Shader Kids

Dear friends, 

It is with grateful warmth that we write our annual letter of thanks to all the wonderful supporters of Shader Kids. As always, without your contributions we could not ensure our three campers have an opportunity to continue to experience growth in an outdoor environment, and that two camping leaders receive a bursary to assist them with their continued education.

Indeed, 2018 marked another year of the world-famous (perhaps only in our minds) Tim Ross Memorial Ball Hockey Tournament that threw in a surprise twist! Kilcoo Camp experienced a full blown rainstorm as we played – but despite the deluge, the game carried on! Many remarked that the soaking was very welcome and made the dip in the lake after the game more enticing. Similar to last year, we welcomed participants of all ages and after much filling the ranks on both teams, the East just managed to squeeze out a winner!

Our corporate and individual donors make our event so successful, and we truly thank them for supporting this fund that provides outdoor enrichment opportunities for its recipients.

The silent and live auctions once again raised over $10,000 to continue to build the Shader Kids endowment fund managed so well by the Taylor Statten Camping Bursary Fund.

Of course we also thank you, our participants, for your support as we could not make this happen without you! For those of you struggling to find the perfect holiday present for someone important in your life, please consider making a donation to Shader Kids in their name. Or, keep an eye on the seasonal flight sales for to Calgary next spring!

Please mark June 1st and 2nd, 2019 in your calendar for 14th Annual Shader Kids Weekend to be held at Camp Chief Hector YMCA. It will be a great chance to enjoy the facilities that CCH has to offer for those who have not yet had that opportunity. Watch for our registration that will be opening in the New Year! (Another great festive gift idea!)

Once again the board, partners of Shader Kids, and the Ross family join together to wish you all a lovely holiday season as well as a healthy and prosperous 2019!

– The Shader Kids

Registration for our 12th Annual Shader Kids Weekend is now open!

You must register and pay by June 14th.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

We hope you can join us at the 12th Annual Shader Kids Weekend, June 24th & 25th at YMCA Camp Chief Hector.

Please note that this year’s event will be held at the Bowfort end of YMCA Camp Chief Hector.

Highlights of this year’s event include:

• family programming on Saturday morning!
• additional indoor sleeping accommodations (approximately 100 indoor beds)
• Tim Ross Memorial Ball Hockey tournament on Saturday afternoon
• kids’ programming (arts & crafts, nature walks etc.) during the ball hockey tournament on Saturday afternoon
• Banquet, silent auction and live music on Saturday evening
• Reflections on Sunday morning

Full details, tickets and registration information will be coming soon!

If you have questions in the meantime, please email shaderkids[at]gmail.com.

As the holiday season approaches, we look back at a successful and adventurous 2016!

Shader Kids held another fantastic ball hockey tournament and fundraiser at Kilcoo Camp in May 2016. It was a wonderful family event, thanks to Tingles’ Magic Castle and all of the pre-camp staff support. At the Shader Dome, the “Beasts from the East” fielded two teams and managed to squeak out a win despite the hard fought but always cordial battle of the summer hockey sticks!

The silent and live auction once again exceeded $10,000 to add to Shader Kids’ Endowment. This incredible generosity from you allows us to continue to assist three future leaders to develop their outdoor leadership skills as well as provide two scholarships to returning camp staff. Our sincere thanks to all who attended the event and all who donated items and supported our fundraising efforts.

We appreciate the partnership of Kilcoo Camp, Camp Summit and Camp Chief Hector YMCA in sharing the legacy of Tim “Shader” Ross and supporting our campers and scholarship recipients. We are also very thankful for the endowment management and financial support from Taylor Statten Camping Bursary Fund, allowing us to provide annual support to future outdoor leaders.

Please mark June 24^th & 25^th in your calendar for the 12th Annual Shader Kids Weekend at Camp Chief Hector YMCA in Kananaskis Country, Alberta.

With this later date we expect not only warmer weather, but we will be moving our event to the Bowfort Lodge end of camp. This will allow us additional indoor accommodation options, exciting family programming (ropes course! archery! etc.) and the opportunity to experience another part of the vast CCH YMCA site. We anticipate another awesome weekend, so please plan to join us in celebrating Tim and raising funds to support our camper and scholarship recipients.

This holiday season, please consider donating to Shader Kids as a gift for family and friends, or contact us if you would like to purchase any swag.

The board and partners of Shader Kids and the Ross family join together to wish you Season’s Greetings as well a healthy and happy 2017!

