Welcome back to Trail Mix. Today we are relaunching our monthly newsletter dedicated to a little bit of everything. As part of this relaunch, we would like to take a moment to thank our donors once again who supported our spring appeal and helped us meet our match! We would also like to thank Sheri Mark, our Board Chair, Edie Briskin, a friend of camp, Patrick Smith, our Chief Program Officer, and J.J. Lewis, our CEO, for offering the match. These gifts are planting the seeds for an impactful fall and exciting program lineup for 2025! We hope you enjoy the articles below and we thank you for being part of our campily. | |
Volunteer @ Family Camp This Month | | |
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The Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan’s Family Camp, in partnership with North Star Reach, is scheduled for Friday - Sunday, July 19-21. It is a weekend filled with community, connection, and campily. If you have been to camp before, you’ll know what that means. If not, come find out all about the mooseness and magic that makes North Star Reach special.
This is your last chance to apply to volunteer! Pre-camp training begins on Friday, July 19 at 1 pm with families arriving early evening.
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Epic Races’ annual open water swimming event is celebrating its 15th anniversary, Saturday, August 17 & Sunday, August 18 on the Hiland Chain of Lakes in the Pinckney Recreation Area. Since 2010, Swim to the Moon, an extraordinary open-water swim adventure, has been using North Star Reach’s beach area as a starting point for its 5K race and turnaround for the 10K. This year, to recognize the race’s history, a 15K event has been added. Over its lifetime, the event has raised over $100,000 between swimmer donations and race registrations to support North Star Reach. | |
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Thanks to all of the participants who fundraise or donate to help support our mission and special thanks to Eva Soloman and Epic Races for being great partners for the last 15 years! | |
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The Moose-Merch Online Store is now open with a great selection of North Star Reach swag! OK, it’s not really called Moose-Merch, but it could be. And if you are not familiar with the term swag (stuff we all get), some call it merch, others promo or logo wear. We like to call it super awesome looking gear with the NSR logo that makes you look stylish and hip. You can visit our Camp Store, powered by our friends at Midwest Graphics, and not only get some NSR swag, but also support camp with a percentage of your purchase price coming back to us!
Midwest Graphics is offering a special this month to help us celebrate our 8th anniversary! Receive an embroidered NSR hat with your purchase this month.
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Find Your Campfire
Volunteer Profile | Al Banning
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If there were photos in the dictionary, next to the word "volunteer" would be a picture of Al Banning. Since 2017, Al has been a fixture at summer camps, family camps, special events, and work weekends. When asked what his favorite part of camp is, Al said, “I just truly enjoy working and being with the kids.”
With a long history in camping, he has been part of Boy Scouts and Wonderland Camp in Missouri, a program for children, teenagers, and adults who have disabilities. Al learned about North Star Reach through his son-in-law, who was involved with camp’s food service program. As a resident of Ann Arbor, “NSR is almost in my backyard,” Al shared with a laugh.
He can most often be found at the waterfront as part of the boating program, managing the chaos of fitting life jackets, loading and launching canoes, and keeping a watchful eye on everyone. One of Al’s favorite memories was working with the youngest girls’ cabin during a summer session. The last night of camp, they asked him to join their cabin closing. The campers had made a plaque, and all signed it saying, “We love you, grandpa.”
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His impact on the lives of campers, families, volunteers, and staff will last far into the future as Al recently became a member of camp’s Ember Society, North Star Reach’s planned giving program. “Al is one of camp’s stars. The kids love him, the volunteers love him, we all love him. He has the heart of a true volunteer and is always willing to help when and wherever needed. He is a huge part of our campily,” Chief Program Officer Patrick Smith said with a smile. | |
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Lasting Impact
In Our Own Words | The Schanks
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Tim, Jack, Gracie & Bridget Schank | |
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13 years ago, Jack had a liver transplant, and his dad was the donor.
Our amazing transplant nurse at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, told us about this camp in Michigan where all the kids have had organ transplants. When Jack turned 9, he finally agreed to go. We packed him up with all his clothes and gear, including the swim shirt he always wore because of his scar from the transplant. We dropped him off along with tears and hugs and kisses. "Don't forget to be awesome," I told him like I did every day when he left for school or an activity. Six days later we picked Jack up. A week later, we went to our local pool, gathered all the things that we usually do, including Jack's swim shirt because he was self-conscious about his scar. We got to the pool, found our chairs, Jack put on his goggles, and then he took off his shirt. I said nothing. He said, "I don’t need this anymore. I have my camp friends who are just like me. We all have scars.
The camp that made this possible is North Star Reach. To a typical person, this may not seem like a big deal. But to a kid and family who have experienced the unthinkable and usually don't feel like anyone understands, this is EPIC. Everyone needs to feel part of a group, like they belong. For people like us and Jack, it is really hard to have that feeling. North Star Reach gave us that place. It is a home away from home for Jack, me, Tim and Gracie. It has saved us. We have made so many family friends and connections over the years.
Camp needs to exist. For Jack. For us. For all the kids and families like ours. It is our campily and second home.
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