leadership camps

After a couple weeks in hiatus, the WeHaKee directors return to share their thoughts in the Sunday Snippet .   We hope you will join us each week ~ perhaps this can be your virtual bungee cord, tugging at you from the shores of Hunter Lake!

Leading up to today's somber 10th anniversary of the horrible attacks in 2001, there has been quite a bit of reflection on that terrible day throughout broadcast, print and social media.   Much of it has been a reliving of the tragedies of the day, a diversity of reactions to what had happened along with an exploration of how these events changed the course of history in the United States and throughout the world.  

We're back after taking a couple of weeks to relax and relocate back to our administrative offices.   We're settled in now and ready to continue preparations for Summer 2012 ~ only 287 days to go!!

This morning we said our good-byes to our Mother/Daughter/Auntie campers as well as, with great sadness, to the remarkable WeHaKee staff of 2011.   It was bittersweet as we revealed in the wonderful community we had created, yet wallowed in it's heartbreaking and inevitable conclusion.   Although the summer camp season may now be behind us for 2011, we plan to continue our Sunday conversations about camp life and the community that is WeHaKee!

While our weeks of girls camp have come to an end, the Sunday Snippet continues as does camp with an eventful week ahead. Below, the directors discuss the excitement of the week (and rest of the year) to come!

It was a bitter sweet day last Friday as we said good-bye to our last group of wonderful girls and young women and wrapped up girls camp at WeHaKee for 2011. The fun, the excitement, the welcoming nature and the pure joy these campers shared was remarkable, so it was sad to see them depart. No doubt the bungee cords have begun to tug away at their hearts, reminding  them of their wonderful experiences! We also said good-bye to a number of our staff who are making their way home to attend school or return to their home countries.

WeHaKee campers are safe and sound after a powerful storm rolled through the area Tuesday. This morning, sunshine welcomed campers as they set out to participate in their last day of activities. Just as girls experienced this change in weather, they too experience change within. Below, a CIT reflects on the changes she has experienced throughout her camp years.

It's that time again– take a few minutes this sunny Sunday afternoon to hear what camp's Directors have to say about the great camp community already forming this session!

Session 3 has settled in nicely and the girls are flowing through camp enjoying Day 2 of their activities. It is always amazing to see how quickly the WeHaKee community comes together at the beginning of each session. And it's heartening to see the returning girls live the concept of 'All Are Welcome' by helping the new campers adjust and feel a strong sense of belonging right away. This welcoming nature is truly the core of WeHaKee's culture!

Okay, okay. So, it's not Sunday. But we've been having such a good time getting ready for our Showcase Day tomorrow! And rather than skipping a post from one of our directors, we're delivering the message today. Enough beating around the bush– here's a quick snippet from Bob!

Hot times are happening at WeHaKee with some of the hottest weather we've had in several years this week. But it hasn't overheated the spirits of our campers in the least! With full water bottles in hand, they have been enjoying the last couple days of their activities preparing for our Showcase Day on Tuesday when they get to share with the camp community all they have experienced these past two weeks.

Dinner was going smoothly—girls were enjoying their burgers, sharing the “great wonderful things” that happened throughout the day, and singing silly songs! Oh yeah, and there were aliens (really our JCs and CITs) in the Lodge! Aliens and girls were bonding over delicious chocolate ice cream when the Women In Black burst into the Lodge announcing their mission—to capture the aliens!

Lucky for the aliens and Camp WeHaKee, an energetic bunch of campers successfully kept the aliens out of danger and rid camp of the WIB!