Hey, Camp Fans!

We’re very excited to post your ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest submissions to share with all our readers right here on the Blog. All participants receive a $15 gift certificate unless you’re one of our seven lucky winners in which case you’ll receive larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. This week we’ll be announcing the first four winners of the $25 gift certificates—and today we have our third $25 winner….

Alexis S.!

Congratulations, Alexis! You’re our third contest winner! Alexis had a growing experience at Camp Lohikan this year. Faced with a challenge throughout her camp stay, she still found fun and friendship at camp. Read all about it in her heartfelt entry:
“This was my second year at Camp Lohikan and, as a bit of a backstory, last year was what made camp one of the happiest places ever to exist for me. It has been a place where I can be me and even though I only go for 2 weeks out of the year, it makes the whole rest of the year worth it. This year was different though. I got to camp after an entire year anticipating what was to come. And there was my best friend of eight, I repeat EIGHT years, sitting there with her new best friend of one year on a bunk bed in our cabin. Just to let you know I came this year under the full impression that I was coming with a whole new bunk to get to know. I did not know she would be coming and I am a firm believer in coming and meeting more people each year and to me camp is a way to escape actual life and be with people who are real and true. Getting back on track here, my heart broke in that moment. It is a fine thing but—my camp? My sacred place? Come on! I just found one friend in my cabin because every other girl there had a habit of gossiping and cussing more than any people I had ever known in my life. But I knew there was more to this place. I struggled for a week and was intending to continue to deal for the remaining time I was there. But one day I wrote my mom an email and it was nice and had notes that said that I didn’t like this year but as I sent it, I messed up and accidentally deleted it. I was at my final straw and when I rewrote the email, I got straight to the point and told her that my bunk was mean, no one was the same as last year, and I never wanted to come back. I then proceeded to leave the email house, go back to my cabin and cry for the good portion of an hour. At dinner my division director asked me to meet her in her office after dinner. She told me that my mom had called with concern and asked me if I wanted to switch cabins. I told her that I did and the rest is history because I again have so many friends, so many memories and this year was even better than last year and I can’t wait to go back next year and create more with he girl in my bunk. Shout out to 21A!!!!!”

Thanks again for your submission, Alexis. Sounds like a hard time at camp, but fun nevertheless. It always is! For anyone else interested in Camp Lohikan, you can check it out right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

It’s our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest! Like last year, we had a good turn-out for our camp stories so, of course, we’re very excited to post these stories to share with all our readers right here on the Blog. Everyone who submitted receives a $15 gift certificate and seven lucky winners will receive larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. This week I’m announcing the first four winners of the $25 gift certificates and today we’re sharing the second $25 winner’s story:

Jake V.!

Congratulations, Jake! You’re our second $25 prize winner! Jake spent some fun summer days at Round Lake Camp this year and had an awesome time, meeting fun camp mates. Read about it in his great submission.

“Over the past two years, Round Lake Camp has become my home away from home. I can’t lie, though, I was a little nervous the first time I got off the bus and stepped into ‘camp world.’ Would I have fun? Would I make friends? Would I feel homesick? My stomach was in knots as the bus left home and started making the long drive to camp. I listened to the other kids talk. It sounded like they all knew each other already. I was new though, so I stayed quiet. Then, we got to camp and we were greeted by friendly faces who helped us to our bunks. After I set up my bunk, I started to feel a little more comfortable. I introduced myself to my bunkmates and found that some of them actually liked the same things I like. That first day started out nerve wracking, but ended up being one of the happiest days that summer!

At Round Lake, I have made some awesome new friends. We share the same interests, like Star Wars and comic books. We share the same sense of humor and can easily laugh at the smallest things. It’s great to have friends outside of school. It’s almost like a secret society, or like I live a double life. That’s cool!

My favorite things to do at Round Lake are GaGa and archery. I’m one of the best GaGa players as no one can get me out. I’m usually the last one standing and some of the kids like to challenge me on a daily basis. It’s fun to be the champion! I’ve gotten really good at archery, too. It’s tricky, but it’s also relaxing. I like to get really quiet, concentrate on the target, and think about being one with the arrow. Those two sports are very different. GaGa is very loud and gets my adrenaline pumping, while archery is very quiet and helps me think. I like that I’m able to choose to be either loud or quiet at camp, as I think those are two very important sides of who I am.

Finally, Round Lake Camp is the best camp, not just because of all the friends you can make or activities you can do, but because you can be yourself there. If you are silly or serious, loud or quiet, it doesn’t matter. At Round Lake, it’s okay to be yourself. No one is going to judge you, make fun of you, bully you, or isolate you because of it. That’s why Round Lake has become my home away from home, and I’m counting down the days until next summer starts and I can go back!”

