Camp Spearhead

Camp Spearhead Greenville, SC October 10, 2012 greenvillerec.com/activities-and-programs/camp-spearhead-home

As we pulled into Spearhead we had no idea what to expect, their building towered over us all with that newly built feel, and their beyond impressive ropes course was definitely intriguing. We were even more excited after we met Ashley one of the directors. Ashley could do nothing but inspire Jack and I with her back ground in Americore and degree in non-profit management. The places she has worked and the experiences she has had made us drool. She toured us around as showed us what this unique camp has to offer for people of all ages with physical and developmental disabilities. They have a camper who is 80 and still comes every summer to enjoy the love, support, personal challenge and achievement that spearhead provides. Besides their fully accessible ropes course, they have a gem mining operation, a nature center and BEES! Ashley coming from a family who kept bees was happy to share with us how having bees at camp work and gave us a jar of homemade Spearhead honey to take home.

Laura

Green River Preserve

Green River Preserve Cedar Mountain, NC October 10, 2012 www.greenriverpreserve.org

Sandy and Missy, wow we fell in love here. Sandy is maybe the most passionate, patient, understanding, and nurturing man I’ve ever met. Ok second to dad. He loves his camp the outdoors, and helping kids learn. His camp is mainly for children who are often bored in normal educational settings. His camp is engineered to accommodate kids who want to learn and have the brain power, attention span and special interest to do so. We learned so much here. We also got fed lunch because I fainted in a hot field while Sandy stopped to talk to some other visitors. Woops. After lunch at Sandy and Missy’s home, we called to say we were going to be late to Spearhead because Sandy wanted to take us on the tour of the mountain top. It was spectacular. We drove up on a little Polaris and walked on a huge granite curved mountain top. Sandy had so much to tell us about the Native Americans that were once there and the things they carved into the rocks. The way that the rocks have moved and were moved and the stories of how they were ceremonial drums carved to look like the turtle that carries earth on its back. We left in awe of what Sandy, Missy and this camp have to offer, we both wish that we could enroll in camp here but felt like we got a good taste of the experience from just spending the afternoon with Sandy.

Laura

Camp Wayfayer

Camp Wayfayer Flat Rock, NC October 9, 2012 www.campwayfarer.com

This was our first private camp. We did not really know what to expect. We met the owners and the owners son at the Charleston conference and they seemed really friendly. When we arrived at the camp We were in love with the buildings. We talked with the camp owner and director up in the new swanky office. His son was there too and then walked us around camp on a tour. One of the points that the camp director made over and over again was that starting a camp from scratch was hard work and that one had to be willing to work hard in this profession. Jack and I loved the idea of starting from scratch and having the ultimate say on traditions, culture and layout. JB, the son, walked us around and it was clear that at Wayfarer Jim Bob, the owner makes sure everyone works hard, and that hard work pays off.

Laura

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Camp Holiday Trails

Camp Holiday Trails Charlottesville, VA September 28, 2012 www.campholidaytrails.org

We spent a weekend at this Virgina camp and helped them with Weekend Cardio Camp. 4 or 5 families and maybe 10 counselors welcomed us into their family for the weekend Tina La roche is the executive director and still has that great hippy charm that seems to fade as most grow up. Their camp is specifically for kids with special health needs. We moved into the nice medical staff housing and then jumped right in to volunteering with the rest of the staff. They were all wonderful and welcoming and took us on their famed Refridgerator Walk, but not until we were sworn to secrecy

Laura

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Woodeden Easter Seals Camp

Woodeden Easter Seals Camp London, ON September 20, 2012 www.eastersealscamps.org/about/woodeden-camp

Kim, the director, seems fun and passionate. This camp is unlike any other camp we have been to. Incredible facilities and all completely accessible and completely donated. The high ropes course is the largest fully accessible one in the country. It has elements we have never dreamed of and a highdrolic lift. We walked around on a tour and saw the facilities and listened to Kim’s enjoyable ramble. She is someone you would want as a friend. I am so intrigued by the people who work here by what they see and what makes them so resilient. Their is a part of me that wants to be a part of that brand of magic.

Laura

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Pearce Williams Christian Centre

Pearce Williams Christian Centre Fingle, ON September 19, 2012 www.pearcewilliams.org

From the moment we met Joe Richards we knew we were in for something different. Joe is a no nonsense, go big or go home kinda guy and his camp is every bit a refection of him, from the way they hire staff to the think different way they run many different groups a time during the summer. Maybe the most incredible new idea at Pierce Williams is their World Camp. World camp is a work in progress but is modeled after the Heffer fund where participants will come to camp and live in different forms of shanty housing from all over the world and get a chance to use experiential learning to teach about poverty, hunger, and other giant global issues. This is just one of Joe’s many ideas on how summer camps as an industry needs to change from the way things always have been, because the future is full of plenty of potential struggles for traditional summer camp. What is great about Joe is his big picture radical ideas and his ability to put his money where is mouth is.

Jack