Dear Friends,
Another Aranu'tiq summer season has come and gone, and again, lives have been changed!
Our second season was August 21-27 and nearly 60 campers and 30 staff had the time of their lives. It was wonderful to see the returning campers ease into the week as though they had never left and at the same time welcome our first-timers. From canoeing to arts and crafts to an all-camp scavenger hunt and an incredible talent show, to say the week was a "success" would be a big understatement.
One thing we know about transgender and gender-variant kids is that many of them worry what their future will hold and if they will be able to lead a "normal" life. This is just one story of many that highlights the strength of the Aranu'tiq experience: A young female-to-male camper told his cabin counselor that he was feeling down. She sat with him and told him how lucky he was to have a place like Aranu'tiq where he could be himself because such a place didn't exist when she was a kid. He turned and said to her, "you're transgender?" When she nodded, he looked puzzled and said, "but you are married and have two kids!" She said "you bet!" Without any hesitation he promptly told her that he felt better and wanted to return to playing with his new friends.
Aranu'tiq could not exist without the generosity of donors like all of you. A heartfelt thank you from the campers and staff. Camp could not have been what it was if not for our incredible volunteer counselors, so a huge thanks to them, and our stellar "A Team:" Morgan Darby, Julie Lipson, Melissa MacNish, and Marissa Peifer.
Exciting things are happening at Aranu'tiq, so stay tuned.
Nick
