Vol 3: March 2026
Alumnae Spotlight: Elly Davidson — “One Summer, a Decade of Impact”
You know camp has made a lasting impact on your life when your daughter starts counting down the years until she is old enough to go.
My daughter is five now, and she has already heard me talk so fondly about my time at camp that she’s excited and wishing she were old enough to go herself. When that time comes, there is only one camp I hope she goes to, and that is Camp WeHaKee.
I first heard about Camp WeHaKee on hiring day — the day international applications go live for U.S. summer camps. I was in Australia, and I received an email from Maggie and Bob saying they were interested in hiring me. A few days and one long Skype call later, my job at camp was secured. Travel plans were made, changed, and rearranged far too many times, but I finally arrived at camp in June 2016. That was ten years ago now, and it remains one of the greatest decisions I have ever made.
Recently I had the joy of looking back through some photos from my time at camp. In reality, they capture so little of what camp truly was, but somehow they bring back everything else — a flood of memories that are loud, joyful, and filled with women lifting and supporting each other. I don’t think I will ever forget my first cabin co-counsellor or the Palace girls from my very first session. I won’t forget any of the girls who stayed in my cabins that summer, and for the best reasons.
They teach you just as much as you try to mentor and guide them. They teach you how to dive into anything, think on your feet, sing at the top of your lungs, laugh simply because you can, cry when you need to, and support one another through every high and low.
In those small everyday moments, you learn the importance of showing up for people, treating each other with care, and doing your best to leave a place a little better than you found it.
Together you learn to believe in yourselves and to stand proudly on the shoulders of the women who came before you. The bonds you form happen faster than I ever imagined possible. Camp has a way of bringing people together and reminding you how powerful genuine connection can be. They are the kind of bonds that tug at you years later and bring you right back to the tall pine trees at Camp WeHaKee.
We are lucky to still connect through social media, watching each other grow and move through life while continuing to cheer each other on from afar. The friendships formed at Camp WeHaKee might not always last forever in the traditional sense, but the connection — and what we shared — does. I only spent one summer at camp, but it has stayed with me ever since — like gum in your hair or slime on your clothes, impossible to fully wash out. The community at Camp WeHaKee helped shape who I am today, from the youngest campers to the quiet moments playing cards and eating cherries with the Sisters.
Ten years later, the laughter, the lessons, and the spirit of camp are still part of who I am. Camp has a way of staying with you long after the summer ends, quietly shaping how you see the world and how you show up in it. And now, as my five-year-old daughter eagerly counts down the years until she is old enough to go to camp herself, I’m reminded just how lasting that impact really is.
Because if one summer at Camp WeHaKee could stay with me for a lifetime, I can only hope that one day she will stand among those same tall pine trees, begin her own WeHaKee story, and discover that same sense of belonging, confidence, and community — the kind that teaches you to look out for one another, to be brave enough to be your true self, and to carry that spirit of care and respect into the world beyond camp.
As I was known that summer,
With love, Mumzies
Elly Davidson, Camp WeHaKee Staff (2016)
Staff Spotlight: Sinead — “My Home Away From Home”
Camp America. That’s it. That is what the people around me in the UK think I do every summer. Being from the UK, any such thing as a sleepaway summer camp, like WeHaKee, is completely foreign. On paper, I spend three months a year on a cultural exchange program within the United States with a primary goal of fostering a mutual understanding via first hand experience in the US.
However, WeHaKee to me is so much more. It is a home away from home that I have adopted for life; it’s my summer house. It is a place where I never go a day without learning at least twelve new things, from the different pronunciation of words to advice that overflows more than the camp bubble. Making friends is inevitable in this environment, but building meaningful relationships is what we do best. There are so many people I can confidently call friends for life whom I’ve met over my summers here. All of those friendships come with the strain of distance, but never with any doubt.
