Category: Uncategorized

Chenny won it’s first Championship of the summer and in true CAW tradition when we we win, THE ENTIRE TEAM JUMPS IN THE LAKE TOGETHER. They stand on the dock, hold hands and jump in together. Today our Inter girls basketball team beat Wayne in the Wayne County Championship Game. They were so excited  and full of pride that when they came back to camp you could hear the horn honking which means Chenny won!! They jumped out of the van and went directly to the waterfront with only one thing on their mind, to jump into that lake with their teammates by their side. It is a thing we do here and I was watching this amazing group of girls stand so proudly on that dock, and grab one another’s hands, looked at each other and counted 1..2..3. and as a group they all jumped in together. What a moment that was and one they will never forget. They were fully dressed in their uniform and loved every minute of that celebration. They ran through camp giggling with laughter and everyone knew they had brought home the Championship!!! We could’t more proud of the teamwork they had to bring home the win.. What a great day for our Inter Girls Basketball team.

Senior/Super Girls LAX – CAW 4 @ Westmont 9

Super Girls Tennis – CAW 0 @ Wayne 5

Tonight our Supers had their Road Rally which they all split up into teams and ran like crazy al throughout camp doing tasks for a giant scavenger hunt. It is a traditional event for this group before they head out to Virginia/D.C early tomorrow morning. It was such a great night for these awesome kids who have been having an incredible summer. Every single Super is so beyond excited for their trip tomorrow and got to enjoy a huge ice cream party tonight as a send off for their journey tomorrow.

The Seniors are getting as equally excited for their trip to Hershey Park as they enjoy 2 full days at this Chocolate Heaven. They head out in the morning and can’t wait. So much fun for our navajo kids.

GC’s spent their day at the Grand Canyon and were in awe of its beauty and vast magical hold on them. They sat together and experienced this wonder together as a camp family and that made this experience more special than they ever imagined. These kids have been so appreciative and grateful for these incredible experiences and that has made this journey so special. They have arrived at their final destination on this trip of a lifetime as they spend the next 2 days resting and relaxing at the most gorgeous resort in Phoenix. We cant wait to get them back here!!!

The rest of camp enjoyed Minute to Win It tonight and loved every minute if it!!! They laughed as they watched their friends compete with the most hilarious tasks to be completed and timed. It was a race to the finish and all the campers were on the edge of their seats.. Another outrageous and fun Chenny night!!!! There is no place like Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Chenny Out

There was a large group of  Junior girls in jewelry making that spent their time in Arts & Crafts making friendship bracelets for one another. They each picked another camper to make this symbol of friendship for. The table was full of colored string, happy smiling faces and a mission to create friendship bracelets for everyone at the table. It was group activity that involved and included everyone. The best part was listening to all of their conversation that was had during this group experience. They chatted and laughed and connected with one another as they spent their time creating something beautiful for a friend. As they finished each bracelet and put it on the wrist of their friend, it bonded them together as they experienced the act of giving something from their heart, something they made that had meaning behind it. I watched one camper slip it on the wrist of her friend and apologized for a few missed spaces and knots that were accidentally there to which the recipient said with so much enthusiasm, ” It’s perfect and I will never ever take it off.” The girls were as excited to make these bracelets as they were to receive them. This group of girls proudly walked out of Arts and Crafts arm in arm, hand in hand all wearing the most beautiful hand made bracelets we’ve ever seen.

It was fun day of sports.. sports…sports…

Inter Girls Tennis – CAW 1 @ Wayne 4

Collegiate Girls LAX – CAW 10 @ Starlight 11 (game went into overtime)

Middy Boys Hockey – CAW took 2nd Place in the Tourney @ Wayne – CAW 2 vs. Wayne 7

Super Boys Baseball – CAW 8 @ Starlight 2 – CAW going to Championship

Congratulations to our outstanding Campers of the Week:

Freshman  –          Lila Klasrfeld    & Ben Diamond

Juniors –         Abby Isaacson & Trent Hernandez

Middies –      Addison Goldstein & Ari Hirshfield

Inters –        Sarah Lord & Jonah Marcus

Collegiates –    Lexi Tave & Jared Simpson

Seniors –      Sophia Jaffe & Colby Frankle

Supers –    Nikki Younger  & Mike Hellerman

CIT’s –   Carly Wills & Josh Liebman

It was time to honor more KIND CAMPERS and these kids are spreading the kindness at camp. We just could be more proud of: Annie Isaacson, Lexi Heifler, Pepper Margulis, Rachel Farhi, Jordana Ruderman, Sarah Gershman, Melissa Borker, Bari Klein, Jordana Reissman, Zoe Grabow, Skyler Adamchak, Alex Brandoff, Ben Diamond, Ben Gruberger, Aaron Hafkin, Trent Hernandez, Justin Horowitz, Michael Kalina, and Jerry Kessler. Keep on Being Kind!!!!