Thanks again for your submission, Jake. Sounds like camp was a blast yet again! Round Lake sounds like a great place with fun activities and fun people. For anyone else interested in Round Lake Camp, you can check it out right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest went over pretty well last summer and we saw an even bigger response this year, so it goes without saying that we’re very excited to post these stories to share with all our readers right here on the Blog. Everyone who submitted receives a $15 gift certificate and seven lucky winners will receive larger prizes of $25, $50, and the grand prize of $100. This week we’ll be announcing the first four winners of the $25 gift certificates—and we’re starting right now! Today’s winner is….

Emily B.!

Congratulations, Emily! You’re our first $25 prize winner! Emily spent some fun summer days at Camp Merrie-Woode this year and who made unbreakable bonds with her campmates. Read all about it in her excellent entry:

“I started going to camp with my best friend and I loved it so much. But six years later I decided to go to a 3-week stay. I was scared at first but we had the best counselor ever. It was the last night of camp and all the squire cabins went to Sports field to play a game of manhunt but we were too loud and Lindsay came and told us we had to go back for cabinets. We were pretty bummed but a counselor said because it was her last night she would let us sleep in a different cabin, so we all brought over our mattress pads and sleeping bags and went into the cabin Winken. We were all so excited that we didn’t get much sleep that night but the bonds that we made that year at camp last forever.”

Thanks again for your submission, Emily. Glad you enjoyed your extended camp stay and bonded with your cabin mates! For anyone else interested in Camp Merrie-Woode, you can check it out for yourself sometime. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Did you hear us ask how your camp stay went? Here at Everything Summer Camp, we’re begging to know. That’s why we’re asking for summer camp submissions from you to tell us about how you liked camp. We want to know about your accomplishments, friends, fears that were overcome, favorite parts of camp, or just a diary/journal-style submission recounting the jam-packed days of your camp experience.

Now that August is coming to a close, there’s no more time to dally! Get your submissions into us now—there are only six days remaining! The deadline for these summer camp submissions is next week Monday!

Don’t forget: Everyone who submits gets a $15 gift certificate to Everything Summer Camp!

We will be selecting seven random winners. Our randomized first-place winner will receive a $100 gift card for our website. Then, we’ll pick two more winners randomly who will receive $50 gift cards to our site. And then, after that, four random winners will get our $25 gift cards. Everyone else who submits will be getting a $15 gift card just for your participation!

To remind you of some suggestions that I posted when I first announced children’s camp story submissions for the 2016 season in case it’s hard for you to single in on just one part of camp among all the fun times—here are some ideas:

You could submit something about what you thought was the most fun. Or you can share some things you learned whether they’re athletic skills, artistic skills, thinking skills, etc. You can give us stories about all the great people and all the camp friends you made. You can describe how it felt to be away from home and away from your parents. Or you can exercise your creative muscle and describe the beauty in the nature that surrounded you saw at camp.

In your submissions, talk about your summer camp and why you think it’s the best. Include your first name and your last name’s initial, what camp you visited, and how long you’ve been going to camp, please.

We loved hearing about your summer last year. We can’t wait to receive a fresh new collection of your summer stories from this year! Share your stories right here. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

How was camp? At Everything Summer Camp, we REALLY want to know! That’s why we’re asking you to write us…AGAIN! We saw such a great response to our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest last summer that we felt compelled to do it again this year! We can’t wait to hear all your stories this year!

If you weren’t a participant last year, join in on the fun this time around! Whether you tell us about the one thing that was the most fun or talk about all the great people you met, we’d love to hear about your camp experience!

Please include your first name and your last name’s initial, what camp you visited, and how long you’ve been going to camp. You only need 150 words to qualify, however, we’re looking for submissions closer to 250. In these submissions, we encourage you to talk about YOUR camp and why you think it’s the best.

Not sure What to Write?                         l Well, you could tell us about the things you learned at camp like how to shoot an arrow or which way is north. You could share stories about all the friends you made while you were there. You could describe how it felt to be away from home. You could exercise your creative muscle and talk about the beautiful landscapes and natural surroundings you saw at camp. Or just give us something like a journal entry that chronicles a day in the life.

To Enter                                                                                                                          l You’ll need to submit your written story about your summer camp experience using the entry form found here. There’s no entry fee. If you’re under 18 years of age you’ll need the permission of a parent or guardian to enter the Contest.

Speaking of Parents                                                                                                          l We’d love to hear from you as well! Don’t hesitate to submit something yourself if you’d like to share your experience in sending your kid to camp. How did it go? Have you noticed any changes in your child since they got back? How did you fare with being away? How will you be better prepared for next year? Tell us anything you want. We’ll listen!
Everybody who submits gets a $15 gift certificate to Everything Summer Camp!
Seven random winners will be chosen. Our first randomized winner will receive a $100 gift card for our website. We’ll then randomly pick two more winners to receive $50 gift cards to our site. After that, four random winners will get our $25 gift cards. Everyone else who submits will get the $15 gift cards.  

So tell us how camp went and share your stories right here on the Blog! Check out the entry form for further details and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John