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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

Get your free 50th anniversary tshirt: #BBCTshirtday

#BBCTshirtday is going to happen every Monday from now through Feb 8. As we get ready for winter and summer camps in 2016 we want to hear from you on social media. So next Monday get your BBC tshirt on and take a picture of yourself somewhere fun, or even better, you AND your friends, and post on Facebook. Tuesday morning, we will select our favorite one and mail you a FREE 50th anniversary t shirt. Just like the ones in this pic.

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #BBCTshirtDay and tag Bethany Birches Camp to get in the running.

Good luck!

Tuna

Summer Staff Preview: Benji is Back!

For the third straight summer Benji will be behind the camp camera! If you’ve seen any BBC Videos over the past 2 summers you know we are fortunate to have her back. Since last summer she’s spent a semester in LA, taken plenty of selfies, graduated from Gordon College and is still psyched to be back at camp. Read on for more details on why she’s glad to be here and why you should come join her!

“Rahn (aka Benji) is BACK for a third summer! I am SO excited for…everything! Building fires, playing games, swimming in the pond, eating baked oatmeal, hanging out with cabins, and making videos! Oh, and avoiding the mudpit 🙂 I’m also excited to learn more about God (God is everywhere here!), and share about God with all the campers. Speaking of campers…I am most excited for campers to get here!! Camp is waaaay more fun when you guys are here- three weeks can’t go by fast enough!”

Staff Sneak Peak: Introducing DAN as Interim Program Director

For the first time in a decade someone other than Cheeks will hold the role of BBC Program Director. While Cheeks is learning how to take care of a newborn, Dan will be leading the BBC Summer Program. Both people are excited for the summer ahead of them. Read on to find out more about Dan and why he’s excited to be at BBC this summer:

“The Lord’s hand was clear in guiding me to this place. After spending months looking for jobs at a camp, the Lord brought me on a trip from Pennsylvania to Virginia where I heard about this job in Vermont. I’ve been on site for just a few days now and have already fallen in love with the camp; the rustic atmosphere, my loving and godly co-workers, and of course the gaga pit! I’ve already sat down with Cheeks and done some major planning for this summer, and let me say, it’s going to be AWESOME! I’m so excited to present some amazing new games and activities that I’ve learned at my other camps, while bringing back some classic BBC camp games!”

Dan has a host of experience in camping. He spent the last 6+ summers working at camps and he grew up at camp. He recently graduated from Cairn University with a double major in Bible and Music Education. He’s been at BBC since Wednesday and already he’s seen most of camp, eaten at Ramunto’s and played games with Nanuk. COME JOIN US on the hill this summer to meet him in person and find out his camp name!

Dan Laubach as Interim PD for 2015

Summer Staff Preview: Frodo to Float

After being a camper (many summers), an intern (’11), an assistant counselor (’12) and the counselor of Partridge (’13) and taking a summer off (’14) Frodo is returning to try out a different staff position: Floating Counselor! Each camper will get to have Frodo as a counselor at some point during the week. Read on for why she’s glad to be back at BBC and why you should come too!

“Look out summer of 2015, this is going to be like one you’ve never seen! Who is ready for some crazy fun times up at BBC this summer? I know that I am! I am back on staff this summer and I can’t wait to share wonderfully fun times with friends new and old! It will be a grand time at camp this summer soaking in the sun, running around in the woods, singing praises to our precious Jesus (and silly songs too!), and who knows what crazy new adventures we will all be having together! I know I am looking forward to swimming in the pond and working in the garden (maybe we can even cook some of our camp-grown food!). More than anything else I am excited to get hugs from you all and spend a week- or two!- doing all sorts of fun things together!” – Frodo

Frodo on Staff ’13

Frodo as a camper!

Frodo commits to returning!

BBC Trivia in your Mailbox

You should have received this brochure in your mailbox. There are 2 errors in it! If you match the dates in the brochure to the website (bethanybirches.org/summer-camps) you’ll find it. The website is correct! FIRST PERSONS TO EMAIL THE ERRORS to camp@bethanybirches.org receives 10% off camp registration! Don’t feel like digging through to find the answer? SHARE THIS Blog POST on FB and get 5% off camp registrations!