Everyone loves to watch Brad Henderson as he gets our staff into a deep trance and hypnotizes them right in front of our eyes. His mesmerizing voice gently guides our staff into a deep sleep and has them do the most hilarious things on stage. Our kids belly laughed so hard it was contagious. Watching our male staff dance like Britney Spears and bark like seals and twirl around like prima ballerinas in front of the entire camp while under total hypnosis is just hysterical. The counselors who were up there were convinced they fell asleep and have no recollection of what just happened to them. That made tonight all the more hilarious. Tonight was just another incredible night of hilarity at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Chenny out.

 

 

 

 

You may or may not have noticed the craze for fanny packs at Chenny this summer and let me tell you that it’s really a thing. I have to admit that I started the craze this summer when I busted out an old fanny pack for convenience and ease. Carrying everything around camp that I needed was just so much easier when it was in my fanny pack so on day 1, I was rocking the pack. It caught on like wild fire on girls side and every day at least 4 or 5 new fanny’s arrive in packages you send from home. Girls side is wearing these throwback waist purses with so much pride. The fanny’s were out in full force yesterday at the baseball game but even on a regular camp day like today, girls were proudly wearing them. They are a badge of honor for girls side and it is now a movement. You can hear campers walk by one another and say, “Happy Fanny Friday”. I saw a group of “fanny” girls compare what was in their packs and this one camper had it packed to the brim full of items she deemed absolutely necessary for her day. As she explained , she had a set of jacks, because you just never know when you want to get a game going. She packed chapstick because her lips were chapped. She needed hairbands because she was on her way to get her hair french braided so that was a must. She had a stick of suntan face lotion to which I was very proud of her being responsible for her reapplying throughout the day. She had hand sanitizer hanging from the outside and the sweetest thing of all was in her pack as she carries a letter from home. I asked why she carried that around too and she told me that it made her feel like her mom and dad were right here with her all day long. She thanked me for bringing the fanny pack to Chenny this summer and with that I hugged this sweet girl and I knew that my small little act of bringing out my fanny allowed this camper to have a piece of home with her all day long, right at her fingertips.

Our athletes had a ball all day long playing the sports they love.

Inter Girls Basketball – CAW 24 vs. Lavi 11

Inter Boys Basketball – CAW 27 @ Westmont 14

Inter Boys LAX  Tournament @ Wayne – CAW played 2 games and went o for 2 in tourney

Super Boys Soccer -CAW 14 @ Island Lake 2

The evening was absolutely perfect. You couldn’t get more campy that what happened tonight at Chenny. All of Cherokee was in Shields Hall playing Quest. It is this insanely fun game that has a little of everything, singing dancing, acting and you cant explain it but love doing the QUEST. Mohican camp had a pool party tonight followed by s’more at the beach. It was so beautiful tonight at the lake and the sunset just took our breath away. Novajo campers LOVED their tail gate party. They were at the top of the hill, some playing frisbee, some sitting around the camp fire, some making s’mores, some just sitting eating chips and listening to music, some played wiffle ball but all together having one amazing tail gate party. Our Navajo kids have brought the positive this summer and you can see it in their faces and feel it in how happy they are. It was a perfect summer night for all our kids. We miss our GC’s and so happy they are loving it in Vegas. Today was a standout day and a remarkable night. Life is just so great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Chenny out.

 

We and another outstanding day here at Camp Chen-A-Wanda and before lower camp headed out to watch the Scranton Yankees  (AAA baseball team), our kids got a few games in.

