Ajawah News
Announcing Paul Blakely – New Boys’ Camp Director at Camp Ajawah
We are excited to announce the new Boys’ Camp Director will be Ajawah alumni Paul Blakely. Paul joined the Ajawah family as a young Scout hailing from Troop 342 (Eden Prairie, MN). He continued the tradition of many at Ajawah and went from camper to patrol leader to staff member, serving in multiple senior staff positions at both Boys’ and Girls’ camp, where he is fondly remembered by his camp name “Muffin.” This past summer, when Ajawah was looking for a Beach Director, Paul responded to that call and joined the Ajawah staff once again.
When not looking out on Linwood Lake, Paul lives with his wife, Colleen, on their 70 acres of land in Wisconsin. He received a BFA in Theatre Design from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and has worked as a senior software engineer in Los Angeles, CA before moving back to the Midwest.
Paul joins Girls’ Camp Director, Rev. Mindy Meier (Tilly), as a member of the cohesive Camp Director team. He will be joined at Ajawah this summer by Director Emeritus, Dave Moore. In his first duties as Camp Director, Paul recently joined Dave and Troop 100 at Ajawah, where he connected with campers and hired staff in between intense broomball games.
With Paul’s passion for Camp and empowering youth and young leaders in a rustic outdoor setting, the Ajawah community is looking forward to seeing Paul thrive in this new role. His servant leadership style is one of accountability, meeting the needs of others, and leading from the heart. Thank you, Paul. We’re all here to support you in this new adventure.
Please join us in welcoming Paul to the new Camp Director position!
From Dave Moore, Director Emeritus:
“Paul Blakely is a former Ajawah camper and counselor. He has worked in the kitchen at Girls Camp, and on the Beach at Boys Camp. Last summer, when COVID hit, Paul was one of the Ajawah leaders left standing. He continued his job as Beach Director, but he also came up from the lake and took over the kitchen for a time, a taxing double assignment. Paul’s leadership style fits right in with the Ajawah style. He is pleasant, friendly, soft-spoken and totally trustworthy.”
Camping Sunday – February 9th:
Please join us this Sunday, February 9th at Westminster Presbyterian Church following the 8:30 AM or 10:30 AM service for Camping Sunday and the Camp Ajawah Bake Sale. This is an event where we discuss Ajawah and raise funds for camp, including for Camperships. Paul and Dave will be present to greet the Ajawah community, both new and old.
Announcement – Dave Moore as Director Emeritus
After more than sixty years as Camp Director, and nearly 80 summers attending Ajawah, Dave Moore will transition to the role of Director Emeritus from his position as Camp Director at Westminster Camp Ajawah. The scope of his new role will be determined by Dave, the new Director for Boys’ Camp, and the Camping Board.
As we enter this transition, we hold dearly the words of our fearless leader, who sends his thanks in his recent announcement:
“Thank you for letting me be part of Ajawah for so many years. If camp has helped to form you — given you some of your best values, memories, joys, friendships — it has done the same for me in overflowing measure.” Dave Moore, December 2024.
Dave, we thank you and cannot put into words the impact you have on every person that calls Camp Ajawah their safe haven and place of community. The bonds you create and cultivate between campers, staff, and all of those in the Ajawah family is immeasurable.
Ajawah Community: Please look for announcements in the near future regarding a celebration for Dave in 2025. We will also be posting reflections throughout the year.
Summer 2025 Registration now open!
We are excited for another summer of fun and friendship at Ajawah. Dates and rates for summer 2025 sessions can be found on the boys/girls camp pages as well as the registration page. New this year we have the option of a 1 week boys session that overlaps Boys 2 – arrive at the same time, but depart the first Friday vs staying for the full 2 weeks. This is designed to give families with summer plans prior to school starting up some more options.
Double Fun for Boys Session 2 Repeat Campers!
Girls 1, Girls 2, and Boys 1 all filled up this year, but we have bunks waiting for campers in Boys Session 2. To help fill those bunks, we are offering a reduced price of $325 to campers who have been in Session 1. (You only have to do the medical forms once!) We will make adjustments to accounts where families paid in full for both sessions already.
