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Even as we are eagerly looking forward to both the Highland Celebration and the busy summer season, we do still have some summer camp staffing needs. The most urgent hole in our summer staff is male counselors!! There are campers who are eager to come to Highland for a week of camp, but we need more counselors in order to make that happen. We are praying for at least one more male counselor (ideally 18 or older, at least one year out of high school) who can work the majority of the summer, but we can also make it work with a handful of counselors who can give us a week or two of their summer.

Please join us in praying for the right young men to hear and respond to God`s call to this ministry! We are confident of two things: 1) Christian summer camps can make a huge impact in the lives of young people, both campers and staff; and 2) God answers prayers and has a plan to supply our needs. For the sake of the campers on waitlists -- and for Dean, who is working hard to hire quality summer staff! -- we pray that our need for male counselors will be met soon. 🙏

Interested applicants can apply online. Link in bio.

#highlandretreatva #highlandsummercamps #highlandsummercamps2024 #campcounselorsneeded

Want to take a hike at Highland? The morning of May 18 will be a great time to participate in one of several guided hikes/walks around our property! This is part of our Highland Celebration event, so you can spend the morning hiking, eat a delicious burger for lunch, and stick around for the concert and afternoon activities. We hope you can join us!

There are several hikes available, for different interests and skill levels. Participants in any of these hikes should gather at the Tab at 8:30am on May 18, so we can connect you to your guide and split off to the various hikes from there.

A birdwatching walk will be a low-key option, a meander around mostly the lower grounds with an experienced local birder to point out the birds you can see and hear (and yes, the eagles are nesting again this year...).

Families with children may enjoy the guided perimeter trail hike, which will include a pause in the Wilderness Camp area to do some activities, led by one of our interns.

And anyone who is interested in seeing our PeeWee Run property can caravan up to a parking area past our climbing tower and then hike the rest of the way up PeeWee Run. You can explore the new property there and stop, or go past the trailhead to do the (relatively level) Spruce Lick hike, OR the (much steeper) Tiger Rocks loop. If you have fond memories of the view from Tiger Rocks from when you were a camper, you`ll especially enjoy the improved trail to get there!

Some additional details, including mileage and time estimates for each hike option, are posted on the Celebration web page. Invite your friends and neighbors! We would appreciate having a rough estimate of people who will be participating in each of the hikes, so please complete the RSVP form if you can to let us know you are coming. That is also online: highlandretreat.org/celebration

#highlandretreatva #highlandcelebration #hikes #birdwatching #perimetertrail #tigerrocks #sprucelick

Welcome to May! For us at Highland, that means we are kicking into high gear to get ready for the Celebration gathering on May 18th -- and you are invited to join us! If it`s not already on your calendar, make a note today. 😁 And we would love it if you would RSVP online to let us know you plan to attend! You are welcome to come for some or all of the day, with the main features being a tasty lunch of burgers and sides, followed by a concert by The Walking Roots Band and some fun afternoon activities. Also note that if you want to make it a weekend getaway, we do have campsites and camping cabins available at the moment. 🏕⛺️

Enjoy these pictures from the 2022 and 2023 Celebration events, and pop over to highlandretreat.org/celebration to see more details about this year`s schedule and to RSVP. We hope to see you here on May 18th!

#highlandretreatva #highlandcelebration

The summer camp season will begin in less than 2 months -- we are getting excited! Several of our camps are completely full at this point, but most have at least a few openings (see the last image for more exact info). If there are camp-aged children in your life who would enjoy a week of Christian summer camp at Highland, this is a great time to register them!

Also note that a few of our camps MAY be able to accept additional campers IF we can secure another counselor or two. We are especially still in need of male counseling staff! We know that God will provide for our summer staff needs; if you would join us in praying for that, we would greatly appreciate it! And if you happen to know a young adult who would be a great addition to our summer staff team, please give them a nudge toward applying!

For more info on summer camps and the online registration: highlandretreat.org/summer-camp/youth-camps
For summer employment info and the online application: highlandretreat.org/summer-camp/employment

Pictures in this post are from our week of 8- to 10-year-old campers last summer.

#highlandretreatva #highlandsummercamps #campcounselorsneeded

This Saturday will be a work day here at Highland. If your schedule is open, we`d love to have you join us for a few hours of work and a free lunch! Some of the tasks on our to-do list include mulching flowerbeds, spreading wood chips in playgrounds and/or on the challenge course, and improving some campsites. There will be tasks for all ages and skill levels! If you can join us, please use the online form at highlandretreat.org/get-involved/work-days to let us know we can expect you.

#highlandretreatva #volunteerworkday #springprojects