Bring the Whole Family To Camp Anokijig!

Camp Anokijig's 2009 Summer Camping Season has ended, but Anokijig's 2009 Camping Season is far from over! If your child is still raving about their experience at Anokijig this summer and begging for more, there are still plenty of chances to come back in 2009.

Camp Anokijig is offering several family camping weekends this year and there's still space available in all of them. Family Camping weekends allows families to do all the fun stuff that the Anokijig summer campers did all summer long, from horseback riding to archery and all the cool boats at the waterfront. There are also some special family activities on these weekends that are not available during summer camp, like pumpkin carving contests and hayrides.

Our August Getaway Weekend runs from the evening of the 28th through the 30th and we have a couple of rooms available in the Health Lodge, one of the Thunderbird bunkhouses and several tents left. Our Labor Day weekend is nearly full, with only one room (two people) available in the Health Lodge and Fall Colors is also close to being full with only platform tents remaining.

These weekends are all great opportunities for families to enjoy Anokijig together, without the hassles of packing up a tent and cooking meals over an open fire. Your accomodations will be waiting for you and all your meals are included. Best of all, the price is more affordable than you might realize.

An average family of four can enjoy our Fall Colors weekend for about $325, which includes two nights stay, five all-you-can-eat meals in Western Lodge and unlimited access to all of our program areas (horseback rides and some arts & crafts projects do have additional fees). As always, children under four years of age are always free on all of our family weekends.

If you would like more information on our Family Weekends, please visit this link- http://anokijig.com/09family.htm

Don't delay though, because space is limited and it's filling up fast!

Thank You Johnson Controls!

Did you know Camp Anokijig benefits from over 50,000 volunteer hours each year? That staggering number happens for several reasons. We have an outstanding core group of adult volunteers, who seem to spend nearly every free moment they have at Anokijig. We also have a fantastic group of junior staff, many of whom volunteer countless weekends at Anokijig in the Spring and Fall months.

Another group of people that help us tremendously are companies and service organizations, who organize work days at Anokijig. Today, ten employees and executives from Johnson Controls and their Optima Batteries Division spent the day doing various work projects at Anokijig.


The weather didn't look good in the morning, but this group showed up early, worked hard and stayed late. Our staff is used to the rigors of working at Anokijig and they don't impress easily, but they were surprised at the effort put forth by the folks from JCI.

This was Johnson Control's first work day at Anokijig and sometimes we schedule easier tasks for first-time groups, but that wasn't the case today. In the morning, half the group cleaned saddles down at the corral, while the other group split logs down by the supply shed.


After lunch, the group enjoyed a tour around Little Elkhart on the Allegheney, before returning to work. The first order of business was upgrading all of the batteries in our fleet of vehicles to Optimas.


As that task finished up, one group headed out to tear out old fence line, while the other made much-needed repairs to our horse shelters. We also had folks doing filing for us in the office, which will make Carol very happy when she returns from her vacation next week.


Volunteer work like this is the lifeblood of Anokijig and its what keeps us accessible and affordable for so many children and families. Thank you Johnson Controls and Optima Batteries for all your hard work and generosity!

Are You LinkedIn to Anokijig?

It's amazing to think of how we gathered information just 20 years ago. The public library, encyclopedias and word of mouth were common sources of information that many Americans used to rely on. The emergence of the Internet has changed all of that.

As the Internet continues to grow and evolve, new uses emerge. One site growing in popularity is LinkedIn.com. This site allows users to post their resume online and connect with other people, whom they have worked with in some capacity. If MySpace is the club and Facebook is the backyard, LinkedIn is the boardroom.

Networking groups have emerged on LinkedIn and unlike social networking sites, these groups generally focus on professional or educational-based networks. Camp Anokijig Staff and Alumni both have the opportunity to join LinkedIn groups, by searching LinkedIn's groups for "Anokijig."

If you are an Anokijig Staff alumni (either paid or volunteer) or a former camper in good standing, we welcome you to join our groups. If you have a job opening at your company and you're looking for the kind of people that Anokijig produces, these groups would be a good place to start- http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory?results=&sik=1250804837421&pplSearchOrigin=GLHD&keywords=anokijig

Thank You Anokijig Campers!

The sun has now set on another fantastic summer camp season at Anokijig. In typical Anokijig fashion, thousands of children had the time of their lives, with lasting memories that will stretch well beyond the upcoming winter months.

As in years past, Anokijig welcomed campers this year from all corners of the world, including Singapore, Russia, Spain and Germany. We also hosted campers from 24 different states, but more than 90% of our campers still come from Wisconsin and Northern Illinois.

