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Download PDF of this newsletter Updates From our Director Greetings from Great Bear Lake! What an amazing summer we had at VBYC. Not only did we experience record camper enrollment, we also had the largest staff we’ve ever had. We hired eight international friends to work with us this summer. Sila & Mehment from Turkey, […]

Hi Camp Friends! Our Explorer session, our last session of summer 2023, is now on a wait list. If you apply, you will be sent directly to the wait list and we will let you know if there is an opening.  Thank you!

Final Flag Campfire General

Family Day Fun-raiser – Aug 12, 2:00-7:00PM Get Tickets Spend the afternoon at Van Buren Youth Camp sampling local beers and wines plus special tastes from California and grown-up games while your kids enjoy fun activities thought camp led by VBYC staff and counselors. Includes Camp tours, Silent action, kid’s raffle, cornhole (bags) tournament, appetizers […]

Greetings Friends, I bet you were wondering where is our annual letter updating you as to what’s happening at VBYC and asking for your support. Well, we didn’t lose your address. We experienced a situation in which “if it could go wrong, it went wrong”, and so now you are receiving an updated letter and […]

  We invite individuals, organizations, and groups to join us for our spring 2023 volunteer days! Join us on Saturday, April 22 and Saturday, May 13 as we open camp and prepare the facilities and grounds for the summer to come. We begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Our day includes donuts […]

Director’s Corner Hello Camp friends – What a summer! We saw record numbers at VBYC this season. 41% of our campers were new to Camp and as a result we made a lot of new friends. If the number of inquiries we are receiving about signing up for next year are an indication of good […]

Dear Friends of VBYC, From Polar Bears to campfire skits, each day at Van Buren Youth Camp is filled with leadership, companionship, and fun! Our staff, volunteers, and people in our community just like you create a summer of transformation for kids in our community. It would be so easy to drive down the road […]

Family Day Fun-raiser – Aug 13, 2:00-7:00PM Get Tickets Order T-shirt

Director’s Corner Hello Camp friends – We are busy getting ready for the 73rd operating season at VBYC. We’ve been interviewing staff, including two friends who’ve been trying to work for us since 2020 and couldn’t because of Covid. Berfin Yilmaz from Turkey and Abigail (Abi) Howe from the UK will be joining our staff […]

The Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors of Van Buren Youth Camp is scheduled for Wednesday, September 8th, 7:00pm, at Van Buren Youth Camp.  VBYC is located at 12370 45th Street, Bloomingdale, Michigan, 49026. At this meeting, annual business including updates on happenings at VBYC, approval of last year’s annual meeting  minutes, and other […]

Family Day Fun-raiser Spend the afternoon at Van Buren Youth Camp sampling local beers and wines plus grown-up games while your kids enjoy fun activities throughout camp lead by VBYC staff and counselors. Includes Camp tours, silent auction, appetizers and pulled pork dinner. Get Tickets Order a VBYC Camp Fest T-shirt

Covid-19 has drastically changed plans for all of us this summer and that includes VBYC.

While VBYC adapted and is offering a few weeks of day camps and some family camping options, the revenue from that won’t come close to what camp would receive from our usual slate of summer overnight camps.

Our goal is to remove all the leaves – that would be a total of $31,375 for camp!

We have started to fill out an archive of weekly all-camp photos and staff photos.

Van Buren Youth Camp is hosting the Annual Meeting of the Board Wednesday, September 9th, 7:00pm at Washburn Lodge.

$35 + delivery $10.  Buy now 24″ x 18″ 500 pieces Comes in a box with the image on it

This is a first for VBYC, we have a fox on staff! And we don’t just mean that Kiernan (left) is a good lookin’ guy. We mean Czechky the fox (right). He comes from Prauge but learned to speak in Berlin, so he has a German accent. He will be teaching German and joy this […]

Working with the kids to plan leadership always inspires me to try harder to be the best me that I can. Whenever I stop to consider who would make good speakers, I think about my circle of friends and acquaintances and realize again how lucky I am to have lived the life I live.   […]

Each spring beginning in early April, the Board and volunteers join together in a series of Saturday Workdays at VBYC. Between 9:00 and 4:00 we get Camp ready for the season. There’s always something to do, from painting, minor repairs, upgrades, cleaning, and general maintenance. We bring a lunch dish to share and have fun […]

Ebony Stewart One speaker in particular, Ebony Stewart, is a well known spoken word poet who engages teenage audiences in sessions all over the country. We are very excited to have her at our leadership camp this summer, but need the help of our tight-knit camp community to raise the funds to bring her to […]

Amazon will donate .05% on each of your eligible purchases. To sign up, just sign in to your Amazon account with this link. It is an easy way to give more to Van Buren Youth Camp. Thank you!!