Happy New Year!  All of us at Island Lake hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with love, happiness, and lots of presents.  Our countdown for summer 2021 has already kicked into gear and our opening day of camp will be here before we know it.  Words cannot even describe our excitement for summer to get here already!  176 days until camp begins (as of January 1^st)!

We’re excited to see a glimmer of hope for this upcoming summer as the CoronaVirus vaccine gets distributed throughout the country and Europe (where many staff come from).  With regards to protocols for this summer, we will be working with the American Camp Association as well as the State of Pennsylvania.  Once they provide us with guidelines, we will share them with all of our Island Lake families.  We hope to have it all sorted out and finalized by springtime at the latest.

We’re busy planning for our annual session 2 TEEN TRIP, which this summer will be to Cleveland, Ohio, only if it is safe for our campers and staff to travel.  This trip will be offered to all campers entering 9^th grade and higher.  Check out more details in your January newsletter and if you have any additional questions, feel free to give us a call.  The enrollment form and details for this trip will be mailed out shortly to all who are eligible to take advantage of this fun-filled experience. 

A reminder to all of our campers and parents; don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters!  You can access them right here on our website.  Our newsletters provide important information for parents as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates.  Here’s a direct link to the newsletters on our website: ILC Newsletters

Speaking of enrollment, if you have not yet registered your children for summer 2021 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer.  Some of our bunks are now completely full.  We truly do not want to turn away loyal campers, so let’s avoid that from happening.  You can register your children with the enrollment form mailed to you with your newsletter or you can simply click the link at the top of our website labeled, “enroll.”  It only takes a few minutes to fill out the form, we promise! 

To all current and new Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2021 with your children.  To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 914-769-6060 or info@islandlake.com.  And last but not least, all of us here at Island Lake wish you, our campers, parents, and staff, a very Happy & Healthy New Year!!!  ILC U THERE!!!

Hey Island Lake Parents!  We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  With winter just about here, it is our hope that your children will always have “camp on the brain” and continue to share their wonderful ILC summer 2019 memories with you.  Our countdown for next summer has already kicked into gear and opening day of camp will emerge upon us before we know it.  As of December 1st, only 207 days until summer 2021 at Island Lake will be here!  We know how important it is to make sure that this upcoming summer is absolutely the BEST ONE YET!!!

Here in our winter offices we’ve been staying busy not only preparing for this upcoming summer, but we’ve also been participating in Zoom calls with other camps and the American Camp Association to be sure we run ILC in a very SAFE and fun manner for all in summer 2021.  It’s still too soon to provide you with any definitive details but those will come later, closer to summer.  We will do everything in our power to open up Island Lake this summer for all of our amazing campers to reunite with one another once again and ENJOY BEING CHILDREN!!!

Reminders to all families, returning and new, don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters.  They are located right here on our website.  Our newsletters provide important information for you, including enrollment and availability updates.  If you’d like to read our newsletter on our website, you can simply go to the “Island Lake Families” link above and then “ILC News” on the left-hand side of the page.  You can also click the following link to view it:  ILC News

Speaking of enrollment, if you have not yet registered your children for summer 2021 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer.  Some bunks are now completely full.  We truly do not want to turn away our loyal campers, so let’s avoid that from happening.  You can register your children with the enrollment form mailed to you with your monthly newsletter or you can register right here on our website.  Just click “enroll” at the top of the page and follow the directions.

With all of the winter cheer around us, we wish you and your family a spectacular holiday season!  Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year to all!  ILC U THERE in 2021!

Hey ILC Parents!  We hope you and your children had a fun, safe Halloween filled with enough candy to last them a lifetime.  We also hope your children SHARE all of their treats with you.  (Otherwise, you may want to pull a “Jimmy Kimmel” and eat all their candy while they’re asleep!)

Normally at this time of year I would express how excited we are to see all of our campers later this month at our annual Camp Reunion at SportimeUSA in Westchester, NY.  Sadly, due to the current state of affairs in our country, we are unable to safely host a reunion for all of our Island Lakers.  If circumstances change later this year then we will re-evaluate at that time. 

Are your children still sharing their wonderful ILC memories with you?  We sure hope so!  Our summer 2021 countdown is in full swing and camp will sneak up on us before we know it.  As of November 1st, only 237 days until Opening Day at Island Lake!  In the meantime, you and your children can continue to view our daily summer photos on Waldo, our weekly videos on youtube, our daily blogs that were written all summer long right here, as well as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter posts.  We will continue to post on all of these social media platforms throughout the year so be sure to check us out often and “like” our posts.