We’re thankful to Kellyn “Benji” Boyden for creating such a beautiful brochure. Next year we’ll proofread more carefully!

Hope to see you this summer!!

TBT: Polar Bear Campers in the New Pavi

Impressive. Well Constructed. Beautiful. These are words people have used to describe the new pavi when look around the construction site. But the word we hear most is BIG. And it’s true. There is a lot of space in the new pavilion. Outside of renovating the kitchen, more (dry) space was one of the main motivators for a new pavi. And now we have A LOT OF SPACE. It’s easy for me to think of all the games, activities, etc campers and staff can play in that space. But that’s my job.

At Polar Bear camp in February I asked campers to consider what they might do in this space. Before they started making cardboard sleds they acted out activities that would take place in the new pavi. They had no trouble coming up with ideas. Look below to see a couple of the ideas they came up with.

I hope they’ll each come back and use the new space this summer.

Will you come too? (Bring a camper, volunteer, or come to the annual sunday service)

If you want a sneak peak of the new pavi before summer come on up to volunteer anytime between now and June!

-Cheeks.

Nye and Campers are ready to play 4 square in the new pavi!

Nye and Campers are ready to play 4 square on the porch of the new pavi!

Benji and campers are ready to sing prayer songs in the new pavi!

Ru and campers pretend to sing in front of the designated spot for the fireplace in the new pavi.

Ray’s campers are ready for fun!

Buoy and campers are ready to eat in the new pavi during inclement weather!

Summer Staff Preview: Romie Returns as 3Peat Counselor

They say the third time’s a charm. No doubt that will be true for Romie! Romie started as the counselor of Hummingbird in 2013. She returned to Hummingbird for a 2nd summer in 2014. She has a unique ability to listen and lead, sing and play and share God in a way that makes sense to each individual she interacts with. When I asked Romie if she’d consider returning for a 3rd summer I was delighted to hear her say, “Yes. I believe I’m not done learning at BBC.” Read on for more on what Romie is excited about and why you should join her this summer at BBC! (It’s very possible that if you join Romie this summer you may hear this as a song…)

“I’m excited for:

Salamanders, smiles,

New and old faces,

Giggles and mud piles,

And three-legged races!

Over-the-fire-cooking,

Great conversation,

Bird watching and looking,

And summer hydration!

Singing, swinging,

Loving and caring,

Gauntlet-ball flinging,

And being a bit daring.

But mostly I’m excited

To simply see YOU!

Because camp is the people,

(And it’s the place too).

Romie and Campers

Romie’s Staff Photo

Romie Commits to Summer 2015

Romie is one with the earth

Romie FacePaints at ’14 Discoverer Carnival

Romie in the Mud Pit

Be Thankful Beyond Thanksgiving

November is a time when we remember to be thankful – in between stuffing ourselves with a delicious feast and watching football! What would it look like to be thankful each day? Ask anyone who has been to camp and they would probably agree that being at Bethany Birches Camp makes it a little easier to be thankful. The atmosphere surrounding camp makes it impossible to ignore our miraculous God.

Around seven years ago I was introduced to camp. I went to visit a staff member (who later became my sister-in-law) and went back the following year to become a counselor. I spent eight weeks in the mountains in Vermont. Every week presented different challenges but looking back the lessons and blessings that I experienced will last a lifetime. I am so thankful for every moment I spend at BBC!

Bethany Birches gives me the opportunity to be myself and to teach campers about Jesus. God takes our efforts and our abilities and multiplies them more than we can ever imagine. When it’s time to leave camp it feels like a part of me never leaves, and I always try to take a little bit of camp with me.

If you have never experienced BBC I strongly encourage you to find a way to help out. Everyone is welcome at camp, all have a talent, skill, or ability that can be used to further the Kingdom of God.

As you enjoying thanksgiving allow me to leave you with this passage: Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For The Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100: 4,5

Finn (aka Brent Gehman)