CIT Tori is ready for camp!

Name: Tori Handler
Years at Camp: 10 years at camp!
Hobbies When You’re at Home: Playing sports and being with my friends.
Secret Talent: I have no secret talent but i wish i could dance!
Favorite Camp Activity: COOKING!!!
Funny Camp Memory: Waking up alone in the bunk because there was a fake break and all I saw was a chipmunk running through the cubby room so I thought my bunk was outside because they were scared.
Advice for a First Time Camper: Be open to making new friends because the friends you make at camp will be your sisters forever, and live every minute to the fullest.
Something You Learned at Camp: How to waterskii and now its one of my favorite things to do!
I never leave for camp without my… my gold color war shirts.
If I could have any job in the world it would be… a manager for someone famous.
My favorite place I’ve traveled is… St.Thomas because i got to do so many fun things.
One thing my campers will learn about me is… how much I love camp and that it’s my home forever .
One fun fact about me is… I was at a froyo place once and made a new best friend who is 4! His name is gavin 🙂

Gavin reads Tori his favorite book!

Hi Everyone – I’m excited to be back on my blog sharing a great story from the weekend with you all!

On Sunday morning a few of the 2013 CIT girls joined me, along with Pam and Dani, to cook dinner for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia. The Ronald McDonald House is one of my favorite philanthropic organizations – if you want to learn more you can visit their website here:

http://www.philarmh.org/who-we-are/history/

We were planning to cook a few casseroles for the House, which they then put into the freezer and take out when they need a meal in a pinch; most large dinners are donated or sponsored. At the last minute the Sunday night dinner donor cancelled – turning Camp Canadensis into the Sunday night dinner crew! We upped the number of casseroles, picked up some more ingredients, and got to work cooking enough dinner to feed 90 people!

I am so proud of the hard work everyone put in to making Sunday a success. I can’t tell you how many times I heard someone reference Jojo’s cooking elective at camp as we put our chef skills to the test! The best part about this service experience is the fun we had while preparing the food – there were lots of giggles and even a few noodles escaping on to the floor. We were all so happy to know we would be making a difference for the families staying at the house last night.

As we continue to look for opportunities to get out and take on service projects with our camp families,  I hope you will let us know about all the great work you’re already doing on your own! We love to hear about all the good deeds our Canadensis families are doing to make this world a better place!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Sunday’s Guest Chef experience:

Hi camp world! I’m really excited to be able to share my first post-camp reunion story! My sister [aka, Upper Senior counselor] Dani and I, along with my two best friends, spent last Saturday in beautiful NYC! We went in to town to see a play and ended up getting to meet Jake Gyllenhaal – talk about a crazy morning!

Cayla, Lynne, and Dani pose with Jakey!

After some shopping we decided to meet up with my other favorite celebrity, [Upper Senior group leader] Alex Feigin, for dinner that night!

Party in the dining hall!

Alex and Dani put that photo on instagram and within minutes their Upper Senior girls were going crazy! Alex said that her parents we ALSO in town seeing the new Paul Rudd play – now, anyone who knows us knows that we LOVE Paul Rudd, specifically in his famous camp movie, so hearing that he was in town meant we HAD to get tickets. As it always is when we’re together, the man at the box office was able to give us rush tickets in 2 private boxes, we thought that was a pretty sweet setup!

Can I just move in and live here forever?

After dinner we had some time before the show so we trekked uptown to one of my favorite places – Bendels! We were having the time of our lives in the headband room and Alex posed for this picture with her favorite accessory…

Hello, Gorgeous!

After lots of laughs and crazy hair pieces we went back downtown to see our show! My friends and I sat in one box, while Alex and Dani sat in the “Upper Senior Box”:

US Girls in their private box - Canadensis VIPs!!!

The actors in the play were absolutely amazing – we were all on the edge of our seats the whole time! After the show we waited outside for a chance to see Paul Rudd… we were NOT dissapointed:

"See you in macrame, Paul!"

I love NYC, I love seeing shows, and I LOVE my camp friends, so this was pretty much the perfect day! Dani and I are already planning our next trek for November, so hopefully we’ll have some more camp friend sightings to report! I hope you’re all making time to keep in touch with your camp friends throughout the winter, it definitely keeps the campsick-ness away!

Happy October everybody! It was a chilly morning as I made my way into the office – I guess this means summer really is over! Now that we’re back in full swing in the office I’m really excited to get back to my blog – I’ve got so much exciting camp-themed fun lined up for this fall and I can’t wait to share it all with you!

Looking back over the summer, I can definitely say this was the BEST SUMMER EVER! So, as is usually my “first-blog-back” tradition, here are some of my favorite moments of the summer, captured on film for you all to see. The best part, I’m proud to say, is that I took all of these snapshots myself! I’m getting super proud of my photography skills and I loved toting my camera around with me, from Ithaca to Orlando, to capture the most amazing summer of our lives…

Some of the CIT girls pose with Robin and newborn Baby Carli during CIT weekend!

Olivia and Chloe head out to the CIT overnight!

