Counselor Meatball had a blast at Winter Camp and is ready to come back to camp this summer!
See the other staff and shepherds here.
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Author Archive
4th of July Family Cookout
Each summer, as I talk with parents, the thing I hear most often is that parents wish they could come to camp. Well now you can! This year, come spend 4th of July at Bethany Birches with your child! If your camper is signed up for Core B (July 1-6) you are officially invited to join them for a special 4th of July Family Cookout! Come to camp and swim in the pond, jump on the Water Trampoline, enjoy some hamburgers, and attend a BBC Fireside all with your child! The day will end in the evening with a Sparkler Party!
Check out the general schedule below:
3:15 Parents Start Arriving, head down to Pond to play games, go boating, fishing, swimming, etc all with your child, their friends, and their counselor
4:55 BBC Jump Contest
5:15 4th of July Cookout!
6:30 Clean up and Change
7:30 Family Fireside
8:15 Sparkler Party
8:45 Parent Send Off (See you on Friday!!)
If your child is registered for a different session and you want to switch to Core B or add Core B as a second session, so you can join them on July 4th, just call the camp office: 802-672-5220
Want to come to camp but don’t have a child attending Core B? Check out Summer Family Fun Day on June 16th!
We hope to see you here!
Sharing About God’s Love
Franconia Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania partnered with BBC for the 5th winter in a row. For one weekend, their young adult group brought up a full volunteer staff of cooks, counselors, and shepherds. The counselors dedicated their whole weekend to engaging with campers, running fun events, and building community. The cooks brought up a large quantity of food that had been donated by their church. They served delicious meals like pancakes, lasagna, chili, and our famous baked oatmeal.
The whole group also worked together to lead our daily Fireside sessions. Their theme for the weekend was “Love”. Counselors shared at each session by talking about different things we love. Throughout the weekend campers worked to build small journals, each page containing a drawing based on the theme for different sessions. Night one we discussed the love of food so their pages contained plenty of hamburgers, french fries, pizza’s, etc. By the end of the weekend, kids had drawn pictures of objects, friends, and family members. To tie the whole weekend together kids learned about the love of God; a love that is similar to but greater than any of the other things drawn in their journals.
It’s always so awesome for me to see young adults willing to serve and love kids that many of them had never met before. It’s amazing to see their heart and passion for serving and is always such a blessing to the camp. We look forward to partnering with them again!
Dan “Chick” Laubach
The BBC Engine
Just the other week my father took me to the Deleware bay to fish for tautog. (Don’t ask me what tautog look like… because we didn’t catch any). Unfortunately, our trip was cut short because of a problem with his boat’s engine. We ended up going through three sets of spark plugs throughout the trip and finally decided to head home in fear of being stranded without any more spark plugs! Sitting in the car during our three-hour drive home I thought about how prepared we were for this trip (boat, rods, tackle, bait, etc) and yet the trip was derailed by a faulty engine.
I think summer camp is quite similar. All year long I work hard to prepare campers for an amazing week of camp. I plan fun games, create great schedules, research new activities, etc. And yet, without an “engine” all of that work is totally useless. At camp, our engine is our staff and volunteers: Counselors, cooks, maintenance, shepherds, program, and more. Without these people, camp doesn’t work.
I wanted to share with you some opportunities to be our “engine” this summer. Below is a list of available positions. All of these positions provide real opportunities to love campers, serve God, and grow in life experiences. If you know young adults who would benefit from a summer working at camp please share with them about BBC! This link is a great place to find more information about each of the available jobs.
We are also working to hire more assistant counselors than ever before! These positions provide older high school students a chance to grow, mature, learn about working with kids, and learn about God. It also makes a great statement on college applications!
Lastly, if you are looking for a way to serve this summer but are only able to work one week, please check out these volunteer opportunities: Shepherd, Nurse, Kitchen, or Maintenance. If you have any questions about these volunteer opportunities, please email Amber at amber@bethanybirches.org
“During my summer at Bethany Birches, I made close friends, I got to know myself better, and most importantly, I got to know God better.”
~ Scoop
Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you up on the hill this summer!