Many say that being a camp counselor is just that summer thing. Not for me. It has become a real life job that I am proud to develop each and every year I return to the US. I aspire to work harder, not just for myself to look back on the cherished memories, but to create a program that our girls can thrive under in so many ways. That is what means the most to me.
Being an ‘international’ kind of fades away as the summer goes on. We all adopt each other’s mannerisms, slang and phrases. We discover one another’s culture from countries all over the world and it becomes second nature to us, despite being based in the North Woods of Wisconsin. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am, in fact, still from England and was not born and raised here. What we create as a community is just something different, almost impossible to describe to anyone that is not lucky enough to experience it. We all become one.
I have to admit, as anyone that goes to camp will know, it is incredibly difficult to return home. For me, returning to the end of an English summer and pretending like I would not rather be at WeHaKee. International or not, the bungee cords tighten with every step we take away from WeHaKee. I am so eternally thankful that I can return for another great summer and reset those cords for a little while longer.
I say with all my heart that Camp WeHaKee is one of the most important things in my life, and words can never describe that.
I’ll end with a recent song lyric that connects with my journey: “Those American girls you spend your life with.” – Harry Styles
A Summer for Every Girl
Girls — now more than ever — need to be outdoors and disconnected from technology in order to reconnect with themselves and with others. Because of generous donors, more girls gain confidence and resilience in the outdoors, more teens practice leadership skills through hands-on learning, and more young women find space to grow and connect as camp staff.
Please considering donating to our Scholarship fund. Every dollar helps, and every girl deserves the chance to experience the wonder of a summer experience at Camp WeHaKee.
PS. We believe in the power of community, so we’ve already awarded Tuition Grants to 12 families in need for this summer. But we don’t have enough in the scholarship fund to fully cover their needs. Will you help us close the gap? Donate Here
Program Activity Update: Cooking
At Camp, we find that feedback from campers, parents, and summer staff is absolute treasure for improving the camp experience and making our summer the most fun and rewarding they can be!
After feedback from campers and counselors, we’ve decided to make a change to our former “Cooking” program activity choice. Rather than offering a cooking-specific series that practices simple recipes in a home kitchen environment, this summer we’ll be taking our chef skills outdoors!
Each session of Girls Camp, we’ll be offering “Outdoor Camping Skills” which will feature safe campfire building techniques and outdoor cooking skills, as well as how to pitch a tent and handle camping gear, Leave No Trace principles, and other camping tips and skills to practice with friends. These activities together foster teamwork and community, independence and responsibility in our campers of all ages.
What should we cook and create over the fire this summer? Send your ideas or recipes in a reply to this email!
Celebrating a Legacy of Women’s Leadership
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we look to the past with gratitude for the incredible women who built and sustained Camp WeHaKee for over a century. Since 1923, camp’s mission has been inextricably linked to the nurturing and advancement of girls and young women, helping them grow into strong, confident, and caring leaders.
Our story begins with a woman of vision, Sister David O’Leary, who, with the help of her nieces and friends, opened WeHaKee on the shores of Green Bay. Her dedication to emboldening young women was carried forward by a succession of extraordinary leaders from the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, including Sister Noel Boggs, Sister Marie Karen Hawkinson (who moved the camp to its beautiful current home on Hunter Lake), and Sister Arturo Cranston.
The spirit of female leadership continued with Camp Director Maggie Braun and her husband Bob, who have led Camp WeHaKee from 2004-2026. They have continued the tradition of welcoming a diverse and group of girls and young women into a safe space to grow and discover oneself while making lifelong friendships with others from throughout the country and the world.
Although camp is no longer owned and operated by the Dominican Sisters (but rather is now owned privately and operated as a secular program with room for individual multi-faith expression), Stacie is honored to carry the torch of female leadership into the next century of Camp WeHaKee’s rich history.
This month of March, we honor these founding and guiding women, and we are proud to continue their legacy. By joining the WeHaKee family, your daughter becomes part of a sisterhood founded by women, for girls, and dedicated to building the female leaders of tomorrow.