Boys Session 2 runs from July 28 through August 9, so starting school shouldn’t get in the way.
You can sign up now at the Register Link!
For Boys going to just session 2, rates for the 2 week session are unchanged at $650, with $160 deposit due at registration. Boys session remainder charges will be billed in July.
2024 Friends and Family Program!
Since Camp Ajawah’s inception over 100 years ago, we have had generations of families attend Ajawah year after year. To celebrate this, we are excited to announce our new Friends and Family Referral Program for 2024!
For every first-time camper who is referred to Ajawah by a current camper (i.e. one who has attended Ajawah prior to this summer), both referred and referring campers will receive 10% off of their Ajawah registration fee. Further, each current camper may refer up to 5 first-time campers, for a total of 50% off their registration fee!*
To receive this discount, both the referring and the first-time referred camper must attend a camp session this summer, though it doesn’t have to be the same one. Both campers complete this short (~ 1 minute) form, which will go to the registrar. All forms are due by September 15, 2024.
Please spread the word! We’re excited to have new members in the Ajawah family.
*Discount will be applied as a reimbursement, after all Summer 2024 camp sessions are completed.
If you have questions, please reach out to Julie, our Camp Ajawah registrar, at ajawah@wpc-mpls.org
Summer 2023 Dates and Rates !
Camp Ajawah had a very successful 2022 session and we look forward to this summer!
- Girls 1 June 18th -June 30th
- Girls 2 July 2nd – July 14th
- Boys 1 July 16th – July 28th
- Boys 2 July 30th – Aug 11th
Rates: $650
Deposit $160
If you need a campership, please let us know by contacting the registrar at:
ajawah@wpc-mpls.org
Successful Summer 2022!
Ajawah had a great summer with 3 sessions each of Boys and Girls Camp, including a return of our 2 week sessions! We are looking forward to 2023 and already thinking about our program and schedule. Please check back here in January 2023 for more information about next summers Camp Ajawah experience!
Summer
Greetings, Ajawah campers and friends!
We are gearing up to open registration on March 1st, 2022 at 5pm!
It was wonderful to welcome campers back to Ajawah last year and we look forward to seeing even more of you this summer! We are excited to be on the journey back to our traditional sessions/programming with loosening some of our COVID restrictions. With that being our intention, here are some things to note:
This year, we will have six sessions:
Girls’ One: June 19-24 (one week)
Girls’ Two: June 26-July 1 (one week)
Girls’ Three: July 3-July 15 (two weeks)
Boys’ One: July 17-22 (one week)
Boys’ Two: July 24-29 (one week)
Boys’ Three: July 31-12 (two weeks)
Cost of camp:
One-week sessions: $375
Two-week sessions: $625
Camperships are available!
We will allow four campers per tent, so space is not yet at full capacity. Please register as soon as you can to ensure your camper has a spot.
We would respectfully ask that for now, you not sign up for more than two total weeks, to allow more interested campers the opportunity to attend since we are not back to full capacity yet. Please email us if your camper would like to attend more than two weeks so we can put you on a wait list.
COVID recommendations are changing all the time, so we anticipate needing to adjust our protocols as recommendations change, but please expect to show a negative PCR test on the first day of your camper’s session. Vaccinations are strongly recommended.
If your campers are like us, we can’t wait to get to back to camp – so join us on March 1st at 5pm to celebrate opening up camp registration with a party on the Camp Ajawah Minecraft server! We’ll have staff and counselors joined and welcoming all our minecraft-savvy campers to explore camp virtualy while we wait to see you this summer! Details on Minecraft versions and what you need to join can be found here https://www.ajawah.org/ajawah-minecraft-server/ We look forward to seeing you March 1st!
Looking forward to a great 2022 at Ajawah!!
Successful 2021
Camp Ajawah had safe, successful and fun summer 2021 session. We are looking forward to 2022 already, and anticipate publishing date rate and program information after the new year. Check back then to start planning your campers summer fun at Ajawah!