FIRST DAY OF SESSION 1

The fun finally started. Campers arrived early this morning and had a great day with they new counselors.

 This week’s theme is TV SHOWS, so we had a great time playing THE FEAR FACTOR with all the campers and staff.

CHEERS FOR A GREAT START!!!

OPEN HOUSE 2011

Yesterday Paivika welcomed the summer with an amazing open house!

 We had pop corn, snow cones and cotton candy!!! everybody loved it!

 Campers playing on the yard where the staff put together a wonderful carnival :) Thank you all for coming and having so much fun with us.

Thank you all the campers, families and staff members who made this possible, it was an amazing day and everybody enjoyed it! Hope to see you soon.

Mom's Getaway 2011

Mardi Gras Madness!

This weekend the camp was transformed from a summer camp for children and adults with special needs into an oasis for mom's of children and adults with special needs.

Every year Camp Paivika has a Mom's Getaway for the mothers of not only our campers, but any mom with a child with special needs. This year the mom's had the opportunity to go on guided nature walks, learn about how to plan for their childs future, do yoga and thai'chi, make vision boards, participate in quilt projects, enjoy massages, attend casino night, and much more.

During the weekend we also have a silent auction, and this year we raised over $800, which will go towards sponsoring mom's for next years Mom's Getaway. We had a great weekend and sent the mom's home on Sunday feeling happy and refreshed.

Thank you so much to all the mom's who came and shared their weekend with us!

Be sure to look in the photo section to see all the pictures from this weekend!

Marathon 2011

This last weekend Paivika participated in the annual AbilityFirst Marathon Campaign to raise money for our programs. AbilityFirst had roughly 1,000 participants and staff participate in the 5k at the Santa Anita Derby Day race at the Santa Anita Racetrack. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful event. The walk takes place through the arborietum and finished inside the racetrack where booths containing information, games, and food were set up. Afterwards, everyone was invited to stay and watch the races if they desired. Camp Paivika was joined by two of our campers, Reo and Laura, and many of our current, and even some former, staffers.

This year, Kelly and Laura participated in the 5k race with Laura coming in arounf 28 minutes, and Kelly finishing in about 35. Great job Kelly and Laura!



Children's Respite 2011

We have our children's respite group up for the weekend right now as well as the Palm Canyon volunteer group joining us. We've been busy all day in activities so be sure to check out the photos in the photo section to see what we've been up to!

Ski School 2011

The last few days have been busy here at Paivika. We just kicked off the 2011 camping season with our Ski School Trip! Nine participants came up on Sunday afternoon for a weekend of fun and excitment. Campers enjoyed bowling and pizza on Sunday afternoon, a trip to Big Bear's Snow Summit to participate in their adaptive ski program on Monday, and prepared for Valentines Day on Tuesday making Valentines before heading home. By the end of the trip everyone was exhausted and ready to go home!

A little update from Paivika

Hello Paivika friends! Its been a while since there has been a post so it's about time to fill you in on what's going on at Paivika!

So far, this winter has been a cold and snowy one! we got our first snowfall at Thanksgiving and then got another good snow on New Years. Here are a few pictures from the most recent snowfall.

Inbetween all the snow, we've been gearing up for the 2011 camping season. Applications have been coming in since November and we're on our way to filling up our winter and summer sessions! So far, we've got a great group of campers signed up for camp!

We've also been working very hard to reach our Marathon goal of $15,000 raised for the 2011 Marathon Campaign, consiting of the LA Marathon and the Santa Anita Derby Day! We only need about $7,000 more to reach our goal! Let us know if you want to join our team!

Our Mom's Getaway weekend is almost filled... only 4 spots left!