Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“Did she win?” I asked, giving him a smirk.
“She blew us out of the water. And I actually started slow the first time, thinking I’d be a gentleman and give her a head start. Big mistake that was.”
I chuckled. “Yep, that was a mistake.”
We walked a bit more. “Here are the cabins the kids stay in. There’s a counselor assigned to each cabin, who stays with the kids at all times. They sleep in there with the kids as well, but in a separate little bedroom. We’ve had the same group of counselors come back for the last few years. They have to be at least sixteen and complete a training course, which we cover the cost of. They also learn CPR and basic first aid.”
“Do they have any training for kids who might have…issues?”
I paused to face him. “Mental or physical?”
He shrugged. “Both.”
“They’re trained on what to look for if they suspect abuse, or if the camper might be in crisis, but they’re kids themselves, keep in mind. We do have one certified counselor who volunteers for each camp. She’s from Denver. We don’t actually offer that type of counseling here at the camp, but we do find it helpful to have someone available in case we face an issue.
“Ninety-nine percent of the kids at the camps are local, and around eighty percent of those come from the orphanage. The rest are from low-income families. The kids from River Falls Haven are divided between the two camp sessions, to give them a chance to meet kids outside of the orphanage. They don’t have to pay for camp, of course; it’s offered free of charge to anyone living at River Falls Haven. We’re able to do that through the rodeo fundraisers we do, as well as the charity dinner we host each year. We make most of our donations through those two events.”
We started to walk again, and I stopped at the largest building.
“This is camp headquarters. The building is relatively new, having been constructed just three years ago. It’s where the kitchen is, the dining hall, and the living room.”
“Living room?”
I nodded as I opened the door. “Yep! It’s exactly what it sounds like. A common place for the kids to hang out together. I wanted this to feel like a home as much as possible, not just like a rec center or anything like that. It was more for the kids from River Haven. The orphanage is actually pretty nice, but it doesn’t exactly have a homey feel.”
We walked past long rows of tables where the kids ate. I showed him the kitchen, which housed two industrial stoves, two huge sinks, two dishwashers, and a large industrial refrigerator. “Before we had this area, we mainly had food brought in each day for the campers. That got to be pretty pricey, and my father did the numbers and said we’d end up saving more money by having it all done onsite.”
“Who does all the cooking?”
“My mother, grandmother, and several volunteers, some of whom are the mothers and fathers of the kids. They like giving back as much as they can.”
He looked around and smiled. “This is impressive, Em.”
Feeling a sense of pride and embarrassment at the compliment from him, I simply nodded and headed out of the kitchen. I wasn’t sure why I felt embarrassed, though. Maybe it was because it was Levi. We walked into a huge open room with exposed log beams and walls, featuring a giant wood fireplace at the opposite end. Several sofas, chairs, and beanbags were scattered throughout the space.
“The loft up there,” I said, pointing, “holds a pool table, a foosball table, a card table, and a Ping-Pong table.”
“Wow! That sounds like fun.”
Someone walked out of one of the three bathrooms to our right.
“Hi, Charlotte,” I called out as I waved.
“Hey there, Emeline. We’ve pretty much cleaned up everything. I just need to stock the bathrooms, and when we get closer, narrow down the menus for each week.”
“Charlotte, this is Levi Tucker. He’s Caden’s best friend and pretty much part of the family. His father is the local veterinarian.”
Charlotte reached out her hand. “Charlotte Hastings. I’m the camp steward.”
“Camp steward?” Levi asked.
“She’s in charge of budgeting, shopping, and getting the daily menus in place. She also prepares all the snacks for the kids. Plus, she gets all the cabins ready and cleaned, as well as the main building.”
Levi’s eyes went wide. “Whoa. That’s a lot.”
Charlotte laughed. “Emeline’s making it sound like I do it alone. Nellie and Vivianne have the last say on the budget, and I have a staff of three who help me do all the other work.”
Glancing at me, Levi slowly shook his head. “My gosh, I never knew what a big operation this was—or is, I should say.”
“Most of the others only work the weeks we hold camp in the summer, and if we have any other events here, but Charlotte works year-round, making sure everything stays okay with the cabins and we have no issues. We also rent out the cabins to companies that want to host work retreats, among other things. That’s something we just started last year. They have access to the whole camp, but it’s their responsibility to do all the cooking and cleaning. The income goes toward the summer camps and the Christmas event.”