Seasons Greetings!

We offer a heartfelt thank you to each of the record-setting 167 participants who supported the 10^th Annual Shader Kids Weekend at Camp Chief Hector YMCA in May, as well as the generous donors of auction items. Everyone enjoyed the scheduled events, not to mention the children’s events that allowed a 3^rd generation of Shader Kids supporters to understand and participate in the celebration of Tim’s contribution to future outdoor leadership. At the Tim Ross Memorial Ball Hockey tourney, The West (a 5 line bench!) smoked the East (barely 2 lines despite continuous drafting!) before the awesome campfire and fundraising auction!

It has been another great year for all of us, with many living in the west feeling the very real economic consequences of needed governmental and environmental changes. With that in mind, we encourage you to consider staying in Canada for your family vacation this year and venturing to the shores of Gull Lake, ON to attend our 11^th Annual Shader Kids Weekend at Kilcoo Camp – May 14^th and 15^th, 2016.

Dave Latimer (LUB!), Director of Kilcoo Camp had this to say about the event:

“What a weekend! My boys and I had such a special 3 days capped by a very special Reflections on the Sunday morning. We love that spot, the stories, the music, all so very special….good for the soul! Beth and Brooke really missed being there and were missed. Speaking of next year I want you to know that you are all welcome at Kilcoo. This weekend seems to be taking more of a family weekend (which is AWESOME…..Tim would love this!) and I urge you to make a weekend or longer of it. Let’s keep the momentum going and for those from the East who were not there…please mark it on your calendar now……more info to follow:

11^th Annual Shader Kids Weekend at Kilcoo Camp  – May 14 and 15th, 2016

For now, thanks to everyone who came and whenever you are at Hector, Kilcoo or Summit in the future., you will realize….there is nothing more important than sharing these moments with family and friends. We have Tim to thank for this! We miss him but as Mike put it so eloquently, “our terrible loss has also been our gain, because of all the people that have come into our lives”.

P.S. If it is nice in the Rockies….rent a Mustang convertible!!”

Geoff Park, Director at Camp Summit has also extended an invitation for all Shader Kids supporters to drop in to Summit to experience the dream he and Tim shared in Camp Summit’s developmental. The Parks would also love to host a future Shader Kids event at Camp Summit in Squamish, BC.

As a community we continue to make a difference for those recipients of the Shader Kids Foundation distributions. Scholarship recipients at Camp Chief Hector YMCA, campers at Kilcoo Camp in Ontario and Camp Summit in British Columbia are so appreciative of the opportunity to develop their outdoor leadership skills.

One of our most recent recipients of the Tim Ross Memorial Award for Leadership in an Outdoor Environment had this to say:

“I’m really thankful to have been chosen to receive The Shader Kids Scholarship. This will help me in my studies. I study far away from my home and being in an outdoor program is a little bit more expensive that some other programs.  This could help me in my future project, because on the last semester in our program we need to do a PDP (personal development project) and to receive the Shader Kids scholarship will allow me to have better opportunities for my PDP. It will also help me focusing on my passion, the outdoors.”

As we suggest each year, if you are struggling with a Christmas or special occasion gift (birthday, anniversary, memorial or just “I love you”), please consider making a donation to Shader Kids in that person’s honour. http://www.shaderkids.com/donations/

May 2016 deliver your dreams for those less fortunate than ourselves,

The Shader Kids Team and Ross Family

We are looking forward to another wonderful weekend at Camp Chief Hector YMCA with all of our Shader Kids friends and sure hope you will join us for this very special 10th anniversary weekend! This is a family friendly event with lots of fun for kids of all ages; we look forward to seeing the whole family there!

The weekend itinerary, registration and details are available at: http://bit.ly/1atuBim

Registration ends May 1st and you must register & pay in advance!

What a weekend the 8th Annual Shader Kids Weekend turned out to be! Thanks to everyone who joined us at beautiful YMCA CCH May 25th & 26th to celebrate our dear friend Tim. Your generous contributions to sending deserving kids to camp and burgeoning leaders to university again this year are so very appreciated.

The Shader Kids team is so delighted and honoured to be a part of such an incredible community of people. We know that Tim would be so proud of the magic we make happen when we gather on these weekends.

It was such fun to see all of the young’uns exploring camp this year, and so many friendships being made and solidified. And, of course we have to mention the first-ever win by the WEST on the ball hockey court (we won’t mention the injuries & relative depth of the East team and will just pretend that the win was a “fair” one!)

