Homes for the Homeless :: Summer Camps

LAURA HENRICH - Director, Camp Lanowa

Laura has been with HFH camps since the beginning. She served as director of Camp Lanowa when it was run by Pathways for Youth, the organization that operated the site before Homes for the Homeless Summer Camps. In 1989, HFH began running Camp Lanowa in partnership with Pathways, and in 1992, when HFH became the sole operator of the site, Laura stayed on as Director. She has been with Homes for the Homeless Summer Camps ever since. In addition to serving as Director of Lanowa, Laura manages staff recruitment and programming for all three HFH camps.

Laura's camp career began in 1977 at Camp Oh-Neh-Tah, where she was a counselor. It was there that she befriended Wakonda Director Connie Stine. Laura's favorite thing to do at camp is outdoor cooking, preparing food over a wood fire. She loves this opportunity to teach campers things they could never learn in the city, like how to make a cake inside an orange! Curious? Check out the recipe here.

During the school year, when she's not busy searching out the next great set of HFH Summer Camp counselors, Laura serves as Athletics Director of The Churchill School, a private K-12 school in Manhattan.

CHARLIE CRABTREE - Director, Camp Kiwago

As a sophomore in college, Charlie knew he wanted to be a teacher, but was not sure what his ultimate focus would be. He decided to look for a summer job that would help him answer that question. Charlie's interest in working with urban youth led him to an ad for a position as a counselor at Homes for the Homeless Summer Camps. On a whim, he applied. He was offered the job, and has been with HFH camps ever since. After serving as a counselor during the summer of 2001, Charlie moved on to become a Unit Leader, Assistant Director, and in 2005, Director of Camp Wakonda. This summer, he is the co-director of Camp Lanowa. With so much experience, Charlie definitely knows camp from the ground up.

Charlie's favorite times at camp are when he can see his campers being kids, free of the worries of their everyday lives. Whether it be swimming with them in the lake, putting them to bed at night and calming their fear of the dark, or just chatting in his office, Charlie loves hanging out with the campers, and enabling them to enjoy a carefree summer.

During the school year, Charlie is a social studies teacher in Roanoke, Virginia. He teaches a variety of courses, including Holocaust Studies and Street Law, which he developed himself. He is also currently enrolled in the Masters of Education program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and graduates this year.

CONNIE STINE - Director, Camp Wakonda

This is Connie's 30th summer in resident children's camping. "Ms. Connie," as she is known to Wakonda campers, began her camp career at the Wakonda site in 1958, as a 4 year old. From 1936-1958, Camp Wakonda was called Camp Manitou, and was run by the Girls' Vacation Fund, which Connie's grandparents founded. Connie spent 16 summers at Camp Manitou, as a camper and staff member. In 1974, she began an eight-year stint as Director of another Girls' Vacation Fund camp, Camp Oh-Neh-Tah in the Catskills. After a hiatus of almost 20 years, Connie returned to camping in 2002 as a volunteer at Camp Oh-Neh-Tah. That summer, she developed a Native American Indian Lore program and an outdoor adventure program. Last winter, when Lanowa Director Laura Henrich, an old friend from Camp Oh-Neh-Tah, called Connie to propose that she come out of retirement to serve as Director of an HFH Summer Camp, it didn't take her long to say yes.

This summer, as Director of Camp Wakonda, Connie returns to the site where she began her camping career, and is thrilled to be providing a once-in-a-lifetime outdoor experience for HFH campers. A lifetime camper, Connie likes everything about camp, but she particularly enjoys swimming and outdoor activities like campfire cooking and overnights. She hopes to implement the outdoor adventure program she developed at Oh-Neh-Tah at Wakonda this summer.

When she can't be at camp, Connie loves to dance. She has a BFA in Classical Ballet, and has been a professional ballerina and ballet teacher since 1973. She was on the dance faculty of Arizona State University for 10 years, and from 1983-2005, ran her own dance school in Mesa, Arizona. Currently, Connie teaches ballet in the Seattle area.