Here's a group shot of our camp counselors during lifeguard training, which began June 5th and continues with general camp training right up until the last minute, when the campers arrive on June 15th. From near and far, we're overjoyed to have a stellar team this summer and can't wait to kick things off!
"When people come together for meals there is more than nourishment for the body," says local potter and friend Shane Mickey. "There is nourishment for the mind and heart."
We feel the same way, and when we asked Shane if he would make serving dishes for our family-style meals at camp, we were touched by his response. "Susie worked with my son while he attended Montessori and that work enabled him to learn at a higher level," recalls Shane. "When I was approached by the camp to make the serving pieces, I considered it an honor to have my work be the presentation platform for all those fortunate campers and caring tutors and camp counselors." Shane says that family-style meals allow for more sharing, because people can gather and discuss the day's events, triumphs, and failures and therefore gain a deeper understanding of one another. Understanding yields support, and for children with dyslexia who may have self-esteeem issues due to struggles in the classroom, that support is a balm. Slow and steady, this adds up to happier children that grow into successful adults who contribute to society--most often through the innovative thinking that dyslexics are known to achieve.
"To me, Camp Spring Creek is a wonderful asset to our community because it not only adds to the diversity of businesses, but what it's mission entails and what they accomplish is heart-warming and incredibly important to the broader context of our society."
Thanks, Shane!
We're delighted to announce that this summer we're offering 5 scholarships to campers through our partnership with OpenDoors of Asheville. The 5 campers will have 4 weeks as boarding campers, fully funded. These scholarships will go to children living in multi-generational poverty as a joint effort between Camp Spring Creek and OpenDoors to make positive, life-altering learning experiences accessible to children of any economic means in Western North Carolina. Last year's scholarship recipients from this partnership had moving things to say after their camp experiences. You can read excerpts from their letters here. We were also able to offer 2 scholarships at 50% to local children and are aspiring to raise another $7700 to support one more scholarship to give a local child 4 weeks of boarding at camp.
If you missed our demographic breakdown by age, gender, and location for this summer season, you can check out who comes to Camp Spring Creek. Suffice it to say, we have a waiting list for the first time in 10 years and we're taking names for early registration for 2015 right now! Please be in touch if you have questions, would like to be considered for a scholarship, or feel inspired to donate money to help us bring one more local child to camp this season!
Ladies and gentlemen, we're pleased to announce that for the first time in Camp Spring Creek history, we are full to capacity with a noteworthy waiting list! Three cheers! Who comes to Camp Spring Creek? We have 19 new campers and 26 returning this year, for a total of 199 camper weeks. Here's the breakdown of our 29 boys and and 16 girls across the summer sessions:
Demo Boys age
Demo Girls age
And here's where everyone is from:
Camper Demo Location2
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkzZ0XipFxM&w=640&h=360]
We're in need of several Certified and Associate Level Orton-Gillingham tutors for the Camp Spring Creek 2014 season. We only have a few openings left, but if qualified applicants are interested in working at camp from June 10 to August 10, please send your resume to our general email inbox: info@campspringcreek.org. Applicants may also contact us at the office by calling 828-766-5032. OG Training with us in advance of employment is sometimes an option, so don't hesitate to inquire. We also have a few tutor positions for half the summer. Applicants to these positions that are not returning staff will need to attend staff training at the start of the summer. In general, we prefer individuals that have already been through training via the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Pracitioners & Educators, but we can provide practicum observations. For example, if an applicant is hired and works the entire 8 weeks, he or she can use up to 5 observations for their practicum. Please be in touch!
This week, Co-founder and Co-director Steve van der Vorst is in Krakow, Poland for the Camp America Camp Director's Fair, where he will get to hand-pick some of our counselors for this summer!
"Our counselors have to be able to show initiative," says Steve. "That’s one reason we conduct many interviews...I can usually get an idea for how energetic someone is, and also, how enthusiastic. A lot of young people want to work at a camp, but most camps in America are large and hire counselors that focus on one specialty. We look for people with skills across the board and we're a small camp, so we want someone comfortable with our family-style dynamic."