One trend that did change dramatically from 2008, was the number of campers who received campership assistance. Since 1926, Camp Anokijig has never denied a child the opportunity to go camping on the shores of Little Elkhart, due to a lack of financial resources. In 2009, 240 campers received more than $100,000 worth of assistance.

While it is amazing to think of the incredible fun and personal growth these children experienced during their time at Anokijig, it's even more impressive to think of the generosity of our donors and supporters, that made this all possible. Without your help and support, many of these children simply would not have been able to come to Anokijig.

We say it often, but maybe not often enough- For many campers who visit Anokijig, the experience is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Their first campfire, their first night away from home, their first fish caught, their first night away from their parents, their first horseback ride and the list goes on. It may be hard for some people to believe, but we meet campers every year, who have never swam in water without chlorine, before visiting Anokijig!

A big "RIC TIC" also needs to go out to our hard-working staff, dedicated volunteers and all the other donors and supporters who make Anokijig one of the best places on earth. We appreciate your unwavering commitment to camping excellence!

Camp is Selling a Camaro!

Some of you may remember a previous post regarding the generosity of an individual, who donated a Camaro to Camp Anokijig. Well, we've finally listed it on ebay. You can check out the listing here- http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120457038434

If you know anyone, who might be interested in buying this car, please alert them to this listing. Thanks!

In addition to nine weeks of traditional youth summer camp, Camp Anokijig also offers a wide variety of specialty programs. This video is from our Adventure Challenge program, a free specialty program open to all campers entering eighth grade or older. The Adventure Challenge is Anokijig's version of the popular reality show contests and our campers love the experience.

Unfortunately, we only have one week of summer camp remaining and our Adventure Challenge is not available in Week 9. However, we do have several other exciting options for campers coming to Anokijig next week (7th grade and older).

There are two spots remaining in our Rock Climbing adventure, where campers will learn the latest climbing techniques at one of Wisconsin's finest facilities. There are also two spots remaining in our Paintball Challenge.

If you would like more information on these or other programs at Camp Anokijig, please call our camp office at 1-800-741-6931 or visit our website- http://anokijig.com/SUMMER%20CAMP%20page.HTM

Summer is Almost Over!

Greetings from Anokijig
We’re deep into summer camp 2009 and everyone is having a great time with the first days of session 8. The weather is wonderful the lake is perfect, and Western Day is coming up tomorrow. We’ve already competed 7 wonderful weeks with thousands of campers getting the chance to experience the wonder that is Anokijig. With one more session yet to begin this upcoming Sunday we wanted to send this note to let you know that if you know of a camper or are a camper that would still like to have a great experience at camp; session 9 has just a few openings left. This is your last chance to get in on the fun for 2009.
We’ve made it incredibly easy to get yourself a spot for next week; choose your method:
· Easy online registration at https://www.anokijig.com/2009%20web%20registration%20form.htm
· Download a printable form for fax at http://www.anokijig.com/2009registration%20form%20updated.pdf
· Or call our office direct at 1-800-741-6931 (920-893-0782) and we’ll gladly have a real live person ready to help you.
· All of the camp forms that you’ll need are available for download at http://www.anokijig.com/forms.htm.
· All late fees are waived and as always we’ll do everything we can to make sure your registration process is as easy as possible.
For details on all of our programs offerings and happenings see www.anokijig.com.
So pass the word, during Session 9 Anokijig has in store:
· A great canoe fishing trip to the Sylvania Wilderness
· Reality day (all sorts of great “survivor type” events)
· 50 horses to ride
· Tons of Sailboats and Windsurfs to sail
· Ukulele band
· Woodworking
· Crafts
· Trail crafts
· Fishing
· Nature
· Drama
· Dance
· Land games
· Field riots
· Archery
· Pellet gun
· Aquatics
· Campfires
· Talent show
· Day trips to Noahs Ark waterpark, paintball, rock climbing, and golf,
· Beach Party
· The last camp dance of 2009!
· and much much more.
If you are one of the many that have already secured your place in session 9; We can’t wait to see you! Also remember if you recruit a new friend to come to camp you get a discount, recruit 5 new friends and your week is FREE.
If you’re not signed up, don’t miss your chance for another week of Outrageous fun, New friends, Old friends, and Incredible experiences at Camp Anokijig!
See you soon!
Take Care,
Darin Holden
Program Director
Camp Anokijig
www.anokijig.com
"Anokijig Changes Lives"