Fall 2024 Newsletter

Another Successful Year, Gail Truax, Camp Director

Everything at Camp Victory is returning to normal after two years of COVID shutdowns and two years growing back our attendance numbers. April and May weekends found Camp Victory hosting our partner camps from Easter Seals: Club Lily and Project Beacon. Camp Emerge ended the busy Spring season with their Memorial Day weekend camp, bringing in our busy summer schedule.

The summer provided talent-shows, tie-dying, wall-climbing, pool-splashing, pudding-eating, pie-devouring, paddle-boating, fish-catching, bike-riding, smores-making, game-playing and mystery-solving. Nothing is impossible at Camp Victory!

Many camps appropriately chose “The Olympics” as their theme this summer. “The Olympics” provided hours of fun, creative competitions. One evening, while pedaling his bike through Millville, Joe Snedeker took the time to visit Camp Spifida! “Go Joe” made a lot of Spifida campers very happy!

Camp Little People are lovers of our Nature Center animals. Whenever the nature center was open, you could find these campers snuggling with Coconut and Blaze, Camp Victory’s lovable guinea pigs. All day CLP campers were on scooters and bikes traveling to their favorite places like the archery station and the fishing pond.

Our dining hall facility frequently transforms into storybook adventures and faraway places. Ahoy maties, Camp Dost plundered the room and filled it with a wooden ship, swashbuckling pirates and a treasure chest of booty. There were no landlubbers present at Camp Dost! A second crew of pirates landed at Camp Victory when JRA sailors dropped anchor and greeted each other with a Yo-Ho-Ho! Morale was high as the captains encouraged singing and dancing!

Camp Energy exercised their way through the week with a fun color run and spirited games of pickleball. This week, campers learned to try new foods and healthy ways of living.

“KDKC has Soul” and continues to educate their campers on diabetes care. Their week was filled with crazy hats, crazy socks and color wars. The dining hall became a spectrum of brightness when each cabin family proudly wore their cabin color!

“Under the Sea” was Camp Echo’s theme as they paddled the boats, swam like dolphins and fished like pirates! Folks Butterfly Farm visited Camp Echo and delivered an amazing lesson on butterflies! Folks set up a large netted tent which allowed campers to enter a butterfly world where butterflies landed all around and fed from campers’ hands. A beautiful experience!

Camp Hero may be a quieter camp but they know how to include everyone. Their sign language world is very fascinating. Camp Hero wins the award this year for having the camper that traveled the farthest to attend Camp Victory. A young girl from Japan spent the week here and is striving to learn ASL. How brave is she!

Camp Kydnie traveled through time during their week of camp. The weather did not cooperate with their time warp tunnel but Camp Kydnie always makes the best of it. They enjoyed each day by utilizing every area of Camp Victory. From the challenge course to the amazing treehouse, Kydnie campers were smiling! They turned the dining hall into a glow light dance party on their final night.

Our final weeklong camp for the summer was Camp Discovery. These campers loved tie dying day, painting ceramics, bike riding and taking an all- camp annual trip to Knoebels!

Through all the fun and craziness, the one thread weaving each of these partner camp groups together, is the feeling of belonging. Our campers come to Camp Victory to be a part of a community where they are comfortable, accepted, safe and loved. This would not be possible without YOU! Thank YOU for helping Camp Victory flourish and for enhancing the lives of thousands of campers from many areas of the world!

Dedication of the Jamie Huntley Welcome Center

On September 8th, The Jamie Huntley Welcome Center debuted during a ribbon cutting ceremony. Jamie Huntley, who recently retired in April was given the well-deserved honor after many years of hard work, love, and commitment to Camp Victory and all of our special campers. As Karl Girton, Emeritus Board Member, said during his presentation, “it is only fitting that the building that welcomes all of our wonderful guests be named after someone that helped Camp Victory become the amazing place that it is”. Please join us in thanking Jamie for all that she did for Camp Victory over the years and we hope that she continues to have a relaxing retirement spending much time with her family and friends.

The Tradition Continues

Camp Victory is very pleased to introduce a new group of pie ladies! Tammy Kessler, Victoria Mull and Tracy McVicker organized, prepared and served an amazing variety of delicious pies every Wednesday evening to over 1,000 campers this 2024 camping season! Thank you, ladies, for keeping Wednesday nights everyone’s favorite meal!

GEEC Program Success

The Greenwood Environmental Education Program (GEEC) at Camp Victory celebrated its 18th successful year, continuing to provide a unique environmental education experience to local students. This year, 1065 students from Shamokin, Berwick, Milton, Central Columbia, Benton, Millville, Bloomsburg, and Danville school districts participated in the program, immersing themselves in outdoor activities that brought their classroom lessons to life.

The GEEC program, held in May, focused on three environmental main study areas: water testing, pond study, and mapping and orienteering. Additional activities included birdwatching, owl pellet dissection, snake art, climbing wall, ziplining, and archery. Students rotated through learning stations, each lasting 40-50 minutes, ensuring a diverse and enriching experience.

Students engaged in water testing, learning about pH levels, nitrates, dissolved oxygen, and other water quality factors. They collected creek samples and conducted tests, gaining environmental science insights. At the pond, they identified macroinvertebrates and studied the food chain, using nets to capture critters and understand aquatic life. In mapping and orienteering, students learned to use topographic maps and compasses, enhancing navigation skills and discovering deer antlers, turkey feathers, and animal tracks around camp.

The program’s success is attributed to the dedicated efforts of experienced teachers and nature enthusiasts who share their passion for the environment with curious young minds.

“The Greenwood Environmental Education Program is a unique opportunity for students to experience the wonders of nature firsthand,” said Camp Director Gail Truax. “Watching our GEEC teachers ignite a passion for the environment in these children is truly inspiring. It's wonderful to see kids getting to explore and have a sense of adventure as they dig in the pond and explore the creek, making real-world learning.”

Over the past 18 years, the GEEC program has received outstanding reports from students and teachers alike, highlighting its impact on environmental education in the community. The program’s success is made possible through the generous supports contributing through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program.

If you are interested in working as a Nature Center Intern or GEEC Program teacher, contact Gail Truax, Camp Director at campvictorygail@gmail.com.