What’s up, Camp Fans?!

We've been delighted with all the great camp stories you sent in for our 'Share Your Camp Story' Contest here at Everything Summer Camp. You outdid yourselves this year, campers! These stories are fantastic and I’m eager to share them with our online community! Each submission will be getting posted right here on the Blog!

I’ve finished announcing our ten lucky winners who took larger prizes and now we’re ready to share the rest of the submissions we received. The following post is from Vanessa H. who wrote in to tell us about her experience sending her daughter to Camp Crestridge. Check out her submission right here:

“This summer was my daughter’s first sleep away camp experience. We drove 7 hours to Camp Crestridge in the Black Mountains of North Carolina. When we pulled up to the camp, the counselors greeted us with big smiles and excitement, and my eyes started to tear up with happiness for the amazing adventure in store for my daughter. As we walked up to my daughter’s cabin, memories of my sleep away camp days starting popping into my head—making new friends, swimming in the lake, singing camp songs around a big campfire, and all the awesome camp activities and games. Fast forward two weeks and I was reunited with a very confident girl who had met so many girlfriends, who demonstrated leadership skills along with the girls in her cabin to the extent that their cabin was named honor cabin, who tried so many different camp activities and games and grew in her relationship with the Lord! My daughter grew so much in her independence, confidence and faith. She can’t wait to go back next year! I am so thankful for this sleep away camp experience for my daughter and look forward to many more summer camp experiences!”

Thanks for this great submission, Vanessa! It’s great to hear that your daughter’s camp stay was such a success! Sounds like she had a blast and took to some wonderful personal growth during her time away. The easy, natural environment of camp certainly lends itself to making that deeper connection with Nature, God, and Self.

Camp Crestridge sounds really cool. If anyone else would like to check it out closer, you can do so by clicking right here. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Throughout the month I’ve been announcing the winners to our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest. And, today, the time has come to reveal our grand prize winner for this year’s edition. Find out right here and right now. The winner of our $500 gift certificate is….

Arnold M.!

Awesome!!! Congratulations, Arnold. You’re our grand prize winner!!! Arnold wrote in to tell us about his experience at Camp Mowglis. Read his account of the fun camp stay right here on today’s Blog post:

“This was my first time going to camp and I was feeling nervous. I didn’t know anyone except one friend. I have never even visited the camp before so I didn’t know what it would be like. It is a 7 week camp, but my mom signed me up for only the first 4 weeks. After only 2 weeks I wrote my mom a letter to ask if I could stay for the whole 7 weeks and she said yes! I wanted to stay because I really enjoyed my time at Camp Mowglis. I did activities like archery, tennis, canoeing, mountain biking, arts and crafts, hiking, camping, and swimming, but the activity I loved the most was archery. I even got a trophy for winning the Junior Fencing Tournament. I can’t wait to go back to camp next year. I hope I will earn some ribbons for some of the activities.”

Thanks for this great submission, Arnold! We’re so glad to hear how much you loved your time at Camp Mowglis. Seven weeks is a LONG time to be away from home—especially for your first time away at summer camp. But the camp life is a persuasive animal once the hook is set. Way to go embracing your time away from home! Have fun in the years to come!

For anyone else interested in Camp Mowglis, you can check it out right here. That concludes our big prize winners, but stay tuned each week when we publish our participants’ submissions so you can catch all the great entries we received this year. As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

It’s the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! We’re in full swing for this year, announcing our lucky winners and sharing their stories right here on the Blog. Today, I’m announcing our second $200 gift certificate winners! Today’s winner is….

Ashley G.!

Congratulations, Ashley! You’re our Second Place Winner of a $200 gift certificate to our one-stop camping gear shop! Ashley gives us her story of sending her daughter off for a summer stay at Emma Kaufmann Camp in West Virginia. Read about it in her Contest entry right here:

“I started this story six times! There are so many things I can say about sleep away camp. I LOVED my own time at Jewish summer camp and this year I sent my daughter for the first time. It took some pushing to get her to want to go to camp and be away from mommy and daddy.

At drop off, she wanted the goodbye moment to be as short as possible. She was so anxious, I didn't expect that. I cried as soon as she walked away. The first few days I felt like I was missing something everywhere I went. Everyone talks about how amazing it is to have time to yourself, but really there is a loss to adjust to.

