get a master’s degree in management of sports industry. He wants a job in front office management of an NFL team.
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