Dear Chenny Families,

It’s the day before you send your kids off to us and we wanted you to know how excited we are here at Chenny to see them in just 24 hours. Our staff is absolutely incredible. They are the most spirited, fun, talented, kind and all around just great people who cannot wait to spend their summer with your children. We have had an epic orientation getting ready for your kids and WE ARE READY! The energy on camp is incredible and your kids are walking into a world full of positivity, insane camp spirit and about to have an enormous amount of fun.

The journey you have set your kids on is the right one and we will take it from here. We are ready, excited and cannot wait to see their faces as they walk off that bus. Beds are made, clothes are all put away and we are officially ready for Summer 2023. All we need are those incredible kids of yours and then our journey begins.  

Our goal this summer is to Make an Impact and we whole heartedly believe with the team we have, an impact will most definitely be made. Your kids will try new things this summer. They will laugh a lot this summer. They will make new friends this summer. They will become more independent this summer. They will be silly this summer. They will play this summer. They will be out in nature this summer. They will not be on any device this summer. They will feel connected to a community that will make them feel welcomed and accepted this summer. They will love singing and dancing on the tables in the Lodge this summer. They will have the greatest time this summer.

We have a lot to get too and it all starts tomorrow. After 4 very long years, it is our joy to say, WE WILL SEE YOU AT VISITING DAY!!!

Life is Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Jon & Elissa

Camp starts in 100 days and we could not be more excited!

Visit our Facebook page for a special video!

Summer 2012 can’t come soon enough!!!

Check out some great pictures here from our Winter 2012 Reunion! It will be time for Summer 2012 before you know it, but it can’t come soon enough!

Only one more day until the reunion!

Space Odyssey
491 S Dean Street
Englewood, NJ 07631

12:00pm – 3:00pm

We can’t wait to see everyone!!!

It was great to see everyone at our New Camper Party. We are so excited for Summer 2012! Check out some pictures from the event here.

The weather was beautiful in Florida, but the company was even better. It was great to see our Florida families (and a few Jersey families in town for the weekend). We are so glad you all made it. What a treat as some of our counselors came too. It was a terrific afternoon and great to see friends that we have not seen in a while. Check out some pictures here.

This Reunion kicked off our 1st official event leading up to Summer 2012! The countdown has started…

Thank you for sharing your children with us this summer. We had the best time together and words cannot fully express the experience we all just had together. We hope that the following letter we read to your children at memory night will help explain our gratitude for how lucky we feel being able to experience summer camp with your kids.

Dear Campers of Summer 2011,

We have watched you over the past 51 days and we are so glad that we got the chance to spend this summer with you. It has been pure joy as we get to see first hand how you all have embraced this place and love it as much as we do. It’ s hard to explain to people what goes on here. How can you possibly use words to describe what happens at boys line up and why they always shout out SAFETY and DOORKNOB! And just how awesome it is to cheer for your favorite Gladiator as they battle in an intense tetherball match. Would anyone outside Chen-A-Wanda truly understand why we have to sing at the top of our lungs while standing on chairs and rocking out in the Dining Hall at every lunch. Where else does that happen? What are the words we can use to fully explain Color War and that feeling of pride that goes along with it.

We are all so lucky to get the chance to be part of this spectacular experience. We have watched you make friends that will last a lifetime. There is this comfort we know you get by being with your campies and living together makes that bond unbreakable. You are sisters and brothers to one another and that doesn’t end when we leave this place tomorrow. We all bring it home with us.

The connections you have made with your counselors will stay inside of you forever. They have given you a piece of themselves and we know that no matter how far away they live from you, they too will always be with you. That bond you made is real for them as well. They too will have hard time leaving you tomorrow. It hurts to leave to the people you love.

We have seen many of you try new things this summer and accomplish goals you set for yourselves. You have been brave, you have been confident and you are all leaving here a little more independent than when you came.

We have seen many of you beat homesickness and the feeling of great pride as you have overcome something you thought you couldn’t. You have worked through arguments with friends and got closer because you spent the time trying to understand each other better. You flew on the trapeze when at first look you were terrified. You did it because your friends and counselors believed in you and then you believed in yourself.  You celebrated together as you won and you picked each other up when you lost.

There is just something that happens here that is simply magical. It’s a place you can be exactly who you are, without judgement, and without criticism.  It’s a world like no other and that’s why we all keep coming back again and again and again.

We will miss each and every one of you and as you head home and start your school year, know that we will be busy making plans and preparing for an awesome summer 2012.

Thank you all for making this summer the best one yet.  It takes each one of you to make this place a home. You give it a heart and give it soul. From the bottom our hearts, we thank you.

Life is Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Sincerely,

Jon & Elissa

There was a buzz around camp today and it was all about Banquet. The weather was perfect and the mood was great. Everyone knew that tonight was the big dance and the excitement was growing. The morning was chilled out and relaxed and the afternoon was full of anticipation of a great night. We have gone through the entire summer looking forward to Banquet and it’s finally here!!!

