Today was the second day of Robin Hood Gives Back here at the Realm. Last night was so amazing and impactful for all of us. In our 13 years at the helm of Robin Hood,  I have never been so proud of our kids. I say “our” kids with respect–after almost four weeks, we do seem like a family, and DC and I feel like we have 428 more kids to be proud of and brag about.  Sixty percent of our staff has grown up before our eyes here at CRH. We have watched them work their way through the Realm as junior and senior campers.  They now lead us every day and are truly the reason this place works so well.

Back to last night -– the dining hall was silent as Sgt. Dan spoke for over 25 minutes. Our kids listened and hung on his every word. They broke into a long applause and cried when he finished.  I asked every camper this morning to give back: since it’s Wednesday, the day we usually write letters home to you guys, I asked the kids to each write a letter to one of our troops now serving overseas. As I told them last night – every time we see a soldier in uniform we should shake their hands and thank them for their service. I asked them to put that in writing in a personal letter.  Dan promised to deliver the letters to the right hands and off we went.

I’ve included some samples of the letters.  They are nicely written with respect and love.

We can’t wait to see you Friday.  Our campers are so excited to show off their new home and friends.  I promise you that “our” kids have grown up in many ways in the last four weeks. I can’t wait to hear the reports from you guys, and again thanks for sharing your kids with us.

Woody