|
Happy June, North Star Reach Campily!
As summer draws near, the spirit of camp is alive and growing—and so is the impact of your generosity. Thanks to donors like you, we’ve made exciting progress toward unlocking our $600,000 matching gift from The Ted and Jane Von Voigtlander Foundation! But we still need your help to reach the finish line. Every dollar you give today is doubled, directly supporting the magic of programs like our upcoming Family Camp Weekends, with our first one of the season happening later this month.
We invite you to deepen your connection to camp by making a gift, sharing the match with your family and friends, or encouraging a colleague to join our campily of supporters. Together, we can continue to bring belonging, joy, and lifelong memories to children with serious health challenges and their families.
In this issue, you’ll find heartwarming stories from one of our amazing camper families, a recap of our Spring Work Weekend (so much got done!), and details about our exciting new MOOSE-IC Festival coming this August. You’ll also find a last call for June Family Camp applications and details about our Moose-Merch summer specials—just in time to gear up before camp begins!
Patrick, we hope you enjoy your monthly snack of stories about what's happening at North Star Reach below!
| | Last Call for June Family Camp Applications! | | |
There is still time and room, but not much, to get your application in for our June 27 - 29 Family Camp! It doesn't take much to complete those forms and start packing for a wonderful weekend of fun and sun. We are also looking for just a few more volunteers to help complete the team of amazing staff members who make the magic and mooseness happen. Camper, family, and volunteer applications for our 2025 programs are open and available now! Follow one of the buttons below to get started on an amazing camp adventure:
| | |
All applications are completed in Ultracamp, our registration platform. The links above will take you to the appropriate application page where you will sign in using your existing account or create a new one if you have never been to camp at North Star Reach before. All of our programs are provided free of charge.
Moose sends his gratitude to the Applied Innovation, Community Foundation For Livingston County, Dunkin' Joy in Childhood Foundation, Eagles for Children, the Livingston Sunrise Rotary Club, MAD Creative Concepts, Michigan Elks Association Major Project Commission, and the University of Michigan Credit Union for their support of our cost-free family camps.
| | Moose-Merch Summer Promotion | | |
Looking to show off your camp pride and help support the magic of North Star Reach? Our Moose-Merch Online Store is now stocked with a fresh lineup of custom North Star Reach apparel—and there's a special summer promotion you won't want to miss!
In the spirit of Mooseness, our friends at Midwest Graphics (our partner) are offering exclusive savings on short-sleeve t-shirts and polos—perfect for your summer adventures, backyard BBQs, and time spent lakeside. And with our first Family Camp Weekend of the season coming up at the end of June, now is the perfect time to grab your gear and arrive in style! Whether you're a camper, volunteer, donor, or friend of camp, there’s something for everyone.
The best part? Every purchase helps bring the joy of camp to children with serious health challenges. A percentage of each sale comes right back to North Star Reach, supporting life-changing experiences for our campers and families. Thanks for wearing your Mooseness with pride—and for supporting our mission with every purchase!
| | |
MOOSE-IC Festival
Saturday, August 23 | Noon - 10 pm
| | |
Mark your calendars and get ready to soak up all the Mooseness at our very first MOOSE-IC Fest, happening on Saturday, August 23, from 12–10 pm! This unforgettable summer celebration will be packed with live music, delicious food, great company, and the magic of camp—all set in our beautiful Campitheater.
Whether you're a longtime friend of North Star Reach or brand new to our community, this all-day festival is the perfect way to enjoy the heart of camp in a whole new way.
🎸 Live Performances by:
- Bret Maynard
- Darwin Mamassian
- Five Meets West
- Bovine
🍔 Tasty Eats from:
- Craveable
- Cookin’ with Beans
- Grateful Crow
🍹 Beverages by:
We’re also grateful to our incredible event sponsors: Ugly Dog Distillery, UD Family Table 2.0, MAD Creative Concepts, and Our Family. Their support makes the magic happen!
✨ Campfires, s’mores, music, community, and Mooseness await.
| | |
Spring Work Weekend Recap: So Much Work!
A big shout out to all the folks who got their hands dirty at our Spring Work Weekend, May 2 - 4. Over 130 people gave some time and talent to help us make camp a better and cleaner place. Employees from Sidock Group, Team UIS, DTE, UM Voices of the Staff helped make this our biggest work weekend yet!
Here’s just what we accomplished: picked up sticks, washed windows and screens, cleaned tables, brushed spiderwebs, cut firewood, trimmed the dining hall baseboards, sanded the dining hall railings, cleaned the health center inside and out, cleaned health center apartments, raked and spread sand on our beach, built a new camper gathering area fence, repaired the entrance fence, repaired and painted the archery shelter, built a new arrow backstop, built a bow holder, painted electrical boxes, painted hoofprints, painted activity signs, cleaned the pool, raked and woodchipped the treehouse, mopped dining hall stairs, finished stump removal, weeded the gaga pit, rototilled pathways, repaired the yurt railings, cleaned the basement storage room, and much more!
Special thanks to sponsors HAP, MAD Creative Concepts, Meijer, and Premier Paving for your support of our Spring Work Weekend.
Our Fall Work Weekend is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, November 7 - 9; mark your calendars now for some fall fun!
| | |
Lasting Impact | Find Your Campfire
Family & Volunteer Profile | Kikkert Harsch Family
| | |
The word s'more means much more to Chris, Kevin, and Connor than most families. Not only is it a delicacy they enjoy but it is also their feeling about coming to camp. They always want s'more! And, like the delicious combination of ingredients that come together to make a tasty treat, they have combined the magic of being campers and volunteers to both give and receive the things that make North Star Reach special.
Diagnosed at birth with a congenital heart defect, Connor and his family found their way to camp in 2016 and have been active members of our campily ever since. "Watching Connor grow up at camp has been amazing. I think he was around four when he came to family camp and just last weekend, he was running around with me helping at our open house," commented Patrick Smith, North Star Reach's Chief Program Officer, "Connor's enthusiasm for being a servant leader here and wanting to both be part of the action while sharing his experience and kindness with others is exactly what mooseness and campily are all about."
Chris and Kevin generously give back to camp at work weekends and events. While Connor was running around as the honorary Assistant Camp Director, they were putting their marshmallow roasting excellence to good use as campfire hosts at the amphitheater. "North Star Reach means meeting new people who seem strangely familiar and become solid friends and allies," Chris shared.
| | |
"It means our son's unique and necessary routines, that make him feel different, become both common place and respected during his stay. North Star Reach is a place that our family always looks forward to being. Being with our diversely unified campily."
| | |
Upcoming Events:
- Friday, June 20 - Sunday, June 22: Camp Skywild Family Camp Weekend
-
Friday, June 27 - Sunday, June 29: Family Camp Weekend
- Tuesday, July 1: Giving Moose Day
| | Thank you, Campfire Sponsors! | |
|
North Star Reach is Michigan’s only barrier-free, fully accessible medical camp serving children with significant health challenges and their families, entirely free-of-charge. Our programs are more than just fun. They’re purposely designed to foster independence, resilience, and personal growth, helping children and their families to see beyond the limits of their medical conditions and experience all that life can offer.
As a member of SeriousFun Children’s Network, we are part of a trusted global network of camps and programs for children with serious illnesses.
| | | | |