Registration for summer 2021 is going very well thus far.  I’m happy to report that some bunks are already full!  If you have not yet enrolled your children and have been waiting to see how things progress with regards to the pandemic, feel free to reach out to us to discuss this.  We don’t want you to put off enrollment and risk space availability in your children’s bunks.  The last thing we want to do is turn away our loyal campers because there’s no more space in their bunks. You can enroll your campers with the registration form that we mailed home to you with your monthly newsletter or you can enroll them right here on our website.  Just click “enroll” at the top of this page (or on our homepage).  You can sign up right here online and then we will bill you for the deposit afterwards. 

Being that this past summer should have been our 35th summer that my family, the Stoltz’s, have owned Island Lake, we are excited that the number of 2nd generation campers has been increasing each and every summer.  We’re so lucky to even have 2 siblings whose parents met at ILC as children, got married many years later, and now share their special home away from home with their own children.  Talk about true 2nd generation campers, huh?  The above photo is a group of our 2nd generation campers who were all at ILC during the 1st session in summer 2019.  I posted about this a year ago on our blog and I’d like to continue this annual tradition. We’re so incredibly thankful to our alumni for entrusting us with their children.  We love that they want to continue to pass down their camp experiences to their kids, so this is just one way for us to say “thank you” to them.   Since I couldn’t get an updated photo this past summer, this 2019 pic will have to do for now.

Wow, it’s crazy how the holidays have already snuck up on us, huh?  Enjoy your Thanksgiving with loved ones who are closest and dearest to you.  I’ll be back here in a month from now to post my December blog for all of you.  Until then, ILCUTHERE!

As October sneaks up on us, this past summer is now a distant memory.  It didn’t even feel much like summer since we didn’t get to spend it all together at Island Lake.  With that said, we are happy to say goodbye to summer 2020 as we now look forward to summer 2021.  We’ve already begun planning for next summer with camper enrollments and hiring staff. 

We are looking forward to having our campers join the ILC family and experience all that our camp has to offer – fun, new friendships, fun, exciting activities, fun, new adventures,… oh, and have we mentioned FUN?  That’s what we’re all about at Island Lake and we’ll do an extra super duper job of providing that to all of our campers next summer, that’s for sure.  We know that once summer comes around, our staff will be over the moon thrilled to meet our Island Lakers and take wonderful care of them to provide them with the BEST SUMMER EXPERIENCE EVER!  We just have to get through this school year, as unique and challenging as it may be for many of you.

Meanwhile, up at camp the leaves are changing color and autumn is setting in, however many of our thoughts are still centered on our ILC friendships and experiences of summers past.  Yeah, we know that next summer seems too far away, but rest assured that it will be here before we know it.

We were hoping to host our thrilling, fun, exciting annual ILC camp reunion in November at SportimeUSA but unfortunately, it doesn’t yet seem safe or feasible to do so.  If the situation changes for the better in the coming months, we will be open to discussing the possibility of hosting a reunion then.  We are so sorry because the last thing we want to do is disappoint our loyal campers any further.  However, we have to be smart and diligent with regards to safety and health concerns, so for now, we will have to put our camp reunion on hold.

Hey, if you have not yet registered for summer 2021 but are planning to do so, please don’t toss your registration form aside or place it in that pile of paperwork you never quite get to.  You can still secure a spot for next summer by signing up now.  All families who were enrolled for 2020 were automatically re-enrolled for 2021 unless you requested differently.  For those families who had not yet enrolled for 2020 when the pandemic hit, you should have received a registration form with your October newsletter.  We also enclosed forms for those who chose to receive a refund on tuition.

Well, that’s about it for now.  We wish everyone a safe and spook-tacular Halloween at the end of the month.  Until then, ILC U THERE!

Hey Island Lake families!  I hope you’re all having a wonderful summer.  It’s still so sad and unfortunate that we aren’t up at camp with our happy campers watching them create beautiful friendships, learning and enjoying our fantastic activities, and making wonderful memories to last them a lifetime.  I know you all quickly had to scramble to find alternate summer plans for your children.  I hope it worked out well for you and that most importantly, you’re all remaining healthy!

We’ve been doing our best to stay in contact with our campers via Zoom activities that we are running 3 times per week.  Although we are getting a nice turnout, we’d still love to see even more campers join us.  This week we had Magic with Bill, Theater Games with Corie, and Cooking with Dave.  Please share the emailed links to these Zoom activities with your children so they can all participate and have some good ol’ fashioned virtual camp fun.  Next week we will offer Magic with Bill, Art with Poppy, and Pioneering with Gramps.  Again, please share these Zoom links with your children so they can all participate.

