Below you will find a collection of photos of the rebuilding efforts at Enchanted Hills Camp.
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Want to Help Make EHC the Place to Be this Summer? Come to the EHC Virtual Career Fair, March 12
Have you ever wanted to work or volunteer at Enchanted Hills Camp (EHC)? Are you looking for a summer job where you can learn new skills, soak up the beauty of Napa hills and make lasting memories? Well EHC is looking for people who are blind, have low vision or are sighted to be staff at EHC this summer to help our campers grow their own potential. Come to the virtual EHC Career Fair on March 12 from 10:00 am to noon Pacific to learn more!
Here’s what we’re looking for:
EHC Camp Counselors and Area Leaders: Must be 18 and older
EHC Counselors in Training: Students who are blind or have low vision ages 16 to 18
Youth Employment Services (YES) Academy Students: Students who are blind or have low vision ages 16 to 24
At the career fair, you’ll meet camp hiring managers and current and previous campers and staff. You’ll also find out about the range of activities and experiences EHC has in store. You can potentially get hired on the spot or invited back for an additional interview.
Tony Fletcher, Director of EHC says “The virtual career fair is a wonderful chance for potential candidates to explore opportunities at camp this summer”
Learn more about EHC on the LightHouse website.
What: Enchanted Hills Camp Career Fair
When: Saturday March 12 from 10:00 am to noon Pacific
RSVP: by Thursday, March 10. to Mario Burton at MBurton@old.lighthouse-sf.org.
Enchanted Hills Camp 2022 Registration is Now Open!
Hello Enchanted Hills Camp Community,
The LightHouse for the Blind is excited to enter our 72nd year at EHC, and we are proud to once again return to a variety of sessions that will benefit hundreds of campers in our community. The guiding principles of Enchanted Hills Camp is to promote independence, community and have fun. Hopefully you will gain lifelong friendships, and feel the “blind positive” atmosphere that camp strives to create. This is a place where campers have claimed they have had the time of their lives.
Enchanted Hills is an experience that so many look forward to having every year — and though our camp has been closed recently due to COVID-19 restrictions we’ve taken steps to enrich this summer so that all campers will still enjoy the beauty of our location safely and with a supportive staff.
Let’s have the best summer ever!
Tony Fletcher, senior director of Enchanted Hills Camp
Over a Thousand New Trees and Shrubs Planted at Enchanted Hills Over the Past Three-Day Weekend
Over this past Martin Luther King holiday weekend LightHouse and Enchanted Hills Camp hosted a three-day tree planting event. Volunteers joined EHC staff members and supporters—including Dan Kistler, our new lead in maintenance and landscaping at Enchanted Hills Camp—in planting over 1,000 trees and shrubs. From Saturday to Monday, over 60 volunteers of all ages got their hands dirty planting countless small plants and shrubs, as well as redwoods, maples, and monkey trees, just to name a few.
Two groups involved with the design of the New Enchanted Hills brought many dozens of employee volunteers to get their hands dirty and make a difference. LightHouse wants to thank the offices of Perkins-Will and RHAA Landscape Architects. We expect that planting a thousand trees will be an ongoing way to give back each MLK Day for years to come.
“We had a magical time with all of the groups of volunteers,” Dan Kistler tells the LightHouse Lately. “We were able to plant a little over a thousand trees and other species of plants to give back to the forest. I want to give a special thanks to everyone from LightHouse who helped out here, not only to make this possible, but to share this incredible experience.”
We are so excited for our campers to check out the beautiful new green additions to camp when our cabin doors re-open this summer. With that said, it’s almost time for EHC Summer 2022 registration! Keep an eye on your inboxes for more information about camp registration, or visit the Enchanted Hills Camp website for updates, information, and details.
Come and plant some trees at Enchanted Hills Camp
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr Day on Monday, January 17, LightHouse and Enchanted Hills Camp in Napa are hosting a special tree-planting event! We have an ambitious goal of planting 1,000 trees and shrubs over the course of the weekend and would love your help.
