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The morning started off with a bit of rain and up here in paradise, rain doesn’t impede on our spirit or outlook on what kind of day we will have. Rain makes everything grow so down shifting from playing outside and running around is replaced with playing chess, checkers and cards inside. I walked into the Lodge this morning where groups of Freshman, Junior and Middy boys were playing together. There were tables of kids playing Jenga and the concentration was intense. There was so much coordination and teamwork as the group decided together which piece needed to be removed. They were inspecting the giant tower in front of them and each camper had a say in what is the best piece. In the end, the tower fell but together they built it right back up and started all over again. This may have been just a fun game they were playing but I see it as something so very different. These fortnite playing boys weren’t in their basement, secluded from the world around them only chatting with friends on line, they were sitting together deciding together which piece to go for. They were slow and deliberate and made a group decision together, face to face. They felt pure elation when the piece they decided on came out perfectly still allowing the tower to stand. And when that one piece they moved made their tower tumble, they all together rebuilt it and tried again. I often try to relay the connections that are made here and building Jenga towers couldn’t prove my point more perfectly. Together they can do absolutely anything.

Our Supers have embarked on their incredible trip to Vermont and Boston. Their day started out early as they boarded the buses and off they went to Vermont. First stop was to the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory and every camper loved touring this incredible facility and of course made their every own Teddy Bears. It may be years since these kids played with stuffed animals but not a single camper didn’t have the best time making their very own Teddy Bear that they will forever cherish. Then it was off to a Dakin farm where our kids got to sample the local syrups and cheeses. They enjoyed what Vermont has to offer. To top off a perfect Day 1, our campers ended their night with a tour at Ben & Jerry’s Original Ice Cream Factory. Teddy Bears and Ice Cream, an absolute ideal day for our super Supers!!!

“Difficult Roads Often Lead to Beautiful Destinations” – anonymous

Inter Boys Softball – CAW 6 @ Westmont 4

Our GC’s are still wandering and are having a trip of a lifetime as they have just spent 4 incredible days in LA, then Vegas and then off to the Grand Canyon. To say these GC’s are literally having the trip of a lifetime is an understatement. It’s great to be a GC!

If you know Chenny, you know we LOVE to surprise our kids. We keep them on their toes and will always have fun things planned for them. With that said, it was time to surprise our incredible CIT’s with a mystery trip. These kids have worked so hard providing support and friendship to our younger campers as they CIT each and every day. So as they have given so much this summer, it was our turn to give to them. They have been receiving hints and clues to an upcoming mystery trip and the suspense was driving them crazy. There was so much speculation but in the end this was a very well kept secret. They had NO IDEA and we loved it. Only given 30 minutes to get ready, they boarded coach buses and off they went without a clue to where they were headed. The excitement was palpable and after a long luxurious, they ended at MetLife Stadium to see Taylor Swift in concert. They had the absolute best time and this very special group of kids who has spent the past 7/8 summers together, are ending their Chenny camper career with a bang. So much love this group has for one another and we couldn’t be happier to provide a night they wont forget. Seeing a concert with your brother sand sisters, singing in unison – there is just nothing like it. Lucky kids!!

For our Cherokee and Mohican campers , the night was spent with Wet and Wacky Games. Power House Studios came to play and I’m talking pie in the face kind of play. These games made you gut laugh and the kids had an absolute ball tonight. Rain or shine, Chenny kids just know how to have fun. It was a great day followed by an incredible night. Nothing beats living up here all summer long.

Chenny out.

 

“We Are Not a Team Because We Work Together. We Are a Team Because We Respect, Trust and Care for Each Other.” – Steve Young

Junior/Middy/Inter Girls LAX – CAW 3 vs. Wayne 10

Super Girls  Softball – CAW 6 @ Poyntelle – CAW WINS CHAMPIONSHIP!

Super Girls Tennis – CAW 0 @ Starlight 5

Middy Boys Basketball – CAW 14 vs. Wayne 28

Seniors Boys tennis – CAW 0 vs. Wayne 5

It was time again to name our Campers of the Week and  we are proud to highlight just how amazing these campers are and the joy they bring to camp. We thank them for their outstanding contribution day in and day out. They make a difference here and our camp is better for having kids like this at Chenny!