I have to say, it doesn’t even really feel like summer since we aren’t all up in Starrucca together.  It’s hard to believe that if we were at camp, we would already be into our 2nd session.  We would have already had some milestone events such as Visiting Day and Changeover Day.  Soon we’d be breaking out into our annual tradition of Color War!  3 days of pure fun as we would break up the camp into 2 teams, themes to be revealed at the moment Color War broke.  We’ll just hold on to those themes for next summer, not to worry.

I miss your children so much this summer.  Seeing what a summer is like without ILC has made me appreciate my home away from home even that much more.  I know this year will fly by and I truly truly hope that we will be able to safely reunite at ILC once again next summer.  Let’s send some good vibes all around to make sure that summer 2021 gets here safely and gets here quickly.  Until then, ILC U THERE!!!

Hey ILC parents!  This is not my typical June blog that I always post with excitement each summer.  This is usually the time when I tell you that we are so excited because we just arrived at ILC and we are working hard to prepare camp for your children’s arrival in a few short weeks.  This is when I usually tell you about waking up to smell of the country air, the sounds of the birds chirping, and the cool crisp June temps (which are all a nice reprieve from my South Florida humidity and heat).  This is also when I usually remind you to send in all of your forms, set up your CampMinder accounts, set up your Waldo accounts for photos, and start labeling items and packing your children up for camp.

But sadly, in the world we are currently living, we have to put sleep away camp on hold for a year.  It’s heartbreaking,…truly devastating and heartbreaking.  We share in your children’s sadness as this is just as difficult for us, if not more.  As I’ve previously mentioned, my parents started working at sleep away camp in 1973 when they were school teachers.  I turned 2 years old that summer and between 1973 and 2020 my family missed only one other summer when I was about 5 or 6 years old.  Other than that, I have been attending sleep away camp just about every single summer of my life.  Camp is in my blood, it is my bones, and most of all, ILC is in my heart and soul.  I am still mourning the loss of summer 2020 and feel that I’m still going through the grieving process.  I know I will be ok, as will all of you.  We will get through this and hopefully we will come out stronger on the other side.

So what will we do all summer to keep our Island Lakers in contact with one another?  Well, we will Zoom but of course!  We have some Zoom sessions set up for the first week of June and we’ll have plenty throughout the summer months.  We’ll send emails out to our camp parents to let you all know about these sessions.  We’re going to plan some activities with our department heads and some hang outs with our counselors.  We hope all of our summer 2020 campers will join us so we can see all of their smiling faces.

Below are some Opening Day photos from last summer.  These pictures aren’t meant to bring sadness for what we will be missing this summer, rather they will hopefully put a smile on all of your faces as we count down to next summer.

Stay healthy, stay well, and before we know it, ILCUTHERE in 391 days!!!

Hey Island Lake Families!  Wow, how did May sneak up on us so quickly?  With spring in the air, excitement is building and summer 2020 is right around the corner!  Yay!  Our hope is that we will be moving up to camp by early to mid-June.  If we are cleared to do so then at that time all correspondence should go directly to our summer address.  We will keep you apprised via email with all of these specific dates.  

We are happy to report that we had the opportunity to pay it forward and donate to The Cooperage Project in Honesdale, PA.  By doing so we provided over 250 snack bags for families who need some extra assistance during these challenging times.  We got involved with the Cooperage Project by participating in the #CAMPSDOGOOD Challenge as you can see in the photo to your right.

Although there is still so much up in the air with regards to the Coronavirus and the starting date of camp, we are moving forward and we are still preparing as if we are to start camp on time on June 27th.  Therefore, if your child is enrolled for summer 2020, please be sure to fill out his/her Profile and Transportation Forms right here on our website.  All forms were due on May 1^st.  If you haven’t yet taken care of these forms (whoopsie!), please do so right now.  Just click the “CampMinder Login” on our homepage (islandlake.com) and enter your email address and password.  If you have not yet created a CampMinder account, click “First Time Users- Create Account” and follow the directions. 

It is imperative that we have a Medical Form on file for every child attending Island Lake this summer.  We understand that many of you have not been able to take your children to see your pediatrician for their annual visit just yet.  Please do not worry about the May 1st deadline for this form.  Just be sure to fill it out in its entirety and then send it to us prior to your children’s arrival at camp.  The Medical Form cannot be filled out online so please use the form that we mailed to your home a couple of months ago.  If misplaced, click the following link for a copy: 

https://www.islandlake.com/pdf/2020/Medical-Form-2020.pdf

The form is located on our website under “Island Lake Families” then “Forms & Mailings.”  As a reminder, you can mail the completed Medical Form to our NY winter office until late May/early June.  After then, please mail the form to our summer address at camp.

