All the weeks and months of staff preparations pointed at this very day have come to fruition. Nervous and/or excited campers pack those few last items. Nervous and/or excited parents and grandparents and friends say one last prayer for safe travels and a good camp experience.

If you are already ready during those last few moments at home when everyone else is scrambling, or if you would like to make the car ride seem a little shorter, or if you are sad today because you are not going to be at camp for the first time this year, read this… It will help.

The summer version of our Tecumseh Tales will help you make out your summer bucket list and learn how to get involved in Project 441. You can also learn about the new role of our Summer Camp Director and get inspired by the first of the Torchbearer Chronicles. Use this to inspire yourself in whatever camp-related situation you find yourself today.

Here Comes Summer!

Thanks to everyone who came out for Partner Service Day this weekend!

We were able to collectively complete many projects that have been on our to-do list all winter! (click the images to see the full-size versions)

Planting Flowers to make a great first impression when new people enter camp:

Picking up sticks and branches to keep campers safe:

Creating a new path within the Teams Course so that groups can use the elements more effectively:

Building a new Pioneer-era cabin to replace and improve upon the Outdoor Education programs:

Simply making new friends and having a good time:

All of these are important and worthy endeavors that volunteers participated in this weekend! 

Pass this along to someone if you recognized them in a photo… and plan to join us in the fall if you can! Partner Service Day is always a great time!

Interested in sending your child to Day Camp this summer but still have questions? Come check out the Day Camp Open House this Sunday, April 14, from 2-5pm. Meet some of this summer’s day camp counselors, talk with the director, and partake in Day camp activities. Whether you’ve never been to Day Camp, or are a seasoned veteran, the open house will be fun for all. Hope to see you there!

Looking for another reason to break out your favorite Camp Tecumseh apparel? Want to win more camp apparel? On Friday, April 12, the YMCA is hosting national camp T-shirt day. Campers, counselors, and directors all over the country will be sporting their favorite camp shirt!  Whether you are going to work, school, or just hanging out at home, make sure to dig through your drawers, do some laundry, and be ready to tell everyone that asks about your shirt why camp is such a special place.

In addition, you could win more awesome camp apparel! Simply share a photo with us on Facebook or Twitter of you and your friends/family wearing their Camp T apparel, and we’ll send a free t-shirt to our three favorites!

Milestones are fun. They tell us where we’ve been and what it took to get there. Most importantly, they tell us where we are going. In March of 2009, Camp Tecumseh officially joined Facebook and over this past weekend we reached 5,000 likes. While the official Facebook page is a kind of home base for everything Camp T, dozens of groups have formed dedicated to their specific Tecumseh experience. From staff groups and alumni groups, to cabin groups and TLC groups, people are gathering to talk about Tecumseh, continually building and maintaining the relationships they developed at camp.

At Tecumseh we care deeply about cultivating relationships. Not the kind of relationships we only revisit once a summer, or that one weekend in the fall.  Rather, we want to cultivate the kind of meaningful, intentional relationships that we can rely on day in and day out. We want those relationships to be a wellspring of hope and inspiration for you personally. We want them to challenge you to do new things, help you always look for hope in any situation, and continually grow closer to God.

One way we want to strengthen those relationships is through our Facebook page. On one hand, we want to provide you with content which reminds you of your camp experience and keeps you updated on what’s going on at camp.  We hope reminiscing about camp brings you joy, but we don’t want your camp experience to be merely a memory. We want it to be a constant source of inspiration. When you think back on your time here, hopefully it boosts your self-confidence, strengthens your faith, and reminds you, as Irving says, to “go in peace, serve God and man.”

On the other hand, we want to provide you with content that provides ways you can continually live out the I’m third motto. We want to transform the relationships you’ve developed at camp into vessels which make the world a better place. We want to transform those relationships into boots on the ground to tackle issues close to your heart. We want you to take the values and lessons you’ve learned at camp, and bring them back into your communities to make life a little more bearable, a little more forgiving, and a little more loving.

So far 5,000 of you have joined the chorus. Thank you. We still have a long way to go however. Invite your friends, tell your family, and join the conversation. The impact of Camp Tecumseh happens all year round all over the world. We’re dedicated to continually making a positive difference. On Facebook, it happens one like at a time.

Purdue Students Volunteering during Partner Service Day 2012

Partner Service Day is a chance to come back to camp for the day and help volunteer your time to tackle beautification projects that benefit many campers.

Partner Service Day 2012

We’ll be posting more information on the project list and how to rsvp in the coming weeks.

I wanted to share with the Camp Tecumseh family that I accepted a new position at Camp Widjiwagan with the YMCA of Middle Tennessee.  Camp Tecumseh has been an important part of my life since I started washing dishes in the kitchen back in 1979.  Kirsten and I met at camp, were married at the chapel, and raised Josiah at Tecumseh.  It’s a wonderful place that will always be dear to us.  I feel blessed to have been entrusted with the responsibility of helping steward it.  We have enjoyed living on site as a family as we watched the Lord touch the lives of so many, including our own.

Pattengale Family 2012: Josiah, Vince, and Kirsten

YMCA Camp Widjiwagan is located on the east edge of Nashville and is one of thirty branches of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee.  The camp started as a Day Camp fifteen years ago and added a Resident Camp program in 2008.  My new position has oversight of all programs with a focus on growing Resident Camp while maintaining a wholesome Christian environment.  My family has already met so many great people and are looking forward to what God has for us in the Nashville area.