Resource Roundup!

Apr 23

Dear friends,

Hello from Ghostlight! I spent this weekend with members of the Ghostlight Team in Warwick, and we had such fun thinking about being there with you all soon. We're so looking forward to a summer of joy, creativity, gratitude, and community with you and with our campers. As we move through the spring, camp is feeling closer each day.

This weekly email is a resource roundup — it includes information about Mental Health First Aid, shipping luggage to camp, laundry, and more about our campus at Mountain Lake Park. As a reminder, you can always catch up on communications on our Staff Messages and Updates page!

Have questions or want to connect? You can always respond back to these emails, or schedule a call with a camp director. We love hearing from you!

Alexa (and Chris, Monica, Spencer, and Zack)

🧠 Mental Health First Aid

During staff training, we'll spend time working on skills for supporting campers' mental health and well-being. If you are seeking more opportunities to develop these skills, check out the links below for upcoming free Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings. This course teaches participants how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health challenges among children and adolescents ages 12-18. If you take a course, upload your certificate to your Staff Dashboard so we can give you a shoutout!

American Camp Association: April 23 and May 19
Mental Health Assocation in New York State: May 6/7, May 12/13, May 14, June 2/3, June 10/11

🧳 Shipping Luggage

Looking to ship luggage to camp? Ghostlight partners with ShipCamps as a resource for campers mailing luggage, and ShipCamps offers a staff rate as well. Click here to learn more about rates and details.

🧺 Laundry at Camp

Starting to think about packing for camp and curious about how laundry works? All camper and staff laundry will be done offsite in Warwick. Each staff member will be provided with an individual laundry bag from our partner company. In case of an immediate laundry need (camper sheets, a tumble in a puddle on a rainy day), we will be able to do a quick load on camp.

🏕️ Mountain Lake Park

We’re thrilled to introduce you to Mountain Lake Park, and the town of Warwick, NY. Warwick is known for its historic downtown, a vibrant arts scene, a jazz festival, hiking trails, and picturesque orchards. For 54 years, the campus at Mountain Lake Park was the home of URJ Kutz Camp. Mountain Lake Park is now best known as the site where the movie Theater Camp was filmed, making it an iconic theater camp location!

During the school year, the Mountain Lake Park campus hosts a popular fall Applefest, Girl Scout troop projects, a nature-based preschool, and retreats. We’re anticipating the joy of building our new artistic home among the trees and wildlife, making theater in studios with huge windows that overlook the lake.

Some areas of the Mountain Lake Park campus are shared with other programs. There is a local student technology club that meets once a week, and a small preschool that runs a morning camp in a separate building. Some of the lakefront areas are open to the public for hiking and fishing during daytime hours. The pickleball courts and pool area are also open to members during daytime hours. Overnight, the campus is closed to everyone except Ghostlight staff and campers. Mountain Lake Park staff will coordinate with Warwick residents using the campus facilities, including checking their membership cards.

Mountain Lake Park is situated in a quiet area of Warwick off a small road. Given that some parts of the campus are shared, the campus has security measures in place, such as 24/7 camera coverage, closed gates overnight, and drive-through patrols from local law enforcement. During staff training, we'll spend lots of time reviewing and practicing safety protocols.

For returning campers and staff, we know the new space will feel new in some ways, while our program will also feel very familiar. We're excited for staff and campers, returning and new, to discover the beautiful location! If you have more questions about how the Ghostlight program will grow in this new location, we have a FAQ page on our website — and we're always happy to chat more if you schedule a call via the link at the beginning of this message.

We'll continue sharing photos and videos leading up to camp — here are a few to kick us off!