Attention all new and returning Island Lake families!  By now you should have received an email regarding all of our “Spring Mailing” information.  Included are your Parent Handbook, Camper Handbook, Activities Handbook, Medication Policy letter, as well as an Open House flyer.  These handbooks and flyers are available for you on our website under “Island Lake Families” and “Forms & Mailings.”  Whether you are returning or are new to the Island Lake family, please make sure you and your children take a few minutes to sit down and read these forms and handbooks thoroughly as we always add new information.  

Are you a returning ILC parent who has not yet signed up your child for this upcoming summer?  We understand your apprehension to enroll for camp at this time.  However, some of our bunks are now completely full.  We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers.  Feel free to give us a call to discuss enrollment.  If you don’t have a registration form handy, click “Island Lake Families” at the top of the page and then click “Forms & Mailings” and print the “2020 Enrollment Form.”  You can mail, email, or even fax it (yes, fax machines do indeed still exist!) directly to our NY office until the end of May, upon which you can then send it to our summer address at camp.  For faster enrollment, you can simply scan/email the registration form to us at info@islandlake.com.

To all current Island Lake families, we are still hopeful that we will be able to open camp and provide your children with a wonderful summer experience.  If your children are enrolled with us then you are receiving our emails in which we are keeping you up to date on the status of camp based on all of the information we are receiving from the CDC, ACA (American Camp Association), and the state of Pennsylvania.  If you are not yet enrolled, please send us your children’s registration form so we can add you to our mailing list.

To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website:  914-769-6060.  As of approximately June 1st or shortly there after, you can contact us at 570-798-2550.  In the meantime, let’s keep the countdown to Summer 2020 going, keep your fingers crossed, keep the wishful thinking alive, and keep on shouting at the top of your lungs, “ILC U SOON!” so it can all come true!!!

Hey ILC families!  We hope you are all feeling healthy and well while adapting to these new temporary changes in our everyday lives.  This international Coronavirus pandemic feels completely surreal as everyone struggles to remain at home and maintain social distancing when they must leave the home for essentials.  A bright side to all of this,…Island Lake Summer 2020!  We are still forging ahead and preparing for camp this summer.  We are hopeful that this virus will have cleared up by June, making sleep away camp a sure thing for this upcoming summer.

I have been organizing some group games via Zoom for all of our Island Lakers to participate in, both campers and staff.  I have sent out emails to parents to share with their kids and last week I hosted our very first “Virtual Music Lunch.”  I broke it up into groups and we had well over 100 people participate, which was a fantastic turnout.  I’m excited to report that this upcoming Thursday and Friday I will be hosting an all camp game of PANIC!  Yup, that’s right, your children will have the opportunity to participate right there in your homes.  My email will explain in more detail but for those of you who aren’t familiar with Panic, think of it as a big scavenger hunt.  I’ll have your children running around your homes to find specific items (an Island Lake t-shirt) and they’ll have to get creative while being the first to put on their ILC shirt and sing the camp alma mater to me.  That’s just one example of the fun we’ll have later this week.

Now, back to business as usual with my monthly blog.  Wowza, how did April sneak up on us so quickly?  With spring in the air, excitement is building and summer 2020 is right around the corner.  As of April 1^st,  we have only 87 days until camp begins!  Woohoo!!!  We will be moving our offices up to camp the first weekend in June, so mark your calendars as all correspondence should go directly to our summer address in Starrucca, PA at that time. 

If your child is already enrolled for summer 2020, please be sure to fill out your Profile and Transportation Forms here on our website.  Just click the “CampMinder Login” link on our homepage and you will be prompted to enter your email address and password.  First time users can click “First Time Users – Create Account” below the login link.  If your child is a returning camper, we suggest you use the same password that you used last summer to access our daily photos and send emails.  You will then have access to the Profile and Transportation Forms.  The Medical Form is not in CampMinder so please be sure to fill out and complete the form that was previously mailed to your home.  You can also download our Medical Form here by clicking “Island Lake Families” at the top of our website and then “Forms & Mailings” on the left side of the page.  We have many important forms there for you to print out and use as a guide for packing and what not.  We understand that many Medical Forms will be delayed since you’re unable to go in and see your doctor, so just give us a shout if that’s the case for your child and we’ll make note of it in our records.  We can be reached at info@islandlake.com or 914-769-6060.

As a reminder to all of our summer 2020 families, please be sure to read our monthly newsletters.  The newsletters provide lots of information important to your child’s upcoming summer.  Our newsletter link is located right here on our website (“Island Lake Families” and then “ILC News”).  We also send an email reminder to all of our camp parents on the 1^st of every month.  Please share our newsletter link with your children because we hear they absolutely LOVE to read it and look for themselves and their friends in all of our photos.

