Events

Register Now for 2013 Summer & Family Camp!

Event Date(s): Sunday, Mar 3 - Wednesday, Jul 31

To ensure your child's space we urge you to register early.  To register, all that is required is a $75 non-refundable, non-transferrable deposit and a current membership. The balance of camp fees are due two weeks prior to the camp session, or if you prefer, you can also send in payments that we'll post towards your balance up to the two week deadline.

For more details on summer camp at Loma Mar, visit the Our Programs page. Or call us at (650)879-0223, we would love to hear from you!

Save the Date - 2014 YMCA Ragger Centennial

Event Date(s): Friday, Oct 10 - Monday, Oct 13

"I would be true, for there are those who trust me..."

In the spring of 1914 Thomas S. Caldwell, 38 years old, was the boy's secretary of the Oakland YMCA and making plans to take a group to summer camp. During the previous summer's camp he had encountered some disciplinary problems among a group of boys.  Caldwell was looking for a device, he wrote later, "to meet certain problems of discipline by placing action upon a positive rather than negative basis."  The first Rags were purchased for 10 cents each at the Williamson's Country Store in Pescadero and were nothing more than simple blue bandanas.

This was the simple start of the YMCA Rag Program, a program that has spread across the country and the world, has expanded to multiple levels of personal challenge and a program that many credit with helping them become the person they are today.

It is significant that almost from the beginning Caldwell called the kerchiefs Rags rather than bandanas. This was to signify that in themselves they had no value. Rather they were only a symbol of the qualities a boy had demonstrated.  Within several days after the camp period got underway, Caldwell called several youths out at campfire and, as he tied the Rag around each boy's neck, told him in front of the other campers why he was receiving it. Before they returned to Oakland a rather large percentage of the boys (about 25 of them) became Blue Raggers, and one, Edmund DeFreitas, became the first Red Ragger.

YMCA camps across the country will surely celebrate this milestone in 2014 when the program becomes 100 years old.  Plans are underway now for a very special Birthplace Celebration at YMCA Camp Loma Mar which will include the option to come for a full weekend, or to come on Sunday, Oct. 12 just for the day to join with other Raggers and celebrate this impactful program.

To join our interest list and receive updates email Bria Cartwright.

Keep an eye on our website for more details as they arise, or join our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/clmragger100.

Calling All Alumni!

Event Date(s): Wednesday, Apr 1 - Tuesday, Dec 15

We invite all Camp Loma Mar alumni - past campers, staff, volunteers, donors, etc., to complete and send us the Alumni Directory Listing form.  Submitted forms will be compiled into a directory to be published around the first of the year, and will then be updated annually.  This is a great way to reconnect with old friends and share your Loma Mar memories.   We know camp is a very special place to many, many people.    We also hope you'll include information on how Camp Loma Mar has impacted your life so that we can capture that information and share it with others as part of our celebration.  Listing in the directory will also help us ensure we have current contact information for you so we can keep you updated on all things Camp Loma Mar, as well as let you know about upcoming celebration events. 

If you have questions about this, or would like to be involved in alumni development or helping plan events, please contact Bria Cartwright by e-mail or at (925)667-2231.