Rachel gets some tomatoes ready for the skillet!

Chef Dara

CITs in a tent!

Justin picked a lot of peas to feed families in need!

CIT Girls take a break from picking peas to take it all in...

Rikki was one with the fields...

CIT and SS Girls on our tour of Cornell

Jordan and Justin admire the dome...

Lauren and Mel get serious about their DDR!

Dorm Life!

Gotta get your college gear!

The theatre staff hold auditions for the summer shows...

CIT Boys at the NBC 10 Show

Brett and Dara loading boxes for the JRA

Sam helps Dani and Neali deliver boxes to families in need.

CIT counselors Nicole and Grace go for a spin on the floor!

Rebecca and Mindy discuss prom decoration strategy...

Super Seniors setting up on Prom Day!

CIT Taboo got very intense!

Casual posing at the V-Day dance!

We love EPCOT! (Ok, the Disney guy took this one for me!)

Mickey Mouse!

Next stop, Barbados!

Someone loves Goofy...

Being silly in Italy

My middle of the night view of the Rec Hall during color war...

Caila and Dani discuss the murals...

Lt. Olivia, Lt. Lauren, and Cpt. Rachel get soaked after winning Rope Burn!

Hallie is one with the fire...

Hanging the murals is a huge group effort!

Credit to LMac for this one:

Best. Summer. Ever.

There are literally hundreds of photos I could post and still never show you what a fabulous summer we had. A picture is worth a thousand memories and this was a summer we’ll never forget 🙂

Can you believe my countdown hit the single digits? In only 3 days I’ll be moving up to Canadensis and I can’t believe the time went so fast! Matt and Eric are already up at camp with the precamp staff getting things ready for summer 2012, and Pam and I joined the fun last week to prepare the fabulous camp store!

The camp store is stocked with additional staff shirts during our staff orientation so that counselors can pick up additional Canadensis gear. Parents may remember our camp store from visiting day when we were selling tees, hoodies, hats, hockey jerseys, blankets, and all sorts of other Canadensis goodies! Since we’re always trying to do everything bigger and better we went up early to get things looking beautiful for this season – here’s a sneak peak!

We’ve still got a bit of work to do – especially the part where we decorate the walls with sample apparel – but we should be up and running in no time!  What would you love to see in the camp store?

The winter office took advantage of the warm and sunny Tuesday weather to take a day trip to Long Island for some staff fun! Here are a few pictures from our travels:

Ralph's! Twin Pop recommended Graham Cracker and he was right!

Alex and I want you to vote Sigal Negrin for Merrick School Board!

We had the best time visiting Alex and Ben! What an amazing family 🙂

Max getting ready for a fun day at camp!

Max Hecht

University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Business Administration. From Plainview, NY.

Years at Camp:10

Position this Summer: Group Leader

Previous Positions: Junior Counselor, General Bunk Counselor

Favorite Camp Memory: CIT summer amazing race.

Advice for first year staff: Treat the kids with respect. You give respect, you’ll get it back in return.

One thing you’re going to do this summer that you’ve never done before: Mah Jongg.

Advice for a first time camper: Don’t take a second for granted. These seven weeks will fly by. Cherish every moment of it.

Carli in the middle of a CIT 2009 hug by the lake!

Carli Sukonik (CJ)

Lehigh University studying Graphic Design; from Penn Valley, PA

Years at Camp: This will be my 9th summer

Position this Summer: General Counselor, with some lacrosse on the side 

Previous Positions: JC!!

Favorite Camp Memory: A memory that has stuck with me to this day was from my first summer at camp in 2003. I was 10 years old and went camping for my first time. Although nervous at first, I ended up really enjoying all the activities that were planned for my friends and me. The first activity I loved was the trust walk. All of us walked in a single file line with our eyes closed and our hand on the shoulder of the girl in front of us to help guide the way. The leader of the walk (who fortunately had their eyes open  ) guided us to an opening in the woods where we could see the stars perfectly and hear the water of a nearby waterfall rolling in a short distance away. I remember the next morning was even more exciting because we got to make blueberry pancakes with blueberries that we picked fresh off the bush on our morning walk. What a great way to start off an amazing camp experience at Canadensis!

Advice for first year staff: Being around kids on such a regular basis can be overwhelming at times, but you have to remember how special they make your summer, along with how special you make theirs. Make sure you develop great relationships with the campers; you are their role model and it is the best feeling in the world knowing how much respect a camper has for you and the impact you can make on their life.

One thing you’re going to do this summer that you’ve never done before: Even after being at camp for half of my life, and participating in and enjoying nearly every activity, I have still never tried to ride a Honda. For those of you who do not know, we refer to the small, motorized dirt bikes as Hondas at Canadensis. I definitely want to try them this summer!

Advice for a first time camper: Whenever you get homesick, simply take a step back and look at what you are surrounded by. Not only is there a beautiful camp around you that offers every activity under the sun, but there is also a close-knit family that is there to help you whenever you need. Believe me, I know it is a lot easier said than done, but try to appreciate how lucky you are to be a part of the incredible Canadensis family.