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About UsWilli Wise Day Camp is a rustic, outdoor camp for boys and girls. Located on 44 wooded acres in Fenton, MI.
Meals are cooked over a campfire, and children spend their days in the outdoors. Willi Wise is staffed solely by volunteers. We are parents who have seen first hand how experiences like Willi Wise turn into lifelong memories. So we give up our vacation time at work to spend a week in the woods with our children. Parents who volunteer at camp are given deep discounts when registering their child for camp. We also offer a tot unit for the younger children of volunteer leaders. Campers are organized into units based on the grade level they will enter in the fall. Sometimes grade are combined, such as a 1st grade/2nd grade unit. This depends on the number of campers registered for a particular grade. Boys and girls are in separate units to allow "boys to be boys" & "girls to be girls" with out arguing over how to best spend their time. Volunteer unit leaders are responsible for planning activities for their unit to do and for supervising the preparation of the day’s meal for their unit. Unit leaders work in pairs (sometimes more) and there are middle school and high school aged Junior Leaders to assist them. Campers are encouraged to take part in the planning of activities and in meal prep. In addition to the crafts and activities the unit leaders plan, we have a music center, where kids learn silly camp songs. We also have a games center, where kids play outdoor games and a nature center. At our science center, kids will do quick age appropriate science experiments. Children entering 2nd grade and up in the fall receive archery lessons from the Bowmen’s Club certified instructors. On the last day of camp we celebrate! Lunch is brought in. We have bounce houses, snacks and outdoor games. Throughout the week each unit learns a song at camp and on Friday the units present their songs. We give out awards to our Junior Leaders and Leaders, and we honor our graduating seniors. Everyone wears their camp shirt. Each year we have a theme at camp. Previous themes include: Under the Sea, Jungle Safari, Outer Space, Fiesta and Hollywood. We try to tailor some of our activities around the theme for the year. Camp registration includes a t shirt. Shirts are designed each year with the theme incorporated. |
Our History |
Willi Wise Day Camp began as a Girl Scout camp in the Fenton area approximately 50 years ago. The story goes that two ladies with the last names of Williams and Wise started the camp. They decided to combine their names to come up with the camp name Willi Wise. Over the years, Willi Wise has moved locations a few times; it has been at the current location at Land O Lakes Bowmen’s Club in Fenton for approximately 20 years now.
In 2015 Willi Wise broke away from Girl Scouts and the camp became solely sponsored by Land O Lakes Bowmen’s Club. While the sponsorship shift was big on a “behind the scenes” level, very little changed in how the camp operated on a day to day basis. Our “inaugural year” was very successful, and we are proud to say we can run a successful day camp for the children of our community at a reasonable cost to parents. Willi Wise is the best bargain around! In 2017 Willi Wise decided that in order to fully reach our goals of having an affordable fun camp for the all kids in the area, we needed to include boys in our camp. We are excited to begin this new chapter in our history! |