We have places available on Saturday, January 15 and Sunday, January 16, and tree-planting will be from 9 am – 2:30 pm. RSVPs are required for each volunteer (not each household.) You can sign up to volunteer at:
- Saturday, January 15 – Sign up here!
- Sunday, January 16 – Sign up here!
Lunch will be provided to all volunteers who RSVP.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide transportation for this event.
A few requirements:
- All volunteers are required to be age 14 or over
- All volunteers are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have a negative COVID19 test taken within the past 72 hours.
- If you are fully vaccinated, we strongly recommend getting tested within 72 hours of arrival.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to volunteer@old.lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7320.
We look forward to a great weekend and to seeing you and your green thumbs at Enchanted Hills Camp on this upcoming long weekend!
Ring in the Season with the EHC Alumni Holiday Concert on December 10
| For the second year in a row friends and supporters of Enchanted Hills Camp wish to show their appreciation for the LightHouse community by hosting a free virtual EHC Alumni holiday concert. Musicians who have attended camp sessions, music camp or been a camp counselor or volunteer will join LightHouse and EHC staffers to celebrate the spirit of EHC past, present and future.
Camp Director Tony Fletcher says, “Our virtual concert was so well-received last year that the performers wanted to return. These concerts are important for people who want to share their work and it’s the musicians’ way of saying thank you for donating on Giving Tuesday.” Says Rachel Grider, who is blind, about EHC, “I worked as a counselor during the summer of 2013. It was an unforgettable experience to work with so many fantastic colleagues and campers. I saw firsthand the difference camp made in the lives of campers as they participated in activities and formed friendships. It is a pleasure for me to help camp by performing in this concert.” Other featured EHC alumni performers include Derek and Shane Dittmar (shanedittmar.com), Marina Sandoval-Lintz (marianasandovaldiaz.com) and Masceo Williams (masceo.net). When: Friday, December 10 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Pacific We can’t wait to share holiday music with you on the 10th! |
Giving Tuesday is Coming! Tuesday After Thanksgiving You Can Make EHC More Inclusive
Please join LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Enchanted Hills Camp on Tuesday, November 30 for Giving Tuesday, and help us meet our accessibility and sustainability goals!
This year the funds we raise on Giving Tuesday will go towards the purchase of two wheelchair accessible electric vehicle shuttles for Enchanted Hills Camp as a part of our larger vision to make EHC fully accessible and carbon neutral by 2030. The shuttles will be charged on site by our own solar array.
Donations will also go towards camperships to send 40 kids who are blind or have low vision to Enchanted Hills Camp next year.
Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving that kicks off the charitable season and end-of-year giving, and harnesses the generosity of people from around the world to bring about real change to the communities they know and love.
This is a philanthropic movement that connects diverse groups of individuals, communities and organizations around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. LightHouse joined the Giving Tuesday movement in 2016 and continues to receive many very generous gifts from our diverse group of donors, volunteers, staff, board members and friends.
Please take part in this year’s Giving Tuesday on (or before) November 30 and consider a gift to Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind. We sincerely thank Waymo for jump starting our 2021 Giving Tuesday with a very generous donation of $10,000.
This Year Marked the Return of the YES Academy to EHC
This summer, LightHouse was thrilled to bring back the Youth Employment Services (YES) Summer Academy. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and health and safety protocols, last year we ran the program virtually. This year we were back in person with a slightly re-designed program to accommodate the safety of our students and staff while still keeping the fun, interactive elements and activities we’ve always valued in the academy. Our participants spent this four-week program at Enchanted Hills Camp (EHC) where the spacious and lush grounds allowed for safe, socially distanced outdoor instruction.
YES is a program designed to educate and prepare youth who are blind or have low vision ages 16 to 24 for a successful future, focusing primarily on employment and independent living skills. During the Summer Academy, our participants are given the opportunity to fill their summer with engaging and valuable pre-employment learning experiences, independent living training, employment readiness seminars, mentoring conversations, discussions about self-advocacy in equality and inclusion in the workplace, not to mention all the memorable social activities and building connections with friends and mentors.
