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Yellow, Pink, and Blue!

Season’s Greetings,

My name is Shanna Sullivan Nason and I am a Camp Mimanagish Board Member. It is with such joy that I share this most recent story with you. I was in Oregon taking care of my almost 3-year-old granddaughter. It was time to put away her toys and prepare for her nap. Upon my request to pick up, she started singing, “Yellow, Pink, and Blue, and Yellow, Pink, and Blue…” If  you have a history with Camp Mimanagish you know this is the daily cue to start cleaning up after our meals. Tears filled my eyes upon hearing this sweet tune and I was consumed with a warmth and feeling that is hard to describe or to even write about. This little ditty was taught to me and my four siblings as campers in the 70s, then to my own children in the early 2000’s, and now this endearing tradition will be ready for the next generation of campers.  

It had been years since I last connected with the Boulder River and Camp Mimanagish. Entering Camp in July I was immediately enveloped in all the wonderful memories that had made this place so special in my life and the lives of so many people that I love. I arrived as the Camp Director for a fledgling idea of providing a week-long resiliency-building camp for middle schoolers called Getting Gritty. Thirty campers, many of whom had never set foot outside of their hometowns, came together to explore new friendships, leadership training, acceptance, discussions of problems that plague their lives, of course balanced with games and awesome activities. It was truly life-changing for many of these campers.

Lots of the Getting Gritty campers were recruited from a somewhat challenging school environment at a title school in Billings where I teach. I now see them happily eating lunch together, and they frequently stop into my classroom to say hello. One particular camper who was plagued with no connection to school in previous years has now become a student council member and has only missed one day of school this year. Generous gifts from donors like you made it possible for many of these campers to receive scholarships to attend Getting Gritty. You have changed lives and I have had the privilege to see the rewards. I am currently working on Getting Gritty 2 and feel even more confident that Mimanagish can provide a rich life experience that could positively change the life trajectory of one or more of these young campers.

Please join me in giving to Camp Mimanagish. With your continued support this sacred place will endure and prosper into the future. Feel free to reach out to me if you would like more information on our upcoming Getting Gritty 2, July 16-22. May our paths cross someday, and may Yellow Pink and Blue live on for many more decades!

Yours truly,

Shanna Sullivan Nason

ssnason@bresnan.net