In early May we will be posting a great deal of additional info on our website.  This will include a camper handbook, parent handbook, activities handbook, medication policy, information about emailing your child, viewing photos and videos on the web, and lots of other important camp information.  Be sure to read through all of these handbooks/letters/policies, as there will be tons of important info to prepare your child for a fantastic summer experience.

Have you registered your child for this upcoming summer?  If not and you still plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers. It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form and send it in to our Chappaqua, NY office. If you don’t have an enrollment form handy, click “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings” to the left of the page and print the “2020 Enrollment Form”.

Well, that’s about it for now.  Enjoy your navigation through our site checking out all of our fun-filled activities and smiling faces.  Island Lake Camp offers a program that furthers your child’s growth, independence, and sense of decision-making while simultaneously giving them the responsibility to create their own exciting summer.  

We are optimistic that camp will open on time this summer.  Please continue to read all emails that we send out to you, our current Island Lake Camp parents.  Enclosed in those emails is important up to date info regarding summer.  We will also be sending out info regarding camp forms and literature.  To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2020 with your children.  To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website:  914-769-6060.  And last but not least, to all,…ILC U THERE!

Happy March to our Island Lake families!  Our summer 2020 countdown has kicked into gear and lucky for us, summer, and for that matter camp, will approach before we know it.  118 more days as of March 1^st!  Wow, we’re almost at the double-digit mark!

By now, all summer 2020 families should have received a letter regarding forms along with a Medical Form.  Both a parent and a physician, as required by Pennsylvania law, must complete the Medical Form.  On our website we have TONS of information to prepare you and your children for this summer.  There are forms online that we request you fill out promptly via your CampMinder account. The Profile Form helps us guide your children when they choose their activities and put together their schedules. The Transportation Form lets us know which bus your children will be taking to camp. If we do not receive the Transportation Form in our office by May 1st, we will have to assign a bus to your children. In June, we will send you detailed information about the bus locations along with luggage tags that you will use to mark your children’s duffels.  You can access many other forms (packing lists, hotels for Visiting Day, etc.) on our website at islandlake.com and then click “Island Lake Families,” and “Forms & Mailings.”

A reminder to our ILC families, don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters.  You can access them here on our website or at the start of every month.  The newsletters provide important information for parents, as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates.

Island Lake Newsletters

Speaking of enrollment, if you haven’t yet registered your child for summer 2020 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer.  Some bunks are already full.  We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers because of this.  It’s very difficult for us when forced to do so every year.  Don’t let that happen to your child.  It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form, we promise!  If you don’t have one handy, click “Island Lake Families”, “Forms & Mailings” and then print the “2020 Enrollment Form”. 

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2020 with your children.  To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website:  800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060.  And last but not least, to one and all…. ILC U THERE!

Happy February to our Island Lake Families!  As we sit here in our winter office feeling the frigid temps outdoors, it seems as though summer 2019 was all a distant dream.  However, our summer 2020 countdown has already kicked into gear and lucky for us, camp will sneak up on us before we know it. 147 days to go as of February 1st! 

We are busy preparing for our big trip that we are offering to all of our oldest campers this summer.  We’re excited for our annual 4 day/3 night TEEN TRIP in our 2^nd session to MONTREAL and QUEBEC!  This amazing trip will be offered to all campers entering 9^th grade and higher.  For those families with campers eligible to go, keep an eye on your mailbox (actual mailbox, not virtual one) for more details to arrive real soon for this fun-filled experience.  There will be a trip enrollment form for you to fill out and return to us at our winter office.  We also have info regarding this trip in our monthly newsletters.  Highlights of this trip include La Ronde Amusement Park, Olympic Park, Voiles en Voiles (a huge outdoor ropes course), SOS Labyrinthe (a fun, yet difficult, indoor maze that’s sure to get our campers lost for what will feel like hours), a day trip to Quebec City, Jetboating, and more.  So,…much,…FUN!!!

A reminder to our summer ‘19 and ’20 families; don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters.  You can access them here on our website (“Island Lake Families” and then “ILC News”).  Our newsletters provide important information for parents as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates.  

 Speaking of enrollment, if you have not yet registered your child for summer 2020 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer.  Some bunks are now completely full.  We truly do not want to turn away loyal campers so let’s avoid that from happening.  You can register your child with the registration form mailed to you or you can download the form here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings”.  It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form, we promise!

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2020 with your children.  To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website:  914-769-6060.  And last but not least, to one and all,…ILC U THERE!