H is for Happiness

What does happiness mean to you? Does it mean having a lot of money to spend on expensive things, or perhaps something deeper? At Foley, everyone’s definition of happiness is different, but we are all fueled by our drive to build character and have fun while we do it. For some of us, that means waking up with our friends at 6 a.m. to go waterskiing, and for others it means spending time getting to know the international campers in our cabin and picking up some words in a foreign language.

At camp, we know that everyone has their own “turbo button”, something that can instantly improve our mood and give us energy. We believe that we can all find what makes us happy here, and that we can all find a reason to call this paradise our home away from home. Even if we aren’t having the best day, taking a deep breath and remembering what makes a place like this so special often puts the pep right back in our step. When we see smiles all around, it becomes obvious that each person is finding their own little way of being happy, and in the end, that’s what camp is all about.

Spring to Summer

Camp Foley is proud to bring to you their first ever Video Blog!

Regular summer campers Lauren B. and Ellie S. came to Foley a little earlier than usual this spring to partake in our Environmental Education Center. These two 6th graders came to Foley with the rest of their grade from Our Lady of Grace school, and were dying to share their thoughts of our Outdoor Education program and memories of past summers. Take a look...







- Marie and Alli, Directors.

Creating Fun in the Rec Center

I will pick up this blog with the next phase of our construction projects here at Camp Foley. The new Rec. Center was the 3rd move in this shifting of venues. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you will have to scroll back in Foleys’ Rattlin’ Blog and find the first two explaining our major construction and transfer of activity areas.

The Rec Center, shown on the right.

What's now known as the Rec. Center was previously just the old garage. No campers ever went in the building. Like I mentioned before, it was home to the Foleys’ lawn tractor, skid steer, log splitter, and extra hockey goals. Now it is a beautiful building that is full of excitement and fun. The project started in a snowy late April with the snow having to be shoveled off the old roof to begin the new steel roofing. A For Your Information, we didn’t change roof line so, no need for a building permit!

Plenty of space for great games.

The new steel roofing glows with the same green sheen as the maintenance center. We did not tear any part of this old building down. We simply just renovated the existing structure that is easier typed than done! It was merely gutted on the inside and with the addition of log siding to the outside, we have beautiful building. For the campers and to enhance the fun at the Foley Fun Center, we added speakers on the inside and outside the building. So now when the campers are battling it out in our Human Foosball or swatting around the birdie at Badminton or playing a game of Giant Tether they have the opportunity to listen to their favorite songs. For the inside of the Rec. Center we moved our pool table, ping pong tables, foosball tables, and added arcade hoops for fun and games. It is a great place with an awesome atmosphere.

Enjoying Foosball in the Rec Center.

It’s just another great addition to an already awesome place called…Camp Foley! Stop by sometime and check it out!

Until next time,
 Chris Mathiowetz, Director

The Happiness Project

As a parent and a relatively new blog follower, I experienced profound joy when following one of my favorite blogs, The Happiness Project, and its author Gretchen Rubin had a wonderful, camp answer to the question she proposed to Rachel Bertsche (author of MWF Seeking BFF), “Have you always felt about the same level of happiness, or have you been through a period when you felt exceptionally happy or unhappy – if so, why?”

Rachel responded, "Some of the happiest times in my life were spent at summer camp… I used to feel a happiness rush the moment I stepped off the bus onto the campgrounds … all that was expected of me was to have fun. Suddenly there wasn't the pressure of grades, or the social drama that seemed to accompany school… It probably won't surprise you to read that my best friend in the world went to camp with me, so that increased my happiness plenty. Camp basically provided a double-happiness boost: it removed the stress of trying to excel in school or extra-curriculars that existed in my "regular" life, and gave me 24/7 friend time!”

What a tremendous gift that we can give to our children – the gift of a couple weeks of a “double-happiness boost” – no stress and friends 24/7!

- Marie Schmid, Executive Director, Camp Foley.