Freshman – Eve Lindenauer & Brady Kotler

Juniors – Maya Knobloch & Alex Minkoff

Middies – Sydney Mallah & Max Eber

Inters – Jordan Fersko & Alec Glazer

Collegiates – Sydney Garfield & Brett Davner

Seniors – Jillian Oresky & Scott Steinberg

Supers – Lexi Tave & Alex Levine

CIT’s – Lily Glickman & Kobe Koren

Tonight was Chenny Globes, our annual awards show and the kids absolutely love it. Everyone got dressed up for Chenny’s big Award Show. There is a red carpet, Paparazzi and of course the Globes. This is a real deal Hollywood-esque celebrity show. Tonight’s Globes goes to:

Dynamic Duo – Jerry Kessler & Josh Shiffman / Gracie Frankle & Jesse Jaffe

Most Likely To Star in a Marvel Movie – Derek Herzog & Livia Sherman

Most Likely To Invent Time Travel – Jason Kimelman & Sara Agsteribe

Most Likely to be in the Olympics – Mike Hellerman & Jordyn Fersko

Best Camp Spirit – Jake Seilback & Addy Goldstein

Best Siblings – Nick & Jack Einzig / Lyla, Landon & Justin Miller

Most Likely to Host their Own Talk Show – Wesley Schnell & Dylan & Maddy Grabow

Most Likely to Decalre World Peace – Cole Weiss & Jolie Weiss

Most Likely to be a Voice Actor in a Pixar Movie – Jordan Shamus & Hailey Nydish

Celebrity Look-a-Like – Noah Simon & Jack Gleeson / Zoe Heyman & Zoey Deschanel

To feel the energy and spirit we had in Shields Hall tonight was to be present for something spectacular. Nights like tonight are summer standouts and define why we are a family here. We cheer for one another, we clap for each other and we all celebrate when our friends are nominated and win these awesome awards. The power of this place can take your breath away and it can move mountains. And the winners are…..Chenny Kids.

Chenny out.

We brought in an Acapella group  today that spent the entire day running workshops with our campers. You could hear singing all throughout camp today in every corner. It was groups of campers harmonizing with one another and it was musically beautiful. So many campers were feeling the beat and today camp was rocking. Kinda felt like a movie set with our singing kids. We bee bopped and sang our hearts out today. Even the kids that were reluctant to sing, ended the session singing their hearts out. It was our Chenny Musicale kind of day!

“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” —Dalai Lama

Girls  Gymnastic Competition @ Startlight – Emily Weprin 1st on Bars and 4th Overall Upper Camp. Remi Zaben 2nd on Vault, Ava Derose 2nd on Floor, Skye Housenbold 1st on Beam and 4th overall Lower camp.

Middy Girls Soccer – CAW 1 vs Island Lake 4

Super Girls Basketball – CAW 32 @ Tioga 23

Super Girls Soccer – CAW 3 @ Island Lake 1 – Chenny Headed to Chamionship

Freshman/Junior/Middy Boys LAX Tourney @ Wayne – Chenny gets defeated in Semis

Inter Boys Baseball – CAW 0 vs. Wayne 14

Senior Boys Basketball – CAW 58 vs Morasha 76

Super Boys Baseball – CAW 11 vs. Island Lake 0

Senior/Super Boys Hockey – CAW 8 vs. Lavi 9

Since our day was devoted to learning how to singing acapella, our night was watching this amazing acapella group put on quite a show for us. They dazzled us with their extraordinary talents and won the crowd over with their voices. We danced and sang along with this incredible group tonight. The day was Pitch Perfect!