Everyone got dressed up in their finest clothes and was ready to impress. There were no Chenny t’s and soffe shorts, it was dresses and colored shirts. Everyone looked amazing and happy. It was a night to celebrate our summer her at Chen-A-Wanda and that is exactly what we did. The entire camp gathered outside the Dining Hall tonight before dinner as we all took pictures together. Groups of friends gathered together as they caught each moment with a picture.  Wishing time would stand still as they do in each frame.

As we entered the Dining Hall to see how the CIT’s and Wait’s had decorated the room, there were cheers of support as the campers entered the jungle. It was an awesome sight to see as our Dining Room became a Safari The room was transformed and looked amazing. We all sat down and had the most delicious meal of the summer. What made this dinner even more fun and perfect was the impromptu conga line that started with boys and ended with the girls. We just have fun here, that’s what we do.

After dinner it was into the Rec Hall for end of summer Awards. It was a remarkable night as we honored our outstanding campers of the year. Congratulations to the following campers who received the highly respected awards tonight. These campers shined throughout the summer.

Lower Camp

Athlete of the Year                      Adam Covey & Skylar Kohn

Honor Camper of the Year        Eli Kellner & Ally Heller

Camper of the Year                      Josh Friedman & Hannah Pollack

Upper Camp

Athlete of the Year                       Steven Bochner & Mychael Schnell

Honor Camper of the Year         Jason Rossell & Paige Mandel

Camper of the Year                       Tyler Loberbaum & Gillian Stapler

Then it was time to party and oh how we danced the night away. The DJ played all our favorite songs we stayed up late dancing with our friends. It was an amazing night that we will never forget. We just loved it and didn’t want it to end. A prefect party to end a perfect summer!!

Chenny out.

We had a great day today as we all down shifted. It’s that time of summer as we start preparing to pack up and head home.  All the campers got a few more activities in today but it was a day to relax, hangout and just get some great quality time with our best summer friends.  It was just one of those great days we spent with each other. We were playing basketball on the biddy courts, jumping rope on the Rec Hall court and playing some fun BBG on the Lake Court. You could actually feel the joy all throughout camp today. It was just a great day.

As our last official trip of the summer, the whole camp went to out to the movies tonight. It was a perfect way to end a perfect day!  Everyone was relaxed, chilled out and enjoyed munching on popcorn and watching a movie with their campies. When you look around and all you see is a sea of Gold Chenny shirts sitting next to you in the theater, you know that you are part of one very special summer family. We look out for one another and each of us make it whole!

We have a few more great things to look forward to as Banquet and Memory night are still ahead of us. Everyone is looking forward to getting dressed up and dancing the night away tomorrow night at Banquet. It will be a night to remember as we close down summer 2011.

It feels as if we just arrived here at Chen-A-Wanda. It’s hard to believe that we are all going home in just a few days. But before the tears come rolling down, and we know they will it’s party time!!!

Chenny out.

Today we had a late wake up and boy we needed it. The pace of the last five days was fast and furious so getting some extra zzzz’s was much needed. As camp started to wake up and we all headed to brunch, something caught our eye. It would appear that camp had been pranked. Our Arts & Crafts building was spray painted, colored and splattered. This was a sight to see and as everyone approached with great caution, it was obvious who was responsible. The CIT’s and Waits were the artists and left behind their mark. The new brightly colored building had then inspired the rest of camp to get creative and continue where they left off. Everyone knows that this building is coming down after camp and for the next few days, our CIT’s are responsible for the most beautiful, creative jaw dropping piece of art we have on campus. Great work girls.. You left your signature on a piece of Chenny History. Today, it became the place that we hung out at, cried in, left our own signature on and was a reminder that just like this building, our summer will soon be gone.

Today was a Chenny Championship kind of day!!!

Congratulations to our Inter Girls Softball Team who won the Wayne County Championship vs. Lavi with a score of 10 -0!!! It was a great game, with superb sportsmanship. Excellent work girls. You deserved the Championship!!

Way to go to our GC/CIT Girls Soccer Team who defeated Nesher to win their Wayne County Championship today with a score of 11-0!! We couldn’t be more proud of your teamwork! You all rocked!!

The highly anticipated Late Night with Leahy proved to be one of this summer favorite evening activities. Our Boys Head Counselor Brian Leahy, was the host to his very own Late Night Talk Show and brought the laughter in. He entertained the crowd with hilarious videos and brilliant performances. He produced a fantastic show, one that you just have to see to believe. The Rec Hall was exploding with laughter as we all watched in amazement of how truly talented our very own late night host is. We put Brian right up there with the likes of Letterman & Leno but we bet that those guys couldn’t hold a candle to how Leahy runs lower camp.

It’s hard to believe but we only have 3 days left in our summer home.

Chenny out.