Our home for several years, Knapp Forest Elementary, will be under construction this summer. Fortunately, the Forest Hills Public Schools have provided us with our old home, Northern Trails 5/6 School.
Due to the change, registration forms have been delayed but never fear, they are en-route to homes and the internet shortly.
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Hi Everyone!
Camp is only two weeks away and we are in need of one volunteer. Is there anyone out in camp land that can start the grills for the picnic on Tuesday evening June 16th? The picnic starts at 5:30 so the coals should be ready for the hotdogs by that time. If anyone out there is available, please let us know at fficheritagecamp@gmail.com
Thanks in advance!!
Our hotel coordinator, Teri, has reserved a block of rooms for out-of-town attendees.
The details are as follows:
30 Rooms have been reserved for the week of camp-June 16-19
Country Inn & Suites by Carlson
3251 Deposit Drive (E. Beltline @I-96)
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Room Rates are as follows:
$79 for a standard king room
$79 for a standard room with 2 queen size beds
$89 for the studio suites
$99 for the one bedroom suite
As anyone that stayed there last year knows, the hotel is new, clean and very welcoming for our group. It is a non-smoking facility and a deluxe breakfast (including 2 hot entrees) is included as well as warm cookies throughout the day.
Rooms may be reserved by either calling the hetel directly at 626-942-7000 or the national reservations line at 1-800-456-4000 under the group name of “Heritage FFIC”.
We have a couple of volunteer positions available prior to camp. If you are interested, please let us know.
1. Last year, we had a group of parents and children design a wonderful logo. We would like to offer this on t-shirts and bags at camp this summer for purchase. If you are interested in coordinating this project, please let us know.
2. Our supply coordinator, Cheryl Wyma, is looking for a few Grand Rapids area volunteers that would be willing to help sort and inventory our supplies beginning in May. Again, let us know if you are interested.
See you all in just a few months!!!!
Hi Everyone!
Another update from Beth Anne and Amy.
We are in need of someone to coordinate assemblies for camp this summer.
We would like to offer an assembly each day (4) that highlight each of the cultures represented at camp.
This is a great opportunity for someone that is available to make phone calls and e-mails prior to the start of camp.
Please contact Amy and Beth Anne at fficheritagecamp@gmail.com with your interest.
Also, if you know of a group that is available to perform, please let us know that as well.
See you in June!
Happy 2009!!!!
Camp is coming – June 16th – 19th @ Knapp Forest Elementary School.
Registration packets will be mailed in mid-February and will be due no later than April 15th. Class sizes are limited and a waiting list may be maintained if numbers are high.
Teen Camp Needs a Leader. We are in need of 1-3 Teen Directors for 2009 Camp. The foundation is there, we need several adults to make it happen. Please contact Beth Anne or Amy if you are interested or have questions.
Here is the 2008 Heritage Camp photo/music montage. I keep having technical difficulties getting it posted, so, hopefully, it will work this time. Look for an updated one with more photos soon!
Could the weather have been any more perfect this week? With sun and 60-70 degree temperatures,, everyone was able to get outside and we didn’t have exhausted, cranky, hot kids (and parents). Well, maybe you had exhausted, cranky kids falling asleep as soon as they got in the car!
Knapp Forest now really feels like “home” as it’s our third year there. Everyone is familiar with the lay-out and is using the space effectively, which is good as we had about 380 campers this year!
Tuesday’s picnic was again well attended, providing a chance to meet new friends and connect with old friends. It is especially nice for the many out-of-town families. The number of out-of-town campers has been increasing and this year, for the first time, we had an “official” Heritage Camp hotel, the Country Inn and Suites.
The assemblies featured Korean dancers and drummers and Chinese Lion Dancers so they were colorful, loud, and exciting! The Korean group spent extra time visiting and were very impressed with camp and the dedication of everyone who makes it such an important part of our children’s lives.
In our quest to shorten the Parade of Nations, thanks to co-director Amy Turner’s idea to put everyone on risers, it was only 48 minutes long and went very smoothly. The audience was treated to a photo/music montage, songs from every camp, a tae kwan do demonstration, and a lion dance.
It was a very successful, fun, memorable camp, thanks to hours and hours of work by many volunteers who know how important it is for our children to experience their birth cultures in a variety of ways.
Teen campers this year will be volunteering at Kids Food Basket, a Grand Rapids organization that provides 1400 sack meals per day for children who may otherwise not have a meal. Each camper is asked to bring one package of 100% fruit juice to help build a “wall of juice” at camp. When a package of juice boxes is donated, the camper will receive a magnetic frame PERFECT for your class picture and suitable for any refrigerator door! These will be one-of-a-kind handcrafted works of art made by our preschoolers (with a little help from their Teen “buddies.”)
Camp is just over 2 weeks away! If you haven’t already, you’ll soon be receiving a “welcome packet” from your camper’s classroom teacher and/or camp coordinator. If you are coming from outside the GR area, there is a block of rooms available at the new Country Inn and Suites. It’s much closer than any other hotel in the area and the rate is $79 per night. That includes breakfast, a 10% discount coupon for the Pizzeria Uno, which is adjacent, and complimentary cookies. The hotel is completely non-smoking and has a large indoor pool. To make a reservation, call 616-942-7000 and mention the FFIC group rate. It’s suggested to make your reservations as soon as possible. Here’s a link to the hotel.
We are an organization run completely by volunteers, we value all volunteers and welcome any and all suggestions and ideas for activities and events. If you have ideas or are willing to volunteer, CONTACT US and we will help you get started!