Meet our New Intern, Ileya.

Ileya at Camp Whitman this past summer. 

My name is Ileya Heins; I grew up in Prattsburgh, New York.  I graduated from high school in 2011 and I am currently going to Corning Community College (CCC).  This coming December, I will have my Associates degree in Human Services.  I want to continue my education and finish getting my Social Science degree.  I have worked at Camp Whitman on Seneca Lake for the past two summers and hope to work there this summer as well.

I am excited to be the Community Relations and Outreach intern for the Presbytery of Geneva this semester. I will be working on cultivating our existing community relationships (and creating some new ones too!) for Camp Whitman, be assisting with planning and attending the NYC Mission and Learning experience next month, and managing some of the 60th Anniversary events for Camp Whitman’s year of celebration. I have already learned so much in this semester from being in the office and am ready for the challenge! I want to thank the Presbytery for this opportunity.

I look forward to meeting and working with some of you this semester!

Only 10 Months to Go!

Summer is winding down and at the end of last week we wrapped up the 2013 summer camp season. While it was sad for everyone to have to part ways, this just means that we can start looking forward to next summer!  Labor Day Family Camping is right around the corner, and 2014 marks Camp Whitman's 60th anniversary, so we'll be kicking off the celebration this fall and having all kinds of events throughout the year. Keep watching here and at www.campwhitman.org for updates!

I thank my God every time I remember you. -Philippians 1:3

A Busy Last Week!

Everyone at lunch on Monday. 

Camp is busy this week with six different camps going on! We have Explorations and Born for the Wild camps happening in Pine, Wet 'n' Wild happening in Day Camp, and Explorers, Adventures, and Moonlight Mystery happening in Cedar, Oak, and Maple. We are super excited about all of the activities and adventures going on right now, and everyone seems to be having fun so far. Although... Moonlight Mystery seems to be having an issue with some missing sleep-out tarps. They're working on figuring out who took them so that they can enjoy this awesome camp tradition . 

Pine & D.R.I.V.E. staff get competitive...and a little bit messy!

This summer, Camp Whitman has been lucky enough to have two programs for people with disabilities working together onsite. Our overnight camps for people with developmental disabilities (known as "Pine" for the area of camp where the live) have consisted of several weeks of Explorations camps, in which campers are able to explore camp and try a little of everything, as well as some themed camps such as Water Fun and Born for the Wild.

We also have the D.R.I.V.E. program from Keuka College on site with us during the day. The group that comes to us from D.R.I.V.E. is able to experience some of the best parts of camp, such as canoeing and field games, combined with the opportunity to volunteer at camp and learn a lot while doing so.

The two groups have had a great time doing all kinds of activities together every morning. Two weeks ago, camp and D.R.I.V.E. staff members teamed up to provide some rainy day entertainment for the campers in the form of a pie scavenger hunt. Kier, Ben, and Ileya had to search through their whipped cream pies to find as many pieces of fruit as possible without using their hands. Their campers (and their co-counselors!) had a great time watching and cheering at this event, which is sure to become a favorite rainy-day tradition.

On your marks, get set...

Go!

Ileya appears to be winning!

Ultimate Action's Ultimate Camp Experience

Last week, high school campers in Ultimate Action had an epic week of sailing, kayaking, canoeing, leadership development, and other Camp Whitman classic activities. We had an awesome group of campers who were up for anything, and who were great friends with each other by the end of the week.

Some of the Ultimate Action campers with their counselors on Friday morning. 

Kayla driving the boat with campers tubing behind her. 

Culinary Camp's Creative Contribution

   This week we have several themed camps on site for our school age campers.  Indoor/Outdoor Culinary Camp has been busy trying new recipes and creating their own meals throughout the week.  They began the week by having a campfire stew challenge, that was extremely delicious and successful.  The camp was split into teams and required to pick their own herbs, spices, and ingredients for a stew.

    Today the campers presented the rest of the people on site with a dessert that they had made.  They created sugar cookies that were decorated to look like campfires.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their dessert and we thank the culinary campers once again for making our lunch extra special :)

Culinary Camp's Campfire cookies!

Campers passing out their dessert

Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Bike, Hike, and Games Camp

   Last week's Bike, Hike, and Games campers hit the ground running at the beginning of the week with an 11.5 mile bike ride on Monday to get used to the activities for the week to come.  Their off site trips included an overnight bike trip to Penn Yan and a hiking trip at Watkins Glen State Park.  With 8 middle school boy campers, our two female counselors had a week of non-stop adventures.  "Mama bears" Ileya and Alex were rewarded for their hard work on Friday morning when their campers woke early on Friday to make them breakfast in bed. A special Thanks to John Dehority for volunteering to work with the campers this week and make their week memorable.

Ileya and Rebecca sharing Ranch during a floating lunch.

Campers Banana Boating

Alex waking up for her Breakfast in Bed

Campers preparing Alex and Ileya's Breakfast