Dan “Chick” Laubach- Program Director
Awesome Friends
Give Camp for Christmas
We want to offer you an opportunity to share the gift of camp with your child, family, or friends. This is an opportunity for parents to give your child a week of summer camp or weekend of winter camp for Christmas. For you donors, you can give to the Kids to Camp fund in honor of a friend or family member. In both cases, you will get a nice card to give them. You could also purchase items from The Birches (camp store) as a Christmas gift!
For Parents: Your child is already planning to come to camp, so why not make a nice Christmas gift out of it? We’ll send you a card with their name and any other notes you’d like us to put in. Then all you have to do is slip it under the tree Christmas morning. Give camp here. Want to give a gift from our camp store as well? You can!
For Donors: Make a donation to the “Kids to Camp” fund in honor of a family member or loved one. We’ll send you a card that you can give to them Christmas morning describing the donation. Want to give a gift from The Birches (camp store) as well? You can!
We hope your friends and family enjoy their Christmas gifts!
Love, peace and joy to the world!
Chick and Tuna
Summer 2017 registration is open!!
Your child is going to love Summer 2017! There’s plenty of options for all age groups, more things to do at camp, and more choices to help him and her grow and develop emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually!
Exciting things for each age group:
More Options for Younger Campers
If your 9 year-old has experienced Launch and is now ready for a full week of camp sign them up for Core A! Core A is now for 9-12 year-olds to allow younger campers to experience “core” programming!
Discounted Rates for Day Camp Transportation
Day Camp will also continue for another year! This is a great alternative to summer day care, especially since your child will get to experience plenty of classic camp games and activities. Transportation is available from Woodstock for Day Campers and is offered using the typical tier pricing. Click here for pricing.
Three Core Weeks
Your 10-13 year old can come to one, two, or all three! These weeks are the “core” of our programming here at camp. Theme days. Crazy camp-wide activities. Mission Impossible. Whether it’s their first or fourth time at BBC they’re sure to enjoy it!
Wilderness Adventure for Middle School Campers
Expedition is a great option to help your child put down their phone or iPad and experience creation first hand. They will learn important skills like team building, and wilderness living all to prepare them for a three day, two-night backpacking trip! This trip will be led by our experienced staff who will help your camper learn to live minimally and enjoy nature (and walking with a heavy load… seriously).
Exciting Trips for High School Campers
Summit High offers three overnight trip options. Your child can choose the trip that most interests them. This year, we have: White Water Rafting, Bromley Areal Adventure, and Music and Movies at the Treehouses. More info here.
Register this week (by Friday November 18th) and your child will receive a free t-shirt and DVD of your child’s week at camp.
Most campers come summer after summer. If you’re new to Bethany Birches, this page may answer some of your questions. If it doesn’t, call me at 802-672-5220. We hope to see you and your family here at camp this summer.
Dan “Chick” Laubach
“I love everything about camp. This is a great place to learn, grow, love and make new friends.”- Morgan, a camper.
Summer 2017 Dates!
Many of you have been asking about Summer 2017 dates. We worked hard to put our schedule in order so we could get them to you. Put these on your calendar and plan now for summer camp!
The schedule is very similar to last year. Throughout the summer we will have three different weeks of “Core” for 9-13 year-olds. These weeks are the heart of Bethany Birches where we do classic and traditional BBC activities like Messy Monday, Wet and Wild Wednesday, Mud Pit, Plenty of Pond Time, and more! Campers are welcome to come to one, two, or all three of these weeks. And yes, we did adjust the aging of Core A to allow 9 year-olds to come to our Core program!
Summit weeks are for older campers who enjoy BBC but desire more free time, cooler games, and unique activities like Night Group Games! Summit High has trips and activities totally unique to that week, so stay tuned for more information on that!
If you’re a teen camper and you love camp why not consider the leadership development programs? They are the perfect way to get the inside track to being a counselor or staff member.
Summer ends with a week for the youngest campers. Launch is a great opportunity for your 6-10 year-olds to experience some classic BBC events and activities that have been specifically geared for their age. Is your child uncomfortable going overnight? Launch Day Camp! Perhaps they want to try overnight but for a short bit. Launch Half! The launch programs are a great introduction to any young camper.
We’ve also updated our website with these new dates. This is a great way to share about the upcoming summer with your friends!
Online Registration for Summer Camp will open Nov 11. In the meantime, check out information on Winter Camps coming up this February! Registration for winter is open right now!
We hope to see you up at camp this summer!
Dan “Chick” Laubach