Ridgewood resident Dawn Walter steps in to keep camp program afloat
JULY 21, 2014 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014, 1:56 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
After a period of uncertainty for a beloved, 46-year tradition, Paterson children will once again be swimming at Graydon Pool and the Ridgewood YMCA this August.
Thank Dawn Walter.
This spring, the 12-year Ridgewood resident took on a leadership role previously held for 28 years by former resident Eileen Mohan, who moved to Singapore for her husband’s job last August.
“These are memories. The kids look forward to this, and it changes their lives,” Walter said.
When Mohan moved, the program she led – which coordinates free YMCA swim lessons and Graydon Pool swim time in August for campers from Paterson – was left in jeopardy. There was no known replacement for several months, and Mohan was worried that the program would fall to the wayside.
This April, Walter stepped up.
Walter, a member of the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood’s Citizens for Swimming, said she wanted to do something “more hands-on” to help people.
“This is about as hands-on as you can get,” she said. “This will keep them [the children] safe their entire lives.”
Since 1968, Citizens for Swimming has coordinated Ridgewood swimming field trips for Paterson young people. Nearly 50 years later, children from Paterson’s Community Association with a Ministry to People Youth Development Program (CAMP YDP) still look forward to the program.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/new-director-steps-in-to-keep-camp-afloat-1.1054866#sthash.neq0VkZ7.dpuf