When I try and capture what I will write about in my daily blog, I typically observe our campers and am able to describe to you at home what has happened here at camp that day but today I was compelled to play so I jumped right in. There was a group of boys sitting playing cards around the apple tree and I just had to join. They taught me a few card games I have never heard of. These 4 boys and I had the absolute best time playing card games for 30 minutes. There was not a care in the world for those 30 minutes. As they each explained the games to me, I kinda felt like a camper and sat indian style playing card games around the apple tree. No distractions , no ringing phones or buzzing devices and I even turned off my walkie talkie for that half hour. I haven’t sat and played cards for a very long time and as my point of view is normally of our campers and the great benefits that occur from them being here today that benefit was happening to me. If I learned one thing from those 4 boys who taught me a few new cool card games it is to put those devices down, step away from your computers and play. The world didn’t end and all was ok without my immediate attention for those 30 glorious minutes. I was totally engaged for those 30 minutes and had a blast. These kids may really be onto something. So I have made a commitment when life returns to normal as of August 11th, I will carve out 30 minutes to sit indian style with my girls, unplug and play some card games.

“My Coach Said I Run Like A Girl And I Said If He Ran A Little Faster He Could Too.” – Mia Hamm

Freshman/Junior Girls Basket Ball – CAW 4 vs. Westmont 6

Inter Girls Basketball – CAW 27 vs. Westmont 24 – Chenny headed to Championship

Collegiate Girls Soccer – CAW 2 @ Wayne 1 0 Chenny headed to Championship

Senior/Super Girls Volleyball @Westmont – CAW came in 2nd Place

Senior Girls Tennis – CAW 0 vs. Weequahic 5

Middy Boys Baseball – CAW 1 vs. Wayne 0

Inter and below Boys Hockey Tournament @ Lokanda – Chenny came in 4th Place

Senior/Super Boys Softball – CAW 8 @ Perlman 1

Tonight’s show was AWESOME!!!! Totally and completely incredible. It was the first show of Head Staff Lip Sync Battle and they brought it. Our staff  brought the talent and the kids went baazerrrrk after each and every act. Shields Hall was an explosion of energy and insane talent. I highly suggest you watch the video when it airs on our site. It’s worth a view. Your kids had the best time tonight at evening activity and cannot wait till round 2.

Chenny out.

 

 

I sat in center camp today and watched your kids playing and was thinking of you, their families at home, wondering if the pictures and video truly relay how easy life is up here. There were kids swinging on swings and some were having a catch and most were in conversation with one another and all I kept think was how at ease our kids are here. The music was playing, the sun was shining and everyone was at ease and so happy. There is no traffic to get frustrated over, no homework to focus on, no daily stresses to occupy our minds and no concept of time to worry how late we may be to an appointment. The word stressless is a perfect way to describe the feeling I felt as I watched your kids play.  It actually took my breath away as I felt incredibly grateful  that our kids get to detox from the stresses of their real world and live like this in this environment for another 3 1/2 weeks.

“Whether You Think You Can Or Think You Can’t, You’re Right.” – Henry Ford

Collegiate Girls Basketball – CAW 32 @ Lohikan 5

Senior Girls Basketball – CAW 41 @ Shoshanim 12

Super & CIT Mixed Doubles Tournament @ Trails End – Laine Bishop & Jake Atlas advance to Semi-Finals

Middy Boys Tennis – CAW 0 vs. Starlight 5

Inter Boys Soccer – CAW 7 vs. Wayne 2

Collegiate Boys Hockey – CAW 3 vs. Lavi 6

Super Boys Volleyball Tournament at Towanda – CAW wins First Place

Senior/Super/CIT Mixed Doubles Tennis Tournament @ Tyler Hill – CAW lost in second round

The excitement around Chenny Jam is undeniable. It is Boys Side vs. Girls Side – It is Pink vs. Black – It is energy and it is a camp favorite. It is everything the NBA ALl-Star offers but just here in our backyard. There are prizes, halftime dance shows, trick shots and dunks. It is a night that stands out as a summer favorite and not a camper at tonight’s game had anything but an INCREDIBLE time. One of those nights that you can’t sit down because standing and dancing makes way more sense. The fun was over the top and then of course there was the game. It was all staff playing and all camp cheering. Tonight’s Win went to GIRLS SIDE!!! Everyone in Pink went nuts but with all the prizes and T-shirts thrown out the crowd, everyone was a winner. Oh What a Night!!! Who needs Lebron or KD? We sure don’t.

