It Begins With A SmilePosted by on November 28, 2016

Smiles are free, but they are worth a lot!

The power of a smile is an amazing thing.  Studies have shown that smiling can lower stress levels, by releasing endorphins.  Smiling can also boost your immune system.  Smiling makes you more approachable and seem more trustworthy, which can help you be a better leader.  Best of all, a smile can be the starting point for amazing, lifelong friendships.

The bonds built between campers, CITs, and staff are developed through living in a bunk without electricity, by supporting each other during new activities, and connecting through shared experiences that value respect, personal growth, and diversity.   The friendships developed at camp are incredibly unique.  Friendships forged during camper and CIT summers often grow to be college and post-college roommates, bridesmaids, and even God parents.  Relationships developed between staff members often grow to be spouses- just look at our own Jim & Beigette and Caroline & Rich!  These amazing, lifelong, supportive relationships between campers, CITs and staff all likely started with a smile.

Over 20,000 children attend camp in Maine each summer.  Approximately 400 of them are Fernwood Cove girls!  Each summer we welcome campers back to 350 Island Pond Road, where they embark on their extraordinary twenty-five day adventure!  Camp scholarships (camperships) have been available to Fernwood Cove families since camp opened in 1998.  This helps to ensure that the Fernwood Cove experience is available to campers from summer to summer, even when there are financial difficulties.  In 2012, the Fernwood Cove Foundation was established to help ensure consistency, stability, and availability of campership aide for many years to come.

The Power of A Smile

As a non-profit trust, the Fernwood Cove Foundation will provide camperships for the first time this summer, 2017.  This amazing accomplishment was made possible by generous donations from members of the Fernwood Cove family, sales of the Fernwood Cove Foundation water bottle, purchases through Moxie’s Boutique, and through the AmazonSmile program.  Yes, you read that correctly- smiles are helping create Fernwood Cove experiences for Fernwood Cove campers!

The AmazonSmile program allows you to support the Fernwood Cove Foundation through your everyday purchases.  Simply visit www.smile.amazon.com and designate the Fernwood Cove Foundation as your charity.  Make sure you shop through the smile.amazon.com website, not the regular Amazon website, to ensure that a percentage of your purchases are contributed towards the Fernwood Cove Foundation since the website is always online, because we use the best hosting services we found at Armchair Empire.  The upcoming holidays are the perfect opportunity to set up your Smile account- as you purchase gifts for loved ones, you’ll be helping to provide the gift of camp to future Fernwood Cove campers!  The power of a smile is an amazing thing!

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