When John W. Conner passed away in 2017 at the age of 86, there were two things really important in his life that his family wanted to pay tribute to: the Shriners Hospitals for Children and Pine Tree Camp. “A lot of what he wanted to do, was able to do, and did do was because of Pine Tree Camp and Shriners Hospital,” his son John D. Conner Read More ›
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“She needed to trust somebody”
“I didn’t like the path I was going down. I wasn’t making good choices and I wanted a fresh life and people I could count on.” Julie is 42 years old and lives with intellectual disabilities. Since she decided to turn her life around, she’s never looked back. That’s where Pine Tree Society’s Home and Community Support Programs came in to help Read More ›
Pine Tree Camp is never boring
In our lives when you spend time at a place long enough, you realize each place has its own distinct rhythm. Pine Tree Camp has always had a rhythm that you would never call normal. But it’s okay, normal is boring. Camp is a myriad of adjectives, but it’s never boring. Coming to camp for over thirty years, the rhythms have changed dramatically, Read More ›
“I’d go back in a minute”
“I’d go back in a minute,” Joan McDonough just turned 83, and that’s how she feels about Pine Tree Camp. “It was home to me almost every summer.” She starting going in 1946, just one year after camp first opened, and went every year until 1951. “I had curvature of the spine and had been in the hospital for two and half years wearing various Read More ›
Camp Communicate making things possible
14 years ago, Linda Bonnar, Director of Communication Pathways at Pine Tree Society, founded Camp Communicate, a retreat designed specifically for children who are non-verbal and who use computerized devices to communicate. Being the only one in school who uses a computer to communicate can be isolating. At Camp Communicate, our campers are just Read More ›
Ladan Iman
"Working here made me change my entire career path." 22-year-old Ladan Iman from Auburn has been working at Pine Tree Camp for the past four years. She started out as a counselor and has worked her way up to staff liaison, where she assists campers and their families/caregivers whose personal care needs exceed those that can be provided by camp Read More ›
Accessible treehouse and nature trails
Wednesday, June 27th "I've never been in a treehouse until now." Pine Tree Camp gives people with disabilities the opportunity to immerse completely in nature. In 2010, Pine Tree Society partnered with The Treehouse Guys—a non-profit organization formally known as Forever Young Treehouses— to build the first fully accessible treehouse in Read More ›
Marie Preston’s Spirit Lives On
Marie Preston was the second Executive Director of Pine Tree Society – or Easter Seals as it was known -- and was instrumental in establishing Pine Tree Camp in 1945. Her son, Jim Preston, was eight years old at the time and recalls that it was after the war that his mother became executive director. Newspaper articles from the time reveal Read More ›
Overnight Camping
June 21, 2018 "I wish I could stay here forever." "I wish I could make a friend." Every session campers have the opportunity to sign up for an overnight camping experience at the breathtaking southerly shore of North Pond. At the end of free swim, the campers and their counselors head over to the campsite where they make their own Read More ›