Chenny out.

Rain was in the forecast today so we had to go to plan B for our fabulous trip day today. That meant we all had to be the river and go with the new plans and that is exactly what our kids did. No tears, no disappointment just plan B. I heard a Mohican camper say to his buddy, “Camel Beach would have been fun but bowling and roller skating sounds pretty cool too.” That is the essence of being the river. I often ask our kids to be the river and not the rock. Rocks are stuck in one place and they can only see what is right around them but when you are the river you flow with the current and get too see so much more on your journey and that is exactly what our kids did. The original plan for our kids was to be outside at amusement parks and water parks but the rain had a different plan for us and it turned out to be a perfect day for all. Being the river is way more fun than being the rock.

Cherokee kids (Freshman, Junior and Middies) spent their morning bowling at the lanes and had a ball. Then it was off to the theater to grab a summer blockbuster. Half the kids saw Incredibles 2 while the other half enjoyed Hotel Transylvania 3. The kids rolled back into camp at dinner time and had a pizza party waiting for them. It was a great day and an incredible night for our youngest campers here at Chenny.

Mohican kids (Inters & Collegiates) also spent their morning at a bowling alley and they too had a great morning. Bowling, arcade games and lunch at the alley was a perfect morning for our Mohican kids. After they were done with bowling it was off to Skate Escape for some old school roller skating and they LOVED it. When the kids got back to camp that is all they could talk about. They absolutely loved rollerskating. For so many of them it was the first time they ever roller skated and it was the highlight of their day. It was all smiles when they rolled back into camp as they spent an incredible day bowling and skating. Lucky kids!

Navajo had a ball at Kalahari – the country’s largest indoor waterpark. It was swooshing down the Barrel Balloon or speeding through the Anaconda slide our kids had a ball at the park today. Our oldest campers enjoyed an entire day at Kalhari but the joy is was being with each other and spending a summer day with good friends.

So the day wasn’t what they had originally planned but our campers proved that they were all the River today and sometimes Plan B’s are pretty darn awesome!!

Chenny out.

When you think of sports and competition at home it tends to be cut throat and intense. There are endless hours of practice, upset feelings when our kids don’t make the travel team and stress the players feel when they hear the parents an onlookers coach them from the sidelines. It couldn’t be more opposite here. There is competition yes but the entire focus on playing sports at camp is all about the joy of playing, nothing more nothing less. When you think about our kids playing a sport just for the joy of playing, it makes sense and it can inspire them rather than deflate them. Another magical moment that I witnessed today was when our girls swim team arrived back at camp after their meet at Camp Starlight. The vans rolled through our gates and I heard singing, loud singing coming from inside the van. The van door opened and out rolled a group of kids laughing and singing at the top of their lungs. The smiles on their faces told their story. I asked how their swim meet went and every single one of them replied, “It was AWESOME” and “We had so much Fun!!” Then one of them told me how they came in last place and how much fun they had. These girls got it. They all loved to swim and that is why the day was incredible. They loved to swim regardless of a win or a loss, they just loved to swim. There were no coaches yelling, no disappointed faces for their defeat, no feelings of loss and agony. Each one of the girls couldn’t tell me fast enough how much fun they had. What a gift. What a perspective. What a lesson for all of us who may push too hard or expect too much from our kids who just want to love playing their sport. Reality is that the odds they will earn a living from playing professional sports is pretty low but odds are if done right, sports can inspire our kids and make them feel good about themselves. Sport can teach us how to be a good teammate and how to loose with dignity and grace. The lessons they will take with them wherever they go. I wish you all could have seen that van roll in with a bunch of kids laughing and singing after they came in last place.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Freshman – CIT Girls Swim Meet @ Starlight – CAW took 5th Place

Collegiate Girls Soccer – CAW 7 vs. Tioga 2

Super Girls Basketball Tournament @ Tyler Hill  – Game 1 CAW 11 vs. Westmont 32 / Game 2 CAW 26 vs. Seneca Lake 25 / Game 3 CAW 15 vs. Lokanda 23

