Being a camper at SunFun has incredible perks: creative crafts and activities, beach visits, and exciting field trips that some children might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience. But the most valuable part of camp is making friendships and connections that often last for many years. These lasting bonds, along with meaningful relationships built with staff, ultimately inspired the creation of our Leadership in Training (LIT) program.
As campers “aged out” of SunFun at 13, some found their way back, and would visit their friends and staff, ask to volunteer, or would run into the camp on an out trip and want to stay on with the group. For these youth, SunFun was like a home base in the summer.
The LIT program officially launched in 2017 with just two former campers. It has now grown to include six to eight participants each year. In 2024, we proudly secured Canada Summer Jobs funding, allowing us to pay several LITs above minimum wage for the full summer. Many of our LITs have grown up with SunFun – some started in the toddler room more than 16 years ago!
Finding summer staff can be a challenge as many students leave Victoria to return home for the summer, or prefer to take the summer off. By investing in this core of youth leaders, we’re building a generation of summer staff who can carry our mission forward for years to come.
Our priority is to ensure youth gain exceptional job experience. We want them to enter adulthood with an understanding of what a positive workplace culture looks like, as well as an appreciation for how rewarding it can be to work with children.
Working with these youth is an incredibly rewarding experience. Having once been campers themselves, they can relate to the children in a unique way and bring fresh energy to the program, especially in moments when staff need a break. As senior staff, we have the privilege of passing on our knowledge and then watching the youth apply it, grow, and learn along the way.
I am deeply grateful for this program and feel lucky to have witnessed so many of these young people grow from children into hardworking leaders and remarkable young adults. This summer, we celebrated a full-circle moment when one of our longtime LITs, now 19 years old, joined the SunFun team as a full-time camp leader. I’m excited to see which of today’s campers will one day make the leap into the LIT program, because you never know just what they might become.
