Our 2025 Summer Day Camp season, which was generously sponsored by CN, officially came to a close this week. It was another amazing summer filled with friendship, learning, and meaningful life experiences for everyone involved!
We’d like to thank all of our camp families for spending the summer with us here at the YMCA and wish you all the best during the new school year. We look forward to seeing you back at camp next summer.
We’d also like to thank all of our wonderful community partners who opened their doors and their hearts, allowing us to provide much-needed summer child care at locations throughout Will and Grundy Counties.
Finally, we’d like to thank our top-notch summer camp team for their boundless enthusiasm, compassion, and creativity. Your hard work and tireless dedication helped to ensure that each of our campers had a summer full of fun and adventures.
As we take a look back at the summer that was, let’s take a closer look at YMCA Summer Camp ‘By the Numbers:’
8 Camp Locations
With a little help from our friends, we hosted camp at each of our YMCA facilities and at offsite locations throughout the community. Thank you, Salvation Army Joliet Corps Community Center, Joliet Junior College, Plainfield School District 202, and Valley View School District 365U for helping us serve kids in our community this summer.
1,302 Campers
We are so proud to provide a memorable camp experience for each and every one of our amazing summer day campers.
288 Counselors
Summer day camp would not be possible without the dynamic skills and inspiring leadership of our Summer Camp staff team.
44 Summer Day Camp Volunteers Contributing more than 1,800 Volunteer Service Hours
Student volunteers from local high schools as well as volunteers from the Catholic Charities of Joliet were a pivotal resource during summer day camp as they provided assistance to Y staff, ensuring campers participated in a wide range of learning opportunities.
3,312 ‘Go Blue’ Swim Lessons and 107 New Blue Level Swimmers
At the start of camp, campers completed mandatory swim tests before entering the pool for the first time and, based on their swimming abilities, received a red, yellow, or blue wristband. To improve their swimming skills, all red and yellow wristband campers participated in 15-minute swim lessons each week with the goal of “Going Blue” by the end of summer. To “Go Blue” meant that swimmers had enough strength, skill, and confidence to pass the YMCA’s blue swim test, which included jumping into the deep end of the pool, treading water, and swimming the length of the pool using a front crawl stroke without stopping.
64 Field Trips
We were thrilled to help our campers go on exciting adventures! Whether it was a trip to the arcade, a visit to the zoo, or a splash-tastic day at the waterpark, our campers got the chance to explore the community and make memories!
Nearly $100,000 Raised by the YMCA’s Send a Kid to Camp Campaign
At the Y, nobody is turned away due to the inability to pay. Nearly half of the children who attend YMCA summer day camp programs receive financial assistance, and this is made possible by the incredible generosity of YMCA donors. This spring, our Send A Kid to Camp Campaign supporters generously funded nearly 2,000 days of camp for children in our community.
Thank you again for a wonderful Summer Camp season! We look forward to seeing you back at the YMCA next summer. Camp registration for the summer of 2026 will get underway next March!
Join the YMCA for a morning of joy, support, and celebration as we create a welcoming space for swimmers of all abilities. Designed to be inclusive and accommodating for kids with diverse sensory needs and their families, YMCA Sensory-Friendly Swims will feature a quiet environment with no music and little-to-no whistle use by our lifeguards. The water features in the Family Pool will also be turned off during this time.
The Illinois State Alliance of YMCAs is partnering with YouthCare to provide free YMCA memberships for children, teens, and young adults, up to age 21, in our community. Designed to support the overall physical and mental well-being of YouthCare members and their foster families, this new partnership will provide youth in care and former youth in care with access to Y programs and facilities.
August 10-24