In addition to hard skills such as a background in art our outdoor activities, Steve also looks for a sense of humor, experience traveling and being away from home, and a willingness to work hard. Safe travels, Steve, and come back with lots of top picks!
We're holding a little contest on the blog, starting now through December 31, 2013: Like our page on Facebook and then send that page a Facebook message telling us which "Inspiring People" blog post inspired you the most. We'll enter you into a drawing to win this Camp Spring Creek chair!
Use the link above to read the posts, or access them using Categories on the right-hand side bar. Be sure to tell us why you felt inspired by what you read and feel free to share this contest with friends! Anyone can enter!
Winner will be notified via Facebook on New Year's Eve!
Mimi figured, if she dressed up as a Mardis Gras partier for Halloween,
Susie and Steve would take her with them to the IDA Conference in New Orleans next week!
Ben is 10 years old and first attended Camp Spring Creek in 2012. In 2013, he and his family were delighted that he would be able to come back. Unfortunately, a change of plans in late spring prevented Ben from being able to attend. Ben and his family decided make his camp spot available to a Western North Carolina child.
The silver lining is that, not only did a Mitchell County child get to experience Camp Spring Creek for the first time, but Ben will be able to return next summer. We can't wait to give him a warm welcome back!
Of his experience at camp last year, his mother shared: "Ben had a really great time. It was important for us to find a camp where he could continue the academic work he focused on during the school year, but still also be a kid. The thing we noticed the most was that his handwriting had vastly improved. He also gained a lot of confidence in reading."
Ladies and Gentlemen....drums, please... The Harlem Shake video has finally been accessed from our "archives" and is ready for public viewing. Help us celebrate the conclusion of another successful summer season at Camp Spring Creek by getting your groove on:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OmHx0LvnNk&w=560&h=315]
We're taking a week off (the blog). But posts will resume with a twice weekly schedule (occasional exceptions) next week. Thanks, as always, for following along!
The end of summer is always such a bittersweet time of year for us at Camp Spring Creek. We've sai
d our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch. We've cleaned and swept and cleaned some more. We've taken our last group photos and squeezed Mimi one last time (well, you guys did--we get to live with her all year!). But before all that, we did stick to business and wrap a few things up during Week 8 with:
Selecting a Room Inspection winner daily (instead of at the end of the week) and rewarding them with freezy pops at lunchtime.
By now, our campers have headed down new paths...back home, readying for a new school year, dreaming of next summer. Our hearts are with you and please call or email us at any time!
We're in the home stretch of summer here at Camp Spring Creek and so much has happened, at times it feels like a blur. We said goodbye to campers Miles and Matthew last week and miss them both. Meanwhile, CIT Gregg (who came at the midpoint of summer), has been enjoying his new role and is thrilled that he got to overlap a little bit with Marco, who was our CIT for the first half of summer. These two first met a Camp Spring Creek as campers and have known each other for years! Greg has been helping out in the boy's cabins, assisting with lifeguarding, kitchen prep, and sometimes even woodshop and art. "I’ve been taking a lot of kids down to breakfast in the morning or helping them get ready for bed at night," Greg said. "I also make sure they brush their teeth and make their beds right."
Here's the run down of last week's news:
We're a day late getting last week's "reflections" to you, but hopefully camp photographer Anina van der Vorst's slide show kept you going while we were busy having fun. Here's the skinny on last week's adventures:
Rain, rain, and more rain! Even if you don't live in this part of the United States, there's a good chance you've been hearing weather news broadcasts about the record-breaking precipitation we've experienced. Last week, we had one evening that wasn't pouring down...thankfully, our spirits aren't down at all. The "new" group of campers who arrived at the mid-point of summer have fit right into the routine and are cruising along without missing a beat. Here's a recap of some of last week's highlights:
