August 5 2024

Why do we not allow older girls at shorter sessions? This is a reasonable question and will be on your mind when you contemplate a return to camp next summer (Early Bird enrollment period is August 21-28). Girls in the 3rd-6th grades can come to almost any session, but as they get older their choices quickly diminish (they must choose either June or Main).

We understand the dilemma (school calendar, family obligations, team requirements… there are many reasons summer camp best fits when it is just 2-weeks long). Our restrictions might seem unfair… our longer sessions are less affordable, less convenient, and present difficult conflicts. You just wish we would let older girls return to August Camp.

This is not an arbitrary policy. Our mission is to Delight and Inspire for the glory of God and we are convinced that our current age restrictions make for a better camp experience in each session. We have found that a session is strongly influenced by the age of its oldest campers. Peer leadership is a real thing, particularly influential in the teenage years. To put it simply, a session with teenagers needs more time and a strong group of older peers for the 13 year olds to be successful. This opinion has formed over the years and is strongly influenced by what “works” (campers who joyfully grow and want to return). We learned this about fifty years ago.

From 1920-1970, Greystone offered only one session. Seven weeks, grades 1-11. In 1973 we added a three-week session that we considered a “starter camp” for younger (grades 1-7) campers. This provided something that parents wanted and we found it worked pretty well. The session was very popular and about 10 years later, we added a 2-week camp using the same formula (grades 1-7). We found that the 7th grade campers had a much better experience in the 3 week session. Anecdotal evidence was strong (talking to campers and counselors) and the data (camper and parent surveys) was compelling… longer camps are more effective (impactful) with older campers.

Main Camp is very popular with teenage campers: we had over 120 girls that were 16 and 17-year-olds. These are amazing campers. SUPER COOL girls who are old enough to be counselors at many camps but choose to return as campers because they LOVE CAMP in EVERY DETAIL! They enter into the silly fun of camp life, savoring every detail: Breakfast Club, Morning Assemblies, Activities big and small, nightly cabin devotions, Sunday Sermons…they love it all. They are great girls who have grown up at camp. Their leadership sets the tone for the rest of our community. We can’t imagine camp without them!

We have tinkered around the edges of this age policy, but with only one campus and limited space we can’t try more “pilot” programs. To put it simply, we have too many campers and parents who like it the way it is to change the way we do it. Our re-enrollment numbers are very high and our hands are tied (our facility is maxed out). Even if we could change it, we are not convinced we should… God is really glorified with the way we are doing it now. There would need to be compelling reason to change.

We are very sorry if you are aging out of a session and can’t do another one. We wish we could provide a solution. As it is, we trust the old saying: when God closes a door he opens a window. There are great programs in other places and those programs have been proven over time just like Greystone. Programs that only meet for 1 or 2 weeks and provide a wonderful experience (Young Life Camps, travel camps, and adventure camps specialize in those session lengths). They are great camps with excellent records.

If the time comes that the Greystone “template” no longer works, we will make a change. This policy has been appropriate for this generation but might need to be changed in the future. One thing that 100 years teaches us is that things change. We welcome change when it is needed, but for now, we believe the age ranges are still the right fit for our current community.

Sorry for the long blog. I know we often use too many words, but it is because it’s hard to explain the nuance of complicated messages. Hopefully, this blog will answer some of your concerns… but as always, we welcome your questions and comments. Thank you for the support; it is appreciated.

• Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, bacon, grits
• Breakfast Club: Mental Growth…
• Joke: The peanuts, they’re complimentary
• Lunch: Mac and Cheese, Ham
• Dinner: Carnival Food (Chicken & Waffles, Grilled Cheese, Mac and Cheese bites, Fried Pickles, Funnel Cake, Cotton Candy, etc.)
• EP Carnival

PS: Some of you are wondering why some (not all) cabins took cabin photos yesterday. We requested about 10 cabins retake their photo because the existing photo was not complete. A BUNCH of other cabins jumped on the bandwagon and decided they wanted to do another photo in their Sunday dresses… this was not a requirement, just something they decided on their own, so not every cabin had a cabin photo yesterday! Make sense?