You know who might make a great counselor someday? You!

Think about it – great counselors don’t just grow on trees. They had to start somewhere. And the really good ones usually started out as great campers – the kind of kids who love to try new things, make new friends and discover new things about themselves and other people.

So at Kanata, this is what we do: we have this two-part program to help interested campers find out what it takes to be a super counselor.

The CILT (Camper in Leadership Training) program is for rising 10th graders (at least 15 years old), designed to help bridge the gap from camper to counselor. CILTs enjoy the security of a group environment while learning under the direction of a Trainee director. CILTS work on goal setting and personal growth while discovering the essential characteristics of a good cabin counselor.

Phase two is the CIT (Counselor in Training) program. CITs are selected from the previous summer’s CILT group. CITs live in a cabin with the campers, observing the counselors and meeting with their advisor to discuss their observations.

It's a pretty rigorous program. But we always have a pretty impressive group of kids. In fact, we often end up with so many talented, qualified and motivated CITLs that we simply don't have room for all of them to become CITs. So a lot of our CILTs go off the following summer to develop their leadership skills at other places, and then apply to come back to Kanata as full counselors when they're 17.

The truth is, there's nothing we like more than watching Kanata campers grow into great counselors – whether they do all of their growing here or not.

Camp Kanata firmly supports the YMCA’s character development program. The four core values of honesty, caring, respect and responsibility are grounded by faith in God and integrated into all areas of camp life.