Arielle Lloyd, 20, Bronx, NY, is a Project Morry alumni. She is a junior at Temple University majoring in Psychology and minor in anthropology.

“As a child growing up in the city with limited resources, I wasn’t presented with many opportunities to experience nature in a nurturing and safe environment. However when I was 11 years old, I was given the opportunity to attend Morry’s Camp, which is now called Project Morry. Since I had attended a camp the previous year, I wasn’t as homesick as the first time I went away from home so I just jumped into the swing of things and tried to enjoy every bit of my summer.

Because I had attended a summer camp the year before I was able to compare the two and notice their differences. I realized that Project Morry was something more than just a fun place to go to during the summer. We not only had the opportunity to participate in traditional summer camp activities, but, as we got older we had the chance to lead activities, visit colleges, and figure out our life goals. We were given the opportunity to enrich our minds, bodies, and souls, all in preparation for the outside world. However, the major difference between the two camps was that Project Morry was a place where the people truly cared about your well being. The staff nurtured all of us by helping us with our problems, and always giving a helping hand when we needed it. I had the opportunity to have a support system that not only heard what I said, but actually listened. They always encouraged me to try new things and to never be afraid to make mistakes. I was able to take these attributes and apply them to my life. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was becoming a leader and would be able to do anything that I put my mind to.

When I returned this previous summer to be a counselor I was nervous and excited to give back to Project Morry and to meet the campers. When I came onto the campus grounds, I saw the familiar road, the familiar trees, and felt the familiar warm spirit that feels you up every time you enter the grounds. A smile spread across my face because I was finally back home.

I would like to thank everyone that has embarked on this journey with me and I have faith that Morry’s dream will continue to thrive and change many lives as it has mine.”

Christian D. Code, 19, Amityville, NY, is a Project Morry alumni and was recently a first year staff member. He is a sophomore at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina and his major is English Education.

”When my mom first introduced the idea of going away for the summer to a camp called Morry's Camp to my brother and I, we knew that this was an opportunity that we could not pass up. I remember going to open house and seeing the camp for the first time. I was excited because I knew I was about to have the best experience of my life.

It is always difficult, as a child, to be away from home but Morry's Camp made me feel safe and allowed me to see things in a whole different way. Camp became my second home. I always felt drawn to it, ever since I came down that hill for the first time at open house. There is love, and respect there, and it is a place where your goals can be accomplished.

I think it is fair to say that I enjoyed myself. I learned a lot and I did things I never dreamt I would do. Who ever thought that I could meet a United States Congressman and for that matter the Legendary and Honorable John Lewis? I never thought that I would have a coach who would open my eyes to things that were right at my fingertips. The key was Project Morry. They provided my brother and I this key, and we hold onto it dearly.

When I walk around my campus with my Project Morry or Morry's Camp shirt on, people ask me about it. I am proud to be a walking billboard at South Carolina State University for Project Morry because they opened the door for me to be at this university. If it weren't for Project Morry’s Post Grad Program, I don't think I would have made it to college at all.

This past summer, as an alumnus, I was blessed to speak with parents and campers alike who were anxious about their summer experience. I felt like it convinced them to never let a good opportunity pass them by. They came into my second home; friendships were made, lessons taught, laughter all around, but more importantly, the dream lives on.

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David Vargas, 19, Bridgeport, CT, is a Project Morry alumni and a sophomore at Eastern Connecticut State University majoring in Sociology.

“I remember when I was first told about Project Morry, I was in fourth grade at High Horizons Magnet School in Bridgeport, CT. My teacher, Mr. Davis, asked me to stay after class. I assumed I had done something wrong and was getting a talking to. You can imagine how pleasantly relieved and curious I was after my teacher explained to me that I was not in trouble and continued to tell me about this sleep-away camp in upstate New York, which was more than two hours away from my home.

At first, I was nervous and didn’t really know what to expect. Neither did my parents, but when we went to that first open house, Dawn Ewing put all our fears to rest and got us focused on the monumental experience that this camp could provide. Ever since that day, I never stopped coming back every summer to be a part of this awesome community. Project Morry is more than just a place, it’s a community. It’s a caring, nurturing, and dedicated group of people who expect and help you to obtain the best person you can be, and do it in a way that allows for wackiness and fun.

I have been apart of Project Morry now for more than a decade, and I feel that this place continues to give me ways to maintain and develop new tools that I can use in school and in life. I think what makes me continue to volunteer my summer and myself is the people. Everyone has an aura about them that just makes you feel like you are home, that you are welcome. The kids want to share every last detail with you, and you want to do the same. The staff come from all over the world to be at this place, and both staff and kids grow from the exposure to other languages, views, and ways of doing something, whether it’s new or not.

I will continue to be a part of this place and of this dream that allows kids like me to experience something that may not be available for them back home. And the best part about it is that whether you realize it or not, you take Project Morry back with you to your community. You will forever be positively influenced from the memories and events that you took part in. I know that I want to help those who follow behind, and whether that means by physically being at the camp or getting the word out there, I will do whatever I can to instill the legacy of what this camp embodies to the unknowing public, in the hope of inspiring those who come into contact with Project Morry.”

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