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Vietnamese Heritage Camp |
| August 7th-10th, 2008 at Snow Mountain Ranch Fraser CO |
|
Vietnamese
Heritage Camp was the first camp in the country, exclusively created for families
with adopted children from Vietnam. It is one of the ten camps in Colorado
which are facilitated by the well-respected Colorado Heritage Camps organization.
We are celebrating our ninth year of VHC this year with an exciting joint event;
the annual Vietnamese Heritage Camp and the Vietnamese Adoptee Network (VAN)
bi-annual conference! This is an unprecedented event, which will welcome adoptive
families and adult Vietnamese adoptees from across the country in a union of
the first generation of Vietnamese adoptees with all those who have come after
them…we can’t wait!!
This
year camp once again will be held in the beautiful Colorado Rockies at the
YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch facility near Winter
Park, CO http://www.ymcarockies.org/ -
a family vacation destination in itself. Registration materials will be going
out this Winter, so NOW is the time to request registration
information to be placed on our mailing list.
Vietnamese Heritage Camp provides programming for children of all ages, from
infants to adolescents, and for their families. Additionally, young adult Vietnamese
adoptees have the opportunity to attend
camp as counselors or
workshop facilitators, and gain the same cultural
appreciation and understanding as their younger counterparts, while sharing
their own adoption and life experiences. We are also fortunate to have gained
the support of a large number of Vietnamese
community volunteers who help keep the camp culturally relevant every year
as counselors, workshop facilitators, activity consultants, and more!
What's Happening
in 2008?
GRAND CELEBRATIONS!! What a perfect theme for
celebrating 10 years of Vietnamese Heritage Camp. Our kids (and the adults)
will explore all things that are celebrated in Vietnam. Have you ever wondered
what happens at a Vietnamese Wedding? How about birthdays? Let’s not
forget Tet Nguyen Dan (Vietnamese New Year), Tet Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Moon
Festival), Doan Ngo (A Welcoming of Summer) and much, much more. Not only will
the kids learn about these festivals, but they will be participating in re-enactments
too.
2008 is also the Year of the Rat (those born in1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972,
1984, 1996 and 2008 are also born during a year of the Rat). The Rat is generally
an extremely popular character despite having curious mixture of generosity
and harsh frugality, charm and ambitious arrogance. Rats are driven and always
on the go. There is never a dull moment in the life of a Rat.
For the preschoolers, a special program
will be designed. There are many little ones attending camp each year! The
elementary school kids will have
another
fabulous adventure in the "Vietnamese Village," which just gets better
every year. Singing, dancing, and special "Rat projects" will
also be highlights of their weekend.
We will, as always, provide specialized programming for our middle and high school aged campers, including outdoor educational activities provided by Snow Mountain Ranch, cooking, advanced arts and crafts projects, and more opportunities for the kids to just “be” together.
We are expecting many of our wonderful counseling staff to return, who seem
to come
from far and wide to be with the kids at camp. Of all the heritage camps
sponsored by Colorado Heritage Camps, VHC has the most counseling support
by far - from
both the Vietnamese community and from the Vietnamese adoptee community!
It's amazing to see how many counselors want to participate each year!
Each year of VHC, we've had a special keynote speaker and plan to again this
year, although we do not have that pinned down as yet. Our reputation seems
to precede us though, and if scheduling works out, people always seem to
want to be a part of this incredible experience! 
Families come from both coasts and everywhere in between to attend camp, and the biggest highlight each and every year is seeing the kids of all ages, from babies to teenagers, together and the great feeling of warmth and fellowship that exudes from this camp. We will also see many “first generation” adoptees and their families who will be sharing many celebrations with us all.
Come celebrate in August, 2008. With our dual themes of "The Year of the Rat" and "Grand Celebrations" it will be an event of grand proportions!
Thinking about
giving camp a try but want to know more?
Click here to read about last year's camp.
Though we have generated some very strong support from Colorado's Vietnamese
community, we are always looking for more volunteers to
work with the kids, teach workshops, cook meals, etc., and to be counselors at
camp.
As a non-profit 501 C(3) organization, Vietnamese Heritage Camp is always seeking financial assistance to help keep camp costs reasonable for families, and still provide an outstanding program. If you'd like to help, please go to the Donations section of this web site, and thank you very much in advance.
We are also in need of donations of frequent flier miles to help defray costs of out of state speakers. If you have miles you can donate please email us at info@heritagecamps.org
For more pictures of Vietnamese Camp 2007 click here
We hope to see you at camp this summer. For further information, please contact us .