The four weeks were broken down into goal-based themes. The first week was “Your Skills, Your Goals Bootcamp.” Week two focused on expanding employment knowledge and networking in the community. YES ended its program with workshops in learning to grow one’s resume and work experience in weeks three and four.
The students documented their experiences throughout these four weeks by writing blogs. First time participant, a young woman with low vision named Tatiana, reflected on her time at the YES Summer Academy.
“I’ve always said and knew I didn’t want to have to rely on my family, friends, and others to help me go on in life and do whatever it is I may need to do, but deep down there was always that worry of what seemed at the time to be an inevitable fact that I’d have no choice and I would need to come to terms with always needing some kind of reliance. However, after going through this program and learning and practicing what I have for the first time in my life, that thought and doubt is no longer there. I have confidence in knowing I will be able to go on in life confidently by myself.
“Not only has the program taught me new skills but it has given me a newly found hope and excitement. I’m not fully blind but I still struggle in places where visual problems are not noticed often. After staying at the camp where everyone is visually impaired it’s made me feel more accepted. I have never realized that the stereotypes used to describe the blind community are the farthest thing from true. I’ve been inspired and cannot wait to return to Enchanted Hills Camp and the YES Academy where I have learned that my vision does not define me.”
Another YES participant, Heaven, had the opportunity to gain work experience by working as Recreation Assistant at the Enchanted Hills Teen Camp session that was going on simultaneously with YES in the last weeks of the program.
“The first few days of my work experience as the Recreation Assistant, I observed how the Area Leader taught the campers what to do, and after that I led some of the activities. I learned more about Archery, and a new sport known as Disc Golf. I’ve learned many things through working this job, mainly how to talk to a large crowd of people. I met a lot of the campers and staff and learned about them as well. It is a very interactive job, which I like because it helps me be better at talking with other people. This job gave me skills I will be able to use in the future. It tested my communication skills, and ability to problem solve. It also tested my memorization skills, because I had to memorize people’s names and what order they were in for certain recreational activities. The experience was a good one, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to work this job. I love sports and now I have a way to teach them to other blind people, and a way to explain them if I ever need to. It was a valuable experience.”
YES offers different programs and workshops year-round. If you are or if you know any blind and low vision youth ages 16 to 24 who are interested in preparing for their future, you can contact Youth Programs Assistant, Daisy Soto, at DSoto@old.lighthouse-sf.org, or by calling 415-694-7328. LightHouse youth activities are not just summer only, but every month, all year long. Visit our Youth Programs department page on our website or check out our online calendar for upcoming events and programs.
Welcome back, EHC!
As visitors wind their way up Mt. Veeder Road, past the lush redwoods, sparkling lake, and rolling green hills of Napa, the once quiet grounds of Enchanted Hills Camp are again filled with the delightful sounds of happy campers. The crunching of leaves and twigs under excited footsteps, clicking of canes, splashes of water, nays and baas of EHC’s four-legged residents and the jolly echoed shouts and laughter from campers fill the air—it is, once again, summertime at Enchanted Hills Camp!
On July 5, Enchanted Hills Camp reopened its grounds to 45 eager teen campers. After being closed for over a year, EHC has been thrilled to reopen this summer, abiding by CDC state and federal COVID-19 safety protocols. Although the limited campers, mask wearing, social distance, and required vaccinations of both campers and staff has certainly changed the look of camp this summer, the fun and festivities haven’t changed in the slightest!
“Campers are filling their days horseback riding, kayaking, playing disc golf, participating in Teen Talk rap sessions and talent shows. The kids are dancing, hiking, taking overnight camping trips into the woods, solar cooking, and fishing. They can care for our EHC animal friends (milking goats and collecting eggs from chickens) and do some wood polishing and wood working. They are putting on drama productions, training in martial arts and archery, playing goalball and bowling, and making ice cream and arts and crafts, just to name a few activities.” Enchanted Hills Camp Director, Tony Fletcher, tells LightHouse Lately.
