Et cetera : NCCC Maple 4 at Home at Flying Horse Farms

The Disco making its way across camp!

First day at camp. A whole new family for Maple 4

Jesse Crouch

After two days of travel and over 10 hours in the “Golden Goose” (our affectionately named 15 passenger van) the weary but excited members of Maple 4 arrived on the grounds of Flying Horse Farms in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Flying Horse Farms (FHF) is an organization bringing severely ill children to camp free of charge. They have opened their arms wide in welcoming our team with cozy cabins, incredible food, and over 200 beautiful acres of camp to enjoy.

In these first two weeks, the team has been hard at work under the supervision of facilities manager, David Hennessey. The team is completing a variety of projects in efforts to improve the grounds. In the first week we spread mulch (a lot of mulch) around the trees and natural areas that grace the campgrounds. The team is looking forward to spreading the next 40 square yards.

From March 25th-28th FHF hosted a conference for the Serious Fun Network and Maple 4 aided in logistics and cleaning tasks before, during, and after the conference. The Serious Fun Network is an organization founded by the late Paul Newman and is comprised of camps like FHF worldwide. During the conference we were honored to meet Clea Newman, Paul’s daughter and Senior Director of External Affairs of the Serious Fun Network.

The accomplishment the team is most proud of is the relocation of the “Disco”, the camp’s outdoor learning and discovery center. The 16x20 foot building was gutted and moved on a flatbed trailer over a half mile to its new home overlooking the lake. In the coming weeks we will complete a new support system, renovate the interior, and apply new roofing to the Disco.

On the weekends of April 11th and April 25th the team will have the opportunity to work with campers directly. During these family camp weekends we will be serving as “sidekicks”(counselors) and facilitating camp activities such as crafts and archery. “Ah! I want to be a sidekick” exclaimed Gabbie McNichol as we discussed the upcoming camp. We are very excited to be able to serve this special community and have the opportunity to provide escape for these children even for just a weekend.