Middy Boys Hockey – CAW 3 @ Starlight 5

Middy Boys Basketball – CAW 10 @ Tioga 7

Senior Boys Soccer – CAW 10 @ Perlman 2 – CAW heading to Championship

Senior/Super Boys Softball – CAW 1 @ Seneca Lake 0

GC/CIT Boys Baseball – CAW 7 @ Westmont 1 – CAW heading to Championship

Tonight’s evening activity was a show stopper. It was our GC  girls vs. our CIT’s playing in a rough and tumble game of Powder Puff football. CIT’s were dressed in all black and GC’s sported their white attire. The boys in each division were the cheerleaders and they got the crowd on their feet. It was a great night of football and we all had a fantastic time outside under the lights. The competition was fun and the game ended in a 21-21 tie. There were great plays, interceptions, long passes and great defense. The kids had a ball watching the girls on the grid iron. It was Monday night football here at Chenny and everyone loved it!  Summer nights like these will stay in our minds forever if either you played in the game or watched on the sidelines.  Just another incredible night in summer ’18.

 

What an absolutely perfect Visiting Day we had with all of you here yesterday. It was a spectacular day and we love showing off our summer home but today it was back to camp and everyone was ready to play. The day here was picture perfect. As I was walking through camp today, I headed down to the lake and watched your kids play. They were jumping off the inflatables in the water park, getting blobbed off the water trampoline and running to tubing with an excitement they just couldn’t contain. Three darling girl campers right in front of my were making a sand castle together and they saw a CIT boy trying to get his camper into the lake for some fun. This young boy wasn’t having it and just didn’t want to go into the lake and was having a hard moment. The CIT tried everything and nothing seemed to help except for when these 3 little darlings came to the rescue. They too saw what was happening and said to both boys, “Come play with us, we would love your help building a giant sand castle.” So the 3 now turned into a 5 and this group was brought together because 3 little girls reached out their hand and opened their circle to a few new friends. I turned off my walkie, sat back and watched what was right in front of me. This was the magic of kids being open to one another and offering friendship even in the form of building a sand castle. All they did was see someone who needed an offer to join them and he jumped in. That hard moment passed for that young camper, the CIT joined him where his camper  wanted to be and those 3 cutie pies probably have no idea how their openness to include others made someone else feel really great.

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.― Michael Jordan

Inter Girls Tennis  – CAW 3 vs. Wayne 2 – CAW heads to Championship Game

Senior Girls Soccer Girls Soccer – CAW 2 vs. Starlight 3

Collegiate Boys Softball – CAW 2 vs. Westmont 3

Senior Boys Basketball – CAW 34 vs. Westmont 28

GC/CIT Boys Soccer Tournament @ Equinunk – Game 1 CAW 4 vs. Equinunk – Game 2 CAW 1 vs. Wayne 0 – Game 3 CAW 4 vs. Island Lake 0 – CAW advances to Final and lost but had the BEST Time at this tourney!

GC/CIT Boys Hockey @ CAW 5 @ Starlight 6

The last four weeks are in front of us and we aren’t wasting a moment. GC’s are getting ready to wander. The Supers are preparing for their Vermont/Boston adventure and the Seniors just cant wait for their overnight to Hershey It’s great to be a Chenny kid!!!!! The best part camp are these last 4 weeks. Lets get at it!!

Chenny out.

 

 

I think it is safe to say that our new Visiting Day process was a HUGE SUCCESS! We planned this day months ago and hoped it would work this seamlessly and it did. We can’t fully explain how happy we were to see parents, grandparents and other family members that joined you today all enter camp together! We wanted you to enjoy that moment as a family of getting your campers together and that is exactly what we saw happening today. The ease and joy of the morning was just beautiful and set the tone for the day. We watched you run to your children and hold them so tight. There is nothing like that first hug after not seeing your kids for three weeks. They needed it as much as you did. Today was all about Family and it was about making it as easy and stressless as possible and we hope we provided that experience for you and your family.

