What are the Legacy Years?
For almost 40 years WinShape Camps has offered camp to high school-aged campers. That program once lived at our two-week Mt. Berry location only. Since our two-week camp fills up quickly, we have been hoping and planning for a long time to offer a high school program for boys and girls at our one-week locations. Until this summer, we were able to do that at our Cohutta Springs location, but it was only for girls. So, we were missing a one-week option for high school boys.
With Family Camp growing and with an increasing need for more high school boys options, we made the announcement in Summer 2023 that we were going to turn Cohutta Springs into the home for Family Camp all summer long. With this switch, we are moving one-week high school girls to our Young Harris location and launching a new high school boys program at our Cleveland location! We are calling this new program, The Legacy Years. Many years ago we began dreaming and planning, and preparations still continue as we finalize details for the inaugural summer in 2024! This blog will share with you what we have planned for the program thus far, so you can get excited with us!!
First of all, we know that our Cohutta Springs girls are sad to leave the beautiful campus there, surrounded by water. We also know that those campers enjoyed the culture of Cohutta Springs and we are working hard to incorporate the things they loved about it into this Legacy Years program. While we can’t construct a beautiful lake, we are doing the best we can to include water elements for these girls in the form of “off-campus adventures.” (but more about that in a second.)
With that in mind, here are some special features of The Legacy Years for Summer 2024.
Freedom to Choose
The Legacy Years campers will not have skills in their schedule. Why, you ask? Well, because they will be spending time together exclusively as a Legacy Years group with their own special programming and off-campus adventures. They will also have a few times during the week where they can select what they want to do based on various options. We know this age loves having the freedom to choose their own activities, and we are going to allow them that freedom as much as possible!
Exclusive High-School-Only Experiences
While there certainly will be moments where the Legacy Years campers are with middle school-aged campers and times when all campers are together; most of their time will be separate from other age groups so that we can craft intentional and unique experiences for high school campers. Also, it will be a small group – we will have 30 or less campers per week of camp, so campers will really get to know each other and form strong connections with other in their Legacy Years group.
Late Night and Off-Campus Adventures
Exclusive late-night activities and off-campus adventures will be held specifically for the Legacy Years campers! While some of these off-campus adventures are still in the works, we are SO excited and know that campers will love them. However, there IS something we can tell you. During one of our off-campus adventures, high school boys at Cleveland and high school girls at Young Harris will get to meet up and adventure – together! This has always been a tradition for our two-week Mount Berry campers, and we are excited to finally bring it to our one-week camp.
Leadership Breakouts
Legacy Years campers will have a time together, during each full day of camp, called “Leadership Breakouts.” These times are for connecting with God, connecting with each other, and for intentional curriculum on spiritual disciplines. We hope that this content will help equip campers with spiritual habits that will help them make their faith, their own! They will also receive a spiritual disciplines book to take home with them, to keep the momentum going in this area. In addition to their breakout time, we will be giving campers different opportunities to practice servant leadership at camp!
Special Moment for 11th Graders
Similar to how we have done this at Mount Berry and Cohutta Springs, our 11th grade campers will have a special moment of celebration a some point during the week, to memorialize their last year of camp together.
Staying True to Your Club/Squad
The main focus for these high school campers will be their Legacy Years group. But if you are a prior Young Harris or Cleveland camper, have no fear! You will still be in the same club or squad you were previously inducted into. For example, if your camper is a Skocean or Quake, they will remain a Skocean or Quake, but they will ALSO be a part of this special group, the Legacy Years! If your campers are brand-new to WinShape Camps one-week camp, they will be inducted into a Club/Squad this year after registration.
We are so excited about the Legacy Years and hope you will consider joining us in Summer 2024 for the inaugural year! Here is a Cleveland Legacy Years video and Young Harris Legacy Years video to get your high-schooler pumped for the summer!
