AV CAMP

June 2025

Our guest speaker: Charles Ajalat

Charles has been active in growing Orthodoxy in North America in so many ways, as he helped start well-known ministries such as IOCC, OCMC, and FOCUS-North America. We are excited for him to be with us and share his wisdom of how to serve in the Orthodox Church here in America!

During our 3 week Discipleship training we had support staff training, individual program training, and lots of group activities!

We talked to Andrew Tadros, a second year counselor, about how he thinks D-Week training went.

What has training week been like for you?

Andrew: "Training week this year has allowed me time to get to know all the new staff members and see the new culture. It's helped me learn more about my faith of course and getting to know everyone so we can be a team and get ready for the summer sessions."

You talked about "new culture", what is this new culture?

Andrew: "The new culture is just that we are brought in together and inclusive towards each other. We are one staff and work together for the campers. I'm really excited about it. With this new culture of community it's only up from here."

What has this D-Week training taught you?

Andrew: "It has taught me to be more patient with everyone and taught me to be ready for different situations with campers."

Summer Camp Session 1 has officially started! Above is the link to our SmugMug where you can find all of session 1's photos so far!

Please check out our Parents Corner on the website if you have any questions. This has lots of information including:

• Camper Parent Handbook (please read through this carefully as it has updated information every year)
• Arrival / Departure Information
• Preparing your camper for Camp
• Packing list
• Photos - links
• Forms
• Policies
• FAQ's
• Much much more!

We officially have 2 renovated rooms being used this summer! The entire Gathering Place (one of AV's original buildings from the 1950's) has been completely renovated with HVAC, new floors, doors, roof, paint, and bathrooms. The 2 rooms have been renamed and outfitted for new uses.

Yazge's Place (our sensory room) has been completely outfitted with lots of sensory-related items thanks entirely to our generous donors who used our Amazon wishlist! We have sensory toys, fidgets, a swing, noise canceling headphones, bean bag chairs, a "crash zone", and much much more. This space is designed for anyone who needs a break from the noise and business of camp - mainly for sensory input or output. It is being managed by our Sensory Aide, Julia Kallaur, under the guidance and direction of Kh. Sophia Shadid, a licensed Occupational Therapist who specializes in working with children.

Nasser's Corner (our alumni room) has lots of good stuff to take you down memory lane from the past 47 years. We have Fr. John Namie's chair and t-shirts, all of our old photo books (which are also uploaded on Smugmug), old t-shirts, and lots of memorabilia. Everything was designed by our Marketing Intern, Anna Rouphail, and if you have anything you'd like to donate just let us know. So next time you come, check our Nasser's Corner - sit on the couch and flip through the old albums, and take in all that nostalgia!



Yazge's Place (Sensory Room)

Nasser's Room (Alumni Room)

Sign Up For Our Upcoming Programs!

Stay tuned for registration opening for our programs!

Our Nookstore is online - check out all the merchandise from sweatshirts to Christmas ornaments. AV swag makes great Christmas gifts! Don't forget our new thrift store as well!

AV Thrift Shop!

Hey AV Alumni! Do you love flipping through our photo albums when you come to visit? Well our previous Director of Communications Constantine Kallaur has scanned all of our photos from our photo collection going all the way back to 1981! In an effort to preserve the history of The Antiochian Village, we are in the process of digitizing as much content as we have. Our Director of Operations, Nick Dujmovic, has collected camp videos going all the way back to the 1990s as well.

Check out our SmugMug photo-site and our Vimeo page below to re-live the AV memories!