2023 Alumnae Sparks
Hello Greystone Alumnae!
Our reunion weekend in October was a huge success. While we wished all of you could have joined us, we were lucky enough to welcome over 100 “campers” and almost 50 staff who arrived on a chilly Friday afternoon and carried their sheets and comforters up the hill without a single complaint. The weekend was perfectly beautiful (making activities and walks along the lake a delight), and we found our hearts and minds filled as we sang together and heard some inspirational talks by Heather Brown Holleman and Elizabeth Madden Pehrson.
Greystone was happy to host this wonderful event and donated all proceeds to the Great Day Fund. Not only was all tuition ($30,000) donated, but most staff contributed their pay for the weekend as well. All told, $36,000 was added to the Great Day Fund…we could not be more grateful.
During the reunion weekend, we made a point of reporting on how things are going at camp. As we want to keep our entire alumnae community in the loop, here are some of the details we shared:
- All of our sessions in 2023 were full, some even more full than we anticipated (due to our Early Bird policy of allowing campers to enroll in the session of their choice). Surveys from campers and parents indicated that it was a stellar summer, and we handled the crowds well!
- All of our sessions in 2024 are also full. We trust Greystone’s enrollments to the Lord and know that He continues to draw the right campers to this place and equip us to serve this community!
- We gave away an unprecedented $244,000 in scholarships in 2023. Thank you for helping make this generosity possible through your donations to the Great Day Fund!
The facility at Greystone continues to need updating (100+ years of camping will do that do you). Here are some of the latest facility renovations around camp:
In 2023, we added these wonderful facility updates:
- Doubled the size of Putt Cove by building a new Putt Cove Paddleboard Center.
- Renovated the High Ropes Course and Riflery (both 50% bigger now).
- Rebuilt the Council Fire area.
- Completed renovations to the Health Hut.
- Continued renovations to Thunderhead Ranch.
- Purchased two new staff houses from neighbors.
- Added a new Tree Climbing Station on Apple Hill.
- Installed a new Giant Slide for Waterpark after our 2022 lightning strike.
- Added a volleyball net to the FORT (and we enjoyed our Challenge Day volleyball game indoors for the first time ever!).
- Created a new Mountain biking track for our growing Mountain Biking program.
For summer 2024, we already have many facility projects underway:
- Rebuilding 8 Tentalow bathrooms (to allow for more showers and changing rooms).
- Renovating of the White Hall Scullery.
- Renovating the pool pump house.
- Adding a new Lake Edith retaining wall.
- Purchasing new mowers and trucks for our Maintenance crew.
Thank you for your continued support of Greystone and for allowing us this opportunity to serve the campers and counselors who love camp so much. God is glorified in this place, and it is an honor to be a part of that mission every year.
We also want to thank you for participating in camp life in such a meaningful way. Helping with Opening or Closing Day (several of you helped us and it made a huge difference), “adopting” counselors during Main Camp (praying for and sending notes or care packages to specific staff members), mentoring the Honor Council (we now have a well-structured leadership program and a handful of alum voices were one of the best improvements this year), and contributing to The Great Day Fund. Your impact is growing and making a difference in the lives of these girls.
We love you and look forward to seeing you again anytime you are in the neighborhood. Enjoy reading the Sparks!
With love, Jimboy
