Houlton native picked for Tim Hortons camp position

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
CAMP BOUND — Victoria Rowe of Houlton will journey to Campbellesville, Ky. this summer to teach music to children as part of the Tim Horton’s Foundation summer camp program.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — For the past three summers, Victoria Rowe of Houlton has enjoyed a camper’s dream, working at the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation summer camp.
    Like most young people her age, Rowe was looking for summer employment after her first year of college at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. She took a job at the local Tim Hortons, which introduced her to another interesting summer job opportunity the following year.
    “I started working at Tim Hortons in Houlton in the summer of 2007,” Rowe said. “That next summer, I was looking for something different to do for a job. So I went online and got the contact information [for their summer camp program]. I sent them my resume and was chosen as a counselor. It was hands down, the best summer job I have ever had.”
    Last year, she returned as a coordinator for the camp’s Outdoor Adventure Program, working primarily with their ropes course, helping supervise activities with a climbing tower and zip line.
    This coming summer, Rowe will once again be returning to the summer camp. Rowe said the company contacted her while she was snowboarding at Bigrock in Mars Hill this past winter. They asked if she was interested returning to the camp this summer, but in a different position.
    “I am going to go back this summer and be their music coordinator,” she explained. “It’s going to be very cool. They have their own recording studio and the kids get to record their own song. It was hard to say ‘no.’”
    Music is something that Rowe can easily gravitate toward. She often plays drums in the choir at the Houlton Wesleyan Church, where her father Dave serves as the assistant pastor.
    A senior pursuing a degree in fitness and wellness at UMPI, Rowe will leave for Campbellesville, Ky. on May 8 and begin her training on May 11. She will be at the camp until Sept. 2. It will be her first time attending the camp in the United States.
    Camps are located in Parry Sound, Ontario (opened in 1975; Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia (opened in 1988); Kananaskis, Alberta (opened in 1991); Quyon, Quebec (opened in 1994), Campbellsville, Ky. (opened in 2001) and St. George, Ontario (opened in 2002).
    The summer camps sponsored by the Tim Hortons Children’s Foundation are not widely known, Rowe said. The Foundation was established in 1974 in honor of Tim Horton’s love of children and a desire to help those less fortunate. In 2011 more than 14,000 children, who could otherwise not afford it, will attend the Foundation’s six camps.
    Rowe’s father serves as the local coordinator for the Foundation and is responsible for selecting local children to the summer camps. Each year, two children between the ages of 9-13 from every town that has a Tim Hortons are selected to participate in the summer camp program free of charge.
    To help cover the cost of such an undertaking, on June 1, every Tim Hortons store will donate all proceeds from the sale of coffee as a fundraiser for the summer camp with its “Camp Day.” In 2010, Camp Day raised more than $9.3 million, according to Daniella Conti, regional marketing manager for Tim Hortons.
    Since 1975, the Foundation has sent more than 150,000 kids to camp. Conti said children are selected from within the community around each Tim Hortons restaurant. Local Tim Hortons owners work in conjunction with local schools, clubs and youth agencies to find kids. Summer camp sessions are 10 days and winter camp sessions are seven days.
    “For many children, it’s their first opportunity to try new activities, make new friends, gain a sense of independence and develop pride in their accomplishments and confidence in their abilities,” Conti said.