Michelle plays Duck – Duck – Goose with campers at Campo Family YMCA.
Summer camp is more than splash pads and sing-alongs. While there are many options for parents today, the Tampa Y summer day camps provide parents with peace of mind while their children enjoy fun, friends and adventure.
At the Tampa YMCA, our 12 American Camp Association (ACA)-Accredited summer camps provide activities to meet the needs of every child’s personality, activity level and interests.
Being an ACA-Accredited camp means the Tampa Y camps underwent a thorough review of our operations – from staff qualifications and training to emergency management while aligning the Y curriculum with the highest standards in the industry.
Meet Michelle
Michelle Leahy, Associate Program Director at Campo Family YMCA, is entering her second summer as Camp Director for the Campo Family YMCA. She began her Y journey five years ago when she accepted her first role as a Camp Counselor at YMCA Camp Cristina!
Michelle shares, “Child and youth development is the backbone of our planning here at the Campo Family YMCA. Building a safe yet fun and creative [camp] environment for children of all ages pushes me to be the best I can be."
“My main goal is to make a difference in people’s lives and help others. If I can effectively accomplish that by running an outstanding summer camp program, I have done my job.”
Michelle, along with our additional 11 Summer Camp Directors, are dedicated to ensuring each child has the opportunity to try something new while building character and friendships based on the Y Core Values: caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
Michelle’s favorite part of summer camp at the Y is engaging with all the kids.
“There is nothing better than walking into the courtyard and having all the campers rush to have me play a game of gaga with them,” adds Michelle.
Gaga Ball is a Y summer camp favorite – a variant of dodgeball played in a gaga “pit.” The game combines dodging, striking, running and jumping with the objective of being the last person standing!
Each Tampa Y summer day camp location offers a variety of fun activities to engage campers each day. These activities include:
- Arts & Crafts
- Indoor & Outdoor Games
- Nature Education
- Science Experiments
- Swimming
- Sports
Additionally, each camp location offers special\adventure camps for campers to explore. Campers spend more time in adventure camp activities combined with the fun and friendship summer camp brings. Specialty camps vary by location and cost and include:
- Adaptive Camps
- Archery
- Arts & Crafts
- Dance
- Drama
- Gymnastics
- High Adventure/Outpost
- Horse Camp
- Leadership Camps
- Swimming
- Strength & Conditioning
- Sports Camp
Summer Camp at Campo YMCA
Michelle plans to incorporate Kona Ice Thursdays into the summer camp schedule at Campo Y’s summer day camp, a favorite for all ages, that began last year.
She also hopes to include two special guest demonstrations and safety lessons from the Fire and Police Departments!
If you are a parent in search of the perfect summer camp for your child – Michelle shares, “We are proud to offer a safe and supportive space for your child to learn, grow and thrive.”
Michelle and the entire Tampa Y summer camp team has many camps that allow children to have a blast while learning critical skills and values.
You can register your child at one of our 12 YMCA summer day camps and review our 2023 Summer Camp Parent Handbook today!
Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2023.