And… speaking of magic, huge thanks to our friends the Dojo Workhorse for an incredible show on Saturday night. They were amazing.

Once again, with your help, we’ve raised a significant amount towards sending kids to both Kilcoo Camp and Camp Summit this summer, along with our two CCH Staff scholarships. Watch this space for more information on our recipients.

Check out some pictures from the event, and looking forward to seeing you all up at beautiful Kilcoo Camp for next year’s event happening May 24-25th, 2014!

Season’s greetings! As yet another year draws to a close we wanted to share with you some of the accomplishments Shader Kids achieved in 2012 and our plans for 2013.

2012’s annual ball hockey tournament and fundraising auction, held at Kilcoo Camp, was a huge success. The good-natured East vs West rivalry both on the court and at the auctions raised over $11,000 which will allow us to continue the good works started in Tim’s honour. Thank you to all who participated, and particularly to Kilcoo Camp for hosting!

We’d like to welcome Kelly Bamford, a long time supporter, to the Shader Kids board. Kelly has been a part of the YMCA Camp Chief Hector community for over two decades and we on the Shader Kids board welcome her expertise and enthusiasm.

We would also ask that you keep Laura Hamilton, a founding board member, in your thoughts and prayers over the holidays as she continues her fight with cancer; your positive energy will be much appreciated.

Looking towards 2013, our goals include:

• Continue to support our existing Shader Kids camper until he turns 17.
• Commit to another Shader Kids camper in 2013 (Shader Kids commitment is to support a financially challenged camper every summer until they choose not to attend camp or complete the final stage of campership typically at 17 years of age.)
• Continue to provide 2 post-secondary scholarships for exceptional camp staff that encompass Tim’s goals of youth education, environmental and outdoor leadership.

To put on another great ball hockey tournament and fundraising auction in 2013.

Every year we are grateful to add new members to our Shader Kids community, many of whom are also new to the world! It is such a blessing to see young people being brought into the camping fold by Tim’s friends and family and we look forward to offering a more family-focused program at our 2013 event.

Speaking of which, please save the date! The 8th Annual Shader Kids Ball Hockey Tournament & Auction will take place at YMCA Camp Chief Hector May 25th- 26th, 2013. To stay up to date as more details unfold, join us on Facebook or online at www.shaderkids.com.

One way to support Shader Kids during the holiday season is to consider making a charitable contribution in your name or as a gift for someone else. You can make donations through our website www.shaderkids.com, or by mailing your donation directly to:

Shader Kids, 931 4A St NW, Calgary AB, T2N 1P8.

As always, we wish you much love and happiness in 2013 and look forward to seeing all of you in the coming year!

Warm Regards,

The Ross Family & The Shader Kids Team

Many thanks to all those who joined us at the 7th Annual Shader Kids event at Kilcoo Camp in May! It was another memorable weekend full of laughs, catching up with old friends and making new ones. Domination of East over West continued at the Shader Dome in the Tim Ross Memorial Ball Hockey Tournament despite the addition of the Latimer brothers to the Western roster!

Thanks to all of your generous support, we raised over $10,000 through the event and online auction this year. These funds will continue to support our current sponsorships of deserving campers and camp staff, and will help make it possible to expand our efforts in the coming years.

Special thanks to Lub, Tingles and the rest of the Kilcoo crew for their hospitality and generosity in hosting such a wonderful event.

Check out some photos of the weekend! If you have any photos of your own you’d like to share, please feel free to send them to shaderkids@gmail.com.

Again, our thanks to you all for your ongoing support & help in keeping Tim’s spirit alive. We look forward to seeing you next year out West for the 8th Annual Shader Kids Event. Dates & specifics to come!

Have a wonderful summer!

Many thanks to those who came out to Kilcoo Camp earlier this month to participate in the 7th Annual Shader Kids Weekend. The event was a huge success, and a ton of fun was had by all. A full wrap-up and photos will be coming shortly, but in the meantime….

Due to popular demand, the online auction portion of our event is now on! For those that weren’t able to join us at Kilcoo, or for those that missed out on an item they just can’t live without… check out what’s on offer:

Auction Link: www.32auctions.com/shaderkids2013

~ OR ~

Auction ID: shaderkids2013
Auction Password: timross

Auction will close at 6pm MST on Monday, May 28th.

Happy bidding!