It was nice to know I wasn't alone, as I connected with another mom the camp director had introduced me to, and once the smiling pictures started rolling in, I relaxed a bit. When I went to pick my daughter up two weeks later and she said, "Now that I've seen you I'd like to stay," I knew pushing her to go was one of the best things I'd done as a mom. I've already signed up both my kids for next year!”

It’s wonderful to hear how well camp went this season, Ashely! Emma Kaufmann Camp sounds like it was a great place for your daughter. You must have been so proud of her and yourself when she asked to extend her stay! It’s great that you had another camp mother to confide in during your daughter’s stay. It’s certainly difficult to see your child off for time away from home, but you did a great job getting through it!

Be sure to come back on Monday when we reveal our Grand Prize Winner for our 'Share Your Camp Story Contest'! To anybody else interested in Emma Kaufmann Camp, you can check it out by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

It’s the Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! We’re in full swing for this year, announcing our lucky winners and sharing their stories right here on the Blog. Today, I’m announcing our first $200 gift certificate winner! Today’s winner is….

Imogen S.!

Congratulations, Imogen! You won a $200 gift certificate to our one-stop camping gear shop! Imogen gives us her story of her time at Camp Chinqueka this summer in Washington, Connecticut. Read about it in her Contest entry right here:

“I remember one hot summer day, I was at my day camp and my friends told me about this camp called Chinqueka. I was curious, so when I got home, I asked my mom to look into it. A month later, I was signed up for two weeks at sleepaway! I felt this rush of emotions, excitement, nervousness, and happiness. After the long car drive, we had arrived.

I was so nervous, but the moment I stepped into my cabin, all the nerves washed away like a passing wave. Everybody greeted me with a big smile. We had time to settle in and then change into our swimsuits for the swim test! I thought I had become a white swimmer-the lowest rank, but little did I know I was yellow!

After the first day, we came into a more normal schedule—I tried so many new things, like cheerleading, water tag, and horseback riding! Speaking of horseback riding, I went twice, and it was magical!! The horse I rode was named George, and I really liked him. He would always let me pet him, and in return, I would shoo the flies away from him!

At camp, I met so many new friends, learned so much, and discovered new interests! I even won the camp art contest, so I collaborated with somebody else to paint a MURAL! On top of that, I got to write multiple articles for the camp newspaper, the "Tom-Tom"! Chinqueka is a home away from home and I hope to go for four weeks next year. ”

It’s wonderful to hear how quickly you chose to try a couple weeks at this new summer camp, Imogen! That’s great that you found a camp you enjoyed so much with so many fun things to do and friendly folks! Nice work on embracing new experiences. Say ‘Hello’ to George for me when you return in the next summer season. To anybody else interested in Camp Chinqueka, you can check it out by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Time for Everything Summer Camp’s annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest has rolled around once again! We’re excited to give away our prizes and announce our lucky winners as well as posting their stories right here on the Blog. Today, I’m announcing our second $100 gift certificate winner right now!

And our second $100 winner is….

Victoria S.!

Congratulations, Victoria! You just won $100 for our one-stop camping gear shop for your future equipment purchases! Thanks for sharing your summer experience at Camp Harlam. Read her submission right here:

“I love camp! No matter what we’re doing! This year at camp it rained a LOT! But we still made the best of it! This year when it rained we got stuck in different places around camp, for several hours. Instead of doing nothing and just sitting around, we had fun! We made string bracelets, played catch with a ball (if we had one) and just talked about what we’re excited to do next in camp! I also loved that this year we did trips. We weren’t able to go on trips the last several years because of covid. My age group went to Hershey Park! It was one of my favorite things at camp we did! We were all in different groups depending on what things you wanted to do at Hershey Park. I had so much fun! It was especially fun because we got to go with some of our best friends we only see once a year! I loved screaming our heads off when we were scared on the rollercoasters! Overall I HAD SO MUCH FUN AT CAMP! Even though it rained a lot! I already miss camp! And can’t wait for next summer! ”

Great, Victoria! Camp Harlam sounds extra special! It's important to embrace the experience even when things aren't ideal (like a rainy day or even a rainy week!). Sounds like outside the precipitation, you had some awesome experiences like your trip to Hershey Park and terrifying rollercoaster rides! Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself, Victoria!

To anybody else interested in Camp Harlam, you can check it out by clicking right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John