Testimonials
Dear Sam and Bonnie,
On the last full day of the 2008 session, I wanted to write you and send you my enormous thanks for what you do at Camp Alleghany. The community you have created there on the banks of the Greenbrier River is such a blessing to our three girls and us. I can’t think of another place, outside our family, where Ellen, Audrey, and now Caroline, can simply be who they are and be so enthusiastically waited for, welcomed, and embraced every year. The effects of that kind of community stay with them all year, and I know they will last a lifetime.
Thank you also for putting together a wonderful group of role models in your counselors. Kent and I were so impressed last week with their kindness and poise. We observed them during activities, out in Lewisburg on Saturday evening, and then at The Greenbrier on Sunday. I was especially touched watching your dance teachers interact with several age groups in a very positive manner. All I heard from the counselors was cheering and encouragement, no matter what the dancers’ abilities. What a gift that is for girls who, even at Caroline’s age of 10, are expected to be perfect in all their extracurricular activities.
So thank you for providing a second family for our girls. Thank you for creating an environment in which young ladies feel free from judgment and the pressure to perform to someone else’s standards. Thank you for another three weeks of pure, magical, spirit-freeing fun. And may you be blessed with the knowledge that you have touched so many lives at Camp Alleghany. See you again in ’09!
Paula Crooks
Mother of 3 Alleghany campers
Dear Sam,
I want to thank you for the very pleasurable experience as Camp Nurse this summer. Every aspect of Camp Alleghany was sheer joy from the quiet, secluded setting to the echoing sound of a few hundred girls squealing with laughter and excitement. The girls are absolutely fantastic and the offering the camp provides for them is so invaluable and extraordinary. Just the ability for these girls to escape the pressures that they face at this age and be themselves is a rare opportunity. The intuitiveness of your staff members to anticipate the needs of others was amazing and their dedication to provide the campers with a quality experience is evident. Hazel is exceptional. Many thanks to you, Bonnie, and Elizabeth for making me feel very much at home and providing me with an opportunity I will never forget.
Sincerely,
Jeri Via
Camp Nurse, 2008
Dear Sam, Bonnie, Elizabeth, Sandy, and the entire Ghany Staff,
I cannot thank you enough for providing a very magical three weeks for my niece. As you know, she had a rainy and rough start, but absolutely loved camp. This, of course, is no surprise to me. I knew she would! She came home via the Baltimore bus, spent one night here, then got on a plane to her home. Her mom (my husband’s sister) sent me an email today saying that Maddie has not stopped talking about her friends, the fun she had, and all the silly stories. Her first words to her mom: “I want to go back!”
It is so comforting to me to know that the magic of ‘Ghany is still very much alive. And I am simply thrilled that, although I have no daughters of my own, my nieces—by blood and marriage both—are living the magic today.
It is such a special place. Thank you, thank you for taking care of Maddie (and for taking care of me, the worried aunt, by taking my phone calls—though now I know I had no need to worry!).
Another ‘Ghany Girl has been born! Hope second term goes just as smoothly!
Much Love,
Suzie Q Amiot
Alleghany Alumna, aunt of Alleghany campers