When you handed over your children to us just 3 weeks ago, our goal was to provide a community that inspires them, a place that protects them and experiences that make them better people. Today a father of a camper approached me and Jon and was in tears as he was trying to describe his emotions from the day. Today, he saw his son in a way that he never had. Something had been unlocked and his son was confident, secure, outgoing and profoundly happy here. He hadn’t seen this kind freedom from his son before and after a pretty tough year at school, he watched his boy in complete and total joy surrounded by friends – something that didn’t come so easily at home. He couldn’t even find the words but we knew what he wanted to say. He hugged us and said that there was no greater gift then seeing his child like this. What a gift he gave us today as he shared his thoughts. This was just one of so many moments that made our Visiting Day exceptional. Watching you enjoy your kids today and seeing how happy they are here make us smile from the inside out. We get this every day all summer long and today you got to see how we live inside these gates.

We hope your Visiting Day was outstanding and was exactly what you needed. We have four more weeks of this amazing place and we plan to make each day better than the next. Thank you for your love, support and appreciation for how we take care of your babies. Your children make us better people and we are so grateful for each and every single one of them. VisitingDay 2018 is in the books and will go down as one of the best!!

Life is Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda!

Chennu out

Visiting Day is in the air and we can’t wait. It has been exactly 3 weeks since you have seen, hugged and kissed your kids and tomorrow is the big day. There is not a person on camp that can’t feel the excitement of what is happening tomorrow. We spent the day getting camp ready for your arrival and it looks AMAZING. Campers and staff are just so excited to welcome you into our summer home. Welcome posters are up and ready, bunks are cleaned and cubbies are organized. Now all we need is you!!!!

“It’s Not the Team with The Best Payers that Win, It’s the Players with the Best Team that WINS!!!”…Vince Lombardi

Freshman/Junior Girls Basketball  – CAW 20 vs. Starlight 8 / Chenny advances to Championship

Super Girls Softball – CAW 4 @ Starlight 3 / Chenny advances to Championship

GC/CIT Girls Tennis – CAW 4 @ Tioga 1 – Chenny advances to Championship

Inter Boys Hockey – CAW 0 @ Lavi 19

Inter Boys Basketball – CAW 18 vs. Wayne 52

Senior Boys Baseball – CAW 1 vs. Wayne 5

Super Boys Soccer  – CAW 0 vs. Wayne 10

It’s soooo Cool to be Kind and the smiles on your kids faces when we announced their names tonight at lineup is priceless. When your children are recognized for being kind, there is just no bigger compliment. Bring kind  is the best human trait to posses and we know how proud you must be of your kids who are being honored for their kindness. Congratulations to our Kind Kids: Livia Sherman, Annie Isaacson, Ashleigh Brett, Izzy Aranoff, Lexi Tave, Sarah Fernbach, Sydney Kesselman, Lindsay Gelfman, Alex Bass, Brianna Deutsch, Nikki Heifler, Beth Shields, Lila Klarsfeld, Sydney Garfield, Sam Tavel, Bennett Votano, Ben Kule, Jake Marin, Jordan Morris, Jake Fersko, and Ian Sherman.

Not only do we have Kind Kids here, we are excited to announce our Campers of the Week. Wow do we have amazing kids here. Congratulations to some pretty Awesome kids!! To be named Camper of the Week is pretty special here and we are proud of these outstanding kids.

Freshmen – Maddy Klatsky & Nick Einzig

Juniors – Maya Porat & Noah Simon

Middies – Kayla Denson & Charlie Horton

Inters – Sammy Selden & Zachary Gelfman

Collegiates – Samara Goldman & Brett Hafkin

Seniors – Jessica Benisch & Jagger Morgan

Supers – Lexi Gruberger & Jed Katz

GC’s – Alexis Siegel & Parker Moritz

CIT’s – Emily Sobel & Emery Cohen

Camp is quiet now and it’s hard to imagine that in just a handful of hours, our home will be even more full of love. We can’t wait to see you hug your kids tomorrow. Enjoy every minute of your day tomorrow. Here is to a great Visiting Day Everyone!!!

Life is Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda!

Chenny Out.