New campers, 17-year-old twin sisters, Madison and Paige from Arroyo Grande, California, share their first impressions and experience at teen camp.
“We heard about Enchanted Hills Camp through our DOR [Department of Rehabilitation] counselor, so we were interested. We loved it once we got here! It is so much fun! There is so much to do, you never feel bored or like you are just sitting around waiting for something fun. Right now, we are working on a play, and we’ve done a lot of arts and crafts. We also tie-dyed bandanas. We are definitely coming back next summer!”
Both girls have nystagmus and ocular albinism and have low vision.
“With nystagmus it is hard to focus my eyes on things, like when I am reading my eyes jump across the page. The ocular albinism makes my eyes very sensitive to the sunlight,” Madison explains.
Aside from each other, neither Paige nor Madison knew any other peers with visual impairments prior to going to camp. Learning more about low vision and the blind community has become an interest and priority for these young women.
“We have never been around anyone with vision like ours or people with less vision. We want to be more involved in the blind and visually impaired community,” Paige says. “We have made a lot of new friends at camp. It is so relieving to be around people like us.”
Madison and Paige reflected on their camp experience:
“Overall, I have learned a lot about people who are visually impaired, and not just about people who have what I have. I have learned so much about adaptability and the blind community, and I am very grateful for that,” Paige says.
“I am also so grateful for camp. I have never seen anyone use a cane before, and it is so interesting to me to see how everyone gets around using their canes. I like how specific people are when they describe how to get to places and how they tap the walls as a guide. I’ve also learned how to guide people who can’t see, and I think it is so helpful and interesting,” says Madison.
In their remaining days at Enchanted Hills Camp Paige and Madison are excitedly looking forward to performing the play, making bath bombs, and trying their hand at archery, as well as hanging out with their new friends and strengthening their bond to the blind and low vision community. “We can’t wait to come back next summer!” they told LightHouse Lately.
There are still available spaces for EHC’s STEM camp, running from July 26 through August 1 for campers aged 13- to 20-years-old. Visit Enchanted Hills Camp STEM Camp Applications to get your application in as soon as possible. We also have limited availability left for Music Camp, also running July 26 through August 1. This session is for campers ranging from high school to college ages. Fill out the Enchanted Hills Camp Music Camp Applications here. For more information about Enchanted Hills Camp, visit the EHC website.
Things are going real “well” at EHC
Thank you for joining us for the first two Enchanted Hills Camp Give Back concerts of the season! If you missed them, you can watch both on the EHC Facebook page.
Our next concert is taking place on Friday July 16 from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm starring Mariana Sandoval Lintz.
This year our goal is to raise $20,000 for a new well at EHC.
A new well will allow us to be more self-sufficient and less reliant on water from our spring. The well will ensure that we have adequate water for campers without worry and enable us to store and pump water for the driest seasons. In the driest years, the spring has just barely covered our water needs during the busiest camp sessions. One year, alarmingly we had to truck in water. With a drought upon us once more, we sought to remedy this issue by prospecting for a new well. We did it! We struck liquid gold, in the form of H2O. The well production is estimated at 20,000 gallons of water per day which is enough to fill the EHC swimming pool daily.
Situated near the Rec Field, the new well will ensure that we have adequate water for campers. It will also enable us to take on projects never possible before such as leveling the Rec Field and getting rid of the ankle-twisting divots and bumps and irrigating the field for beep baseball, audible soccer and other team sports. Growing fruit trees and vegetable gardens that campers will tend will also be possible.
Great news! The five largest donors to this project will have the special honor of choosing names for EHC’s newest residents, five baby goats! Donate today to help us dig and erect this well, put in the pipes and pumps to carry the water where it is needed.
We are hoping to raise $20,000 to harness this precious natural resource and we need your help. You don’t need a ticket or even a Facebook account to enjoy these concerts, but we do need your support to help us sink this well.
You can also Support the EHC well project by purchasing an EHC tee-shirt. Or text any amount to give for the EHC well project to 415-707-7864.