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Winnipeg Free Press

Like mother, like daughter: Sunshine Fund camp experience runs in the family

Peyton Toth is weeks away from graduating from Grade 3 and heading to summer camp for the first time. And the bubbly outgoing eight-year-old will soon be on her way to Camp Arnes, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg north of Gimli, thanks to the Sunshine Fund. Peyton's mom, Lindsay, said she knows firsthand the type of experience her daughter will get. Three decades ago, when she was eight years old, she went to camp for the first time — at Camp Arnes. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Peyton Toth (left) is heading off to the same summer camp her mother Lindsay went to three decades ago. 'I wanted her to go to camp so I began looking at the camps out there,' she said. 'But I didn't realize (camping fees) would be that much. It costs $800 for the week. 'It really is the difference between eating and paying rent — you know, the little things in our lives.' Thanks to the Sunshine Fund, and the sliding scale based on family income, Lindsay's camp cost came down to a more manageable $200. Lindsay said she didn't even know about the Sunshine Fund until she saw the link on the Camp Arnes website. But there was something else Lindsay didn't know: it was only because of the Sunshine Fund that she was able to go to Camp Arnes. Linda Hayward, Lindsay's mom, said a few decades ago she was a single mom who had bills to pay on a low income. 'She was just bubbly when she came back from camp,' Hayward recalled. 'It was so good for her. But camp is expensive… to have been able to send my daughter for that experience was great. I couldn't have done it without the Sunshine Fund. 'It also gave me a nice break. When you're a single mom, that little bit of a break helps.' With your support, Peyton — just like hundreds of children in low-income situations which the Sunshine Fund aids — will be able to be away from home for a week meeting new friends. As part of the camp's Explorers program, she'll be able to participate in a high ropes course and even take a Corcl — a small round plastic boat — onto Lake Winnipeg. Pretty cool things to do when you're eight. As Peyton says: 'I'm excited to go to camp.' Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. When asked what she looks forward to doing most, she gives a single word answer: 'Everything!' Lindsay said she has no doubt Peyton will have a blast at camp. 'She makes friends everywhere she goes,' the mother said. Peyton will return with a lifetime of memories and now it's up to you to help the other children who are on the list waiting to see if they can get to camp this summer. Kevin RollasonReporter Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press's city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin. Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.