Collegiate Girls Basketball – CAW 27 vs. Poyntelle 8

Collegiate Boys Basketball – CAW 39 @ Nesher 48

Super Boys Soccer – CAW 2 vs. French Woods Sports 1

Barsel Cup Hockey Tournament @ Camp Lokanda (For Boys up to 6th grade) –Game 1 CAW 0 vs. Timberlake 8 / Game 2 CAW 5 vs. Equinunk 8

Lower Camp boarded the buses this afternoon and and headed out for an awesome night at the ballpark. It was a perfect night watching baseball, eating hotdogs and popcorn and sitting in the stands doing the wave with your best camp friends. There is something pretty special about summer nights at the ballpark. It defines summertime and we had a ball tonight. It started out incredible as Evie Glickman and Austin Bernstein got to throw out the first pitch tonight. The sea of Gold and Red shirts were cheering in support of our 2 campers who represented Chenny on the mound. There was lot sod laughs tonight and a great time had by all. Another perfect summer night.

Our Seniors, Supers and CIT’s had camp all to themselves tonight as they ran the Chenny Color Mudder. These campers couldn’t have had a better time running a challenge course that included getting soaked in the slip and slide, running in the mud pit challenge course, being doused with colored powder and then jumping into the lake. They go town and dirty and had a ball. After their evening of mud and mess it was off to the Lodge for a pizza party followed by movie night. Our Navajo campers are having the summer of their lives and we couldn’t be happier for what an incredible experience they are having.

The GC’s have arrived in Las Vegas and are truly speechless from the adventures they are experiencing. It is a trip that keeps on getting better and better with every day. To be able to share this experience with their camp family is undeniably an experience they are loving. We have some very happy campers and that makes us smile from the inside out.

Chenny out.

 

Who would have thought a deck of cards would be able to fully entertain a group of active 11 year olds? A simple deck os 52 cards that allowed 4 boys to sit around a tree and play for an hour. I was watching this group of kids who weren’t interested in going in the lake during general swim today and instead played cards. I thought, when was the last time at home any of these kids played card games with one another. They were sitting around the base of the apple tree at center camp, laughing, strategizing and talking to each other and playing cards. If you brought out a deck of cards at home when they have a play date over, they would most likely look at you with a look of disgust or as if that may be the most ridiculous suggestion they have every heard but why here? Why does a simple game of cards make so much sense? Sometimes less is more and this card game was just that. It was so much more than sitting side by side playing video games and not talking. It was so much more than mine craft and candy crush. It was an hour of 4 kids playing a game of cards and probably having more fun than they ever thought possible. So when your kids get home, pull out the cards and give it a try. They really do enjoy the simple things…There is just no denying that.

The fields and courts were full of hard working happy athletes today. So proud of our kids.

Collegiate Girls Basketball – CAW 46 @ Shoshanim 14

Middy Boys Tennis – CAW 0 @Wayne 5

Middy Boys Hockey – CAW 8 @ Starlight 3

Inter Boys LAX – CAW 11 @ Westmont 4

Collegiate Boys Tennis – CAW 1 @ Tioga 4

Senior/ Super Boys Volleyball Tournament @ Towanda – CAW Supers Boys Won 1st Place & Senior Boys Won 3rd Place

Our GC’s are still wandering In LA as they enjoyed a Sony Lot Studio Tour. They were on TV sets and spent the day enjoying the magic of Hollywood. Then it was back to the hotel to change and have dinner before they headed to Universal Studios for the night. It’s a trip that just keeps getting better and better. Our GC’s are loving every minute and taking it all in. Not a moment to waste as they experience an absolute trip of a lifetime.

Two Words… Nancy Tucker!!! Ask you children about Nancy Tucker and they will tell you that she is AMAZING!!! The fun we had in Shields hall tonight was absurd. If you can imagine an old school folk singer, singing songs like One Meatball, Jelly Fish, Habitat and Scallywag and our entire camp standing and singing along with her at the top of their lungs, you can envision a room full of happy campers. It was a total throwback to good old fashioned camp songs and we loved it. Everybody was up on their feet, moving to the beat and every song had hand movements that took about 2.2 seconds to catch on. We looked like a scene right out of the movie, Meatballs and it was AWESOME. This squeaky clean show was a crowd favorite and just when we see our kids as moving too fast, too mature, too old for their age, they go and totally enjoy a show that was clean, pure and right out of the 1970’s. Nancy has been singing these exact songs for decades and your kids loved it…So all you gotta say is One Meatball….No Spaghetti and your kids will smile and sing along!

Chenny Out.