MISSION: Camp Ma-He-Tu empowers young women to become the best that they can be. We provide them freedom from the daily pressures of life so they may grow together in a supportive and fun camping community to develop and embrace their spirituality, appreciation of others, and their value as individuals. We provide a safe and fun outdoor camping experience in a supportive environment that fosters mental, spiritual, physical, and social growth.
In order to make the magic of the summer happen, members of our Board of Directors volunteer their time, year-round, to secure funding, maintain our physical site, recruit campers, hire summer staff, ensure we are meeting the requirements of accrediting, state, and park agencies, and work with insurance and food service companies. All our efforts are centered on our mission and purpose, setting the stage for an unforgettable summer of fun and growth. It has been our pleasure, over these many years, to watch our campers grow mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually.
This past year has been challenging after making the decision not to open camp for the summer of 2020. Our Camp Director and her 3 assistants spent the summer of 2020 producing media content and programs to share over social media to keep our campers engaged, encouraging them to share stories, share a performance and participate in on-line activities where pizza was even delivered to campers' homes after mastering a challenge! We are thrilled to be offering three 2-week traditional encampments this 2021 summer season. Unfortunately, our multi-generational Women-in-the-Woods program was postponed for this year, again, as we are adhering to strict COVID-19 policies established by our COVID-19 Task Force.
In the past year, our Board of Directors has established a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. It is our goal to move toward eliminating injustice and inequality, including dismantling invisible culture, and implicit bias. We assembled a task force to take action as an organization. Our Board of Directors underwent extensive training during the winter of 2021 and we plan to continue the training with our summer staff.
We are so excited to bring the camping experience back for our campers this summer. Ma-He-Tu has continuity that is rare in the camping community. Most summers 80 – 95% of our staff were once Ma-He-Tu campers themselves. They are dedicated to making the camping experience as meaningful to their campers as it was to them. So, the potential to have a positive impact on the development of our girls doesn’t end when they stop being campers. We are ministering to them through their college years and often beyond. We are helping them to discover how important it is to “pay it forward” and to extend their caring and their love to those who follow. This has helped keep our message and our mission steadfast throughout the years.
FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
Our little congregation in the woods is wonderfully vibrant. It’s hard to find a time during a day at camp when you can’t hear laughter and singing. When we are gathered in the Chapel or Dining Hall, our enthusiasm can be downright deafening! We are a fun-loving, happy group. We love reaching out to share our love of Ma-He-Tu with all girls who wish to join us. We have been on our site since 1937, and we plan on sharing our joy for many years to come.
Our welcoming and inclusive message is shaped every summer by our staff. They are the people who, as campers, treasured the meaning of that message and how it affected their lives. They will go to all ends to pass it on to their campers, as it was passed on to them when they were younger. This is their home, and they take the responsibility for maintaining its integrity very seriously. They focus on building a community of respect, positivity, and tolerance. We have developed, and do our best to perpetuate a culture within which character is what matters, not background.
