Moorelands Wilderness Camp is located in the beautiful Algonquin Highlands on Kawagama Lake near Dorset, Ontario. Founded in 1917, and originally located on Lake Simcoe in Beaverton, Moorelands moved to its present location in 1971. The camp serves boys and girls aged 8 to 14 from Toronto. Operated by Moorelands Community Services (formerly the Downtown Churchworkers' Association), a non-profit, charitable organization, Moorelands Camp helps city kids build skills they need to succeed in life, and to do so while they are having fun.
The children who attend Moorelands Camp live in some of the poorest and most under-served neighbourhoods in Toronto - in cityscapes of high-rises, concrete and steel. They are hemmed in by poverty and low expectations and many are burdened with responsibility for younger siblings. At the tender age of eleven, Dominic speaks openly about his worries. "I don't always feel safe in my neighbourhood. There are many gangs and they might try to hurt me. I want to support my mother and I look after my little brother every day while she rests after work."
This summer 600 boys and girls will experience the 40 acres of forest and beaches - even a frog pond - that is Moorelands Camp. They will have the opportunity to swim, canoe, kayak, hike and participate in high and low ropes activities, arts and crafts, music and drama programming. And they will learn and practice how to communicate more effectively, work as a team, receive instruction, implement new ideas, consider others, problem solve and peacefully resolve conflicts. Campers will also make new friends, find role models in their cabin leaders and strengthen their sense of self worth.
Moorelands campers return home with new skills which they transfer into family life, school and employment, and are fundamental to their future.