Selina Booth is thrilled to be sending her daughter to the same camp she went to two decades ago.

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The single mom of two says her nine-year-old daughter, Isabella Booth-Paul, can’t wait to go to Circle Square Ranch for the first time at the end of July. It will be her first time spending a week away from her family.

 

Because she’s on a long-term disability program while looking for work and planning to go back to school, Selina wouldn’t have been able to send Isabella without the help of the Sunshine Fund.

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After filling out the paperwork, Selina waited to hear back.

When she got the call, Isabella couldn’t contain her excitement.

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“I was like, ‘Hey kid, guess what? You’re going to camp.’ She screamed for two days, like at the top of her lungs, jumping jacks, ear-to-ear grin,” Selina said. “She’s still like that today. I mean, the screeching has gone down a little bit, but she’s still super-excited.”

 

Isabella has already started packing her bag, asking her mom what else she should take. Selina said she feels like she can help her daughter prepare better since she went to the camp herself.

 

Selina’s own mom, also a single parent to two daughters, sent her to Camp Assiniboia when she was eight and then to Circle Square when she was 10. Selina said her experience at the ranch was unforgettable and is excited Isabella has the opportunity to go.

 

Circle Square Ranch is located near Austin. The summer camp focuses on outdoor activities such as archery and swimming. Isabella is most excited to spend time working with and learning about horses.

 

“(Isabella) has always had a passion for horses her whole life, so this is a really big opportunity for her,” Selina said, adding she’s a very outdoorsy girl. “She’s happy and excited that she’s going to go meet other people that are in her age range, but people that she’s never met.”

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The family lives near Assiniboia Downs and went to watch the races as a family tradition before the COVID-19 pandemic. Selina said Isabella loves petting and feeding the horses.

 

Support from the Sunshine Fund has meant a lot to her family for more than one generation. Because of her time at Circle Square, Booth said she knows it will be a “positive and happy, uplifting” time and hopes Isabella can make lifelong friends.

She’s looking forward to Isabella gaining a little independence, too.

 

“I wouldn’t be able to give her that kind of experience,” Selina said. “(Isabella) deserves that kind of experience. She’s the brightest, most loving, caring young lady. I’ve never met a kid with such a big heart.”

 

Selina hopes to be able to let Isabella go to camp again if she likes it. She also plans on sending her three-year-old daughter, Violet, to camp once she’s old enough.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca