Pine Tree Society

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Portland Press Herald: Pine Tree Camp gets creative to aid those with disabilities

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Last week, we held a special demo day to run through our new Pine Tree Camp Adventure Day Pass.  Reporter Deirdre Fleming joined us for a behind the scenes look.

Here’s an excerpt from her story:

“When Tristan and Amy Bouchard started their day at Pine Tree Camp two weeks ago, they got the royal treatment on the camp’s pontoon boat.

Typically, the boat would carry as many as six campers, but to assure social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, Amy Bouchard and her teenage son were the lone campers riding on the boat on North Pond in central Maine, looking for bald eagles and smallmouth bass with three staff members.

Tristan Bouchard, 18, was born with a brain disorder called hydrocephalus that makes some cognitive functions challenging, such as walking and reasoning. For the past four years he has stayed overnight at Pine Tree Camp, which for 75 years has provided outdoor adventures for Mainers with disabilities.

‘I wish there were more things for us to do in the summer like this. I’ve never held him back. The more experiences he has, the better it is for him,’ Amy Bouchard said.”

Read the full article.

Learn more about our Pine Tree Camp Adveture Day Pass.

 

News Center Maine: Pine Tree Camp gives campers a summer experience

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News Center Maine reports how Pine Tree Camp is giving campers a chance to stay connected and have a Maine summer camp experience.

‘Pine Tree Camp to You’ consists of six different themed weeks for campers — nature, fitness, music/drama, arts/craft, science, and cooking. For each full week, staff members pack up boxes with videos and materials that are sent to campers’ homes for them to learn and have new activities to try. A couple of times a week, campers will join Zoom meetings, monitored by staff members, as a virtual “cabin group”, allowing them to connect with other campers.  Check out the full news story.

Learn more about Pine Tree Camp to You.

 

Lewiston Sun Journal: Sign language interpreting during Covid-19

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The Lewiston Sun Journal takes readers behind the scenes to learn what it’s like being a sign language interpreter on TV during a pandemic.

“Many people do not enjoy watching foreign films with subtitles. The viewer is splitting their attention between the words and the action,” said Maura Nolin, Pine Tree Society’s director of interpreting services and an ASL interpreter who works on the CDC’s daily briefings behind the scenes. “Closed captioning is like you watching a movie with the captions in Spanish or German. . . . An interpreted broadcast is like watching a movie in your preferred language. No need to split your thinking or take in information in a second — or third — language.”

Read the full article at this link.

 

June 12: WABI TV Telethon for Pine Tree Camp

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On Friday, June 12 from 5:00 – 6:00pm, WABI5 will host a live mini-telethon in support of Pine Tree Camp’s 75th anniversary.

Pine Tree Camp staff will be standing by to take pledges and donations by phone and viewers are also invited to give online at this link.

Although we can’t be together around a campfire this summer, Maine people with disabilities will still be able to experience the magic of Pine Tree Camp from wherever they are!

Our Campologists have taken everything our campers love about Pine Tree Camp – friends, activities, the outdoors, discovery and exploration – and created Pine Tree Camp to You.

Learn more about these week-long virtual summer camp experiences at this link.

Morning Sentinel: Pine Tree Camp ensures camp experiences this summer

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The Morning Sentinel reports about how Pine Tree Camp is serving the needs of Maine people with disabilities this summer.

Amy Calder writes:

“Pine Tree Camp on North Pond in Rome, which serves children and adults with disabilities, is using creative ways this summer to ensure camp experiences….a series of six remote summer camp sessions, each a week-long, will be held. Each week will revolve around a theme such as nature, drama or science. Registered campers will receive a curated activity box containing everything they need to participate in daily activities, and they will come together via Zoom to connect for group activities and take part in self-guided activities at their own pace. Those activities will be delivered through paper instructions and pre-recorded videos accessible on Pine Tree Camp’s website.”

Read the full article at this link.

Pine Tree Camp to offer Pine Tree Camp to You summer sessions

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Though we’re unable to gather around a campfire in person this summer, Pine Tree Camp will deliver a remote summer camp experience for Maine people with disabilities.  All campers need is a spirit of adventure, an Internet connection, a mobile device or computer and a free Zoom account. Pine Tree Camp will provide the rest.

“Our mission is discovering abilities together, and we’re going to continue that mission even when we’re apart,” said assistant camp director Mary Schafhauser. “As innovative camp professionals, we’re always thinking about what more we can do. This is our chance. Everything we do this summer will be meaningful and impactful. It’s such an opportunity.”

Pine Tree Camp Director Dawn-Willard Robinson continued, “We actually opened Pine Tree Camp two months early with the launch of Pine Tree Camp to You on Facebook in March. We have learned a lot over the past few months and have been able to incorporate what we have learned into our summer curriculum.”

Dawn and Mary pulled in a team of camp professionals, alumni, teachers, media specialists and outdoor recreation experts from around the United States to design an accessible curriculum that connects campers, creates opportunities for staying active, engages their imagination and develops their passion for trying new things.  Pine Tree Camp is a place to try new things.  And that can still be done virtually.

Here’s how Pine Tree Camp to You summer sessions will work:

Pine Tree Camp to You is a series of six, week-long remote summer camp sessions.  Each week will revolve around a theme like Nature, Drama or Science.  Registered campers will receive a curated activity box containing everything they need to participate in the daily activities.  Campers will come together via Zoom to connect for group activities and will also participate in self-guided activities at their own pace.  Self-guided activities will be delivered through paper instructions and pre-recorded video accessed on Pine Tree Camp’s website.

Campers can expect to participate in a wide variety of fun activities. For example, during the Nature themed-week there will be everything from a backyard nature hunt to virtually exploring the trails at Pine Tree Camp via video with an outdoor recreation expert.  During Science week, campers will learn how to make a lava lamp at home and explore how clouds form shapes along the shores of North Pond.  Music is always a Pine Tree Camp favorite so campers will also have opportunities to learn new music then show off what they learned by singing together around a virtual campfire.

“It boils down to one word: connection,” said camp director Dawn Willard-Robinson.  “We want to fill that need for connection in whatever way we can, even if that means we’re connecting virtually through a screen.  Keeping people connected is the very essence of what we do, and, during this time of physical distancing, that’s more important than ever.”

Registration opens on June 8.  Detailed information is available at this link.     

Team Franklin Savings Bank “steps it up” for Pine Tree Camp

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When Franklin Savings Bank first began its employee health and wellness initiatives, the Paddle for Pine Tree Camp quickly became an annual tradition for their staff.

“The Paddle for Pine Tree Camp gives our employees the chance to do something they don’t always have a chance to do,” said Kelsea Pinkham, from the bank’s human resources department.  “Not everyone owns a kayak so we have always found ways to provide them to give everyone an opportunity to get out on the water together.”

This year, as the Paddle turns into a virtual event, Team Franklin Savings Bank is stepping it up with a company-wide Employee Step Challenge.

Franklin Saving’s Bank employees are tracking their steps all month long with an ambitious goal of 17 million steps, all tracked electronically by Fitbit.

Kelsea set that big goal for steps knowing how much Pine Tree Camp means to their employees.

She recalled how “The first year when we saw how many people were at the Paddle, we realized it was bigger than we’d thought it was going to be.  It was a real eye opener because we saw first-hand how many people already knew about and supported Pine Tree Camp and how the Paddle is for a bigger purpose.”

Kelsea and her team love seeing campers and their families every year and will miss that during the virtual event.  “It’s always nice to see the campers at the Paddle; it’s a good refection of the mission.”

It’s that mission that will drive Team Franklin Savings Bank to meet the 17 million step mark.

“Our employees are all about giving and supporting the communities we serve.  Now more than ever.  We are so proud of our team and are confident they will exceed the goal and, in doing so, the bank will proudly send further funds in addition to sponsoring the great event.”

To learn how you can take part in the virtual Paddle for Pine Tree Camp, please visit this link.

The Impact of Your Support

Pine Tree Camp is more than a summer camp.  For thousands of Maine people with disabilities, Pine Tree Camp is a family. Now more than ever, Camp is a lifeline to the campers and families we serve.

People with disabilities are vulnerable to experiencing social isolation in the best of times.  In these challenging times of social distancing, isolation is particularly difficult for people with disabilities. The accompanying stress and feelings of loneliness can rapidly compound and lead to depression and increased health issues.

For 75 years, Pine Tree Camp has offered Maine people with disabilities the chance to access nature without barriers and meaningfully participate in outdoor recreation while building friendships that last a lifetime.

We are seeing this come to life today in this time of social distancing.

The Pine Tree Camp team quickly innovated to “open” Pine Tree Camp two months early by launching “Pine Tree Camp to You” programming on Facebook Live and Zoom to keep our campers socially connected while offering adaptive opportunities to get active and access nature in their home environment.  Our team is also providing support to families who have quickly transitioned to homeschooling their child with special needs.

100% of donations to the Virtual Bath Savings Paddle for Pine Tree Camp will allow us to continue to provide this life-changing programming for one of Maine’s most vulnerable populations. 

Sun Journal: Pine Tree Camp develops innovative summer camp opportunities

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The Sun Journal shares with its readers how Pine Tree Camp is innovating this summer to bring “Pine Tree Camp to You.” Read the full story at this link:
https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/05/07/pine-tree-camp-develops-innovative-summer-camp-opportunities/

Pine Tree Camp develops innovative summer camp opportunities

For the safety and health of campers and staff, Pine Tree Camp has canceled all traditional camp sessions this summer and replaced those programs with innovative online programming for registered campers and one-of-a-kind Pine Tree Camp Adventure Day Passes for all Maine people with disabilities, providing access to the outdoors on a day pass capacity to a limited number of people at a time.

“Out of this time of uncertainty has come innovation, creativity and strength. We are innovating to improve and expand upon what we do and help the people we serve adapt along with us,” said Noel Sullivan, president and CEO of Pine Tree Society.

 

WABI5 News: Pine Tree Camp’s alternative programming for the summer

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WABI 5 talked with Pine Tree Camp director, Dawn Willard-Robinson, to learn about the innovative programming in store for Maine people with disabilities this summer at Pine Tree Camp.

WABI TV5 reports that Pine Tree Camp has made the decision to cancel all traditional camp sessions, but has taken the unique approach of a virtual “Pine Tree Camp to You” camp experience for registered campers and “Pine Tree Camp Adventure Day Passes” available to all Maine people with disabilities.  In her interview, Dawn shares why being outdoors in a fully accessible environment is so important and why Pine Tree Camp is committed to filling that need.

Watch the news  story at this link.