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What I love about ALC.
Dayahini
ALC Alumnae, 4 Summers
New Bedford, MA
Camp is my home. So many emotions have come upon me throughout this pandemic - I have been confused, sad, disappointed and hopeless. Being home for a summer for the first time in 5 years is something very new and somewhat challenging to adapt to. It is amazing how a small place in a world can mold you into a beautiful human being inside and out. Alford Lake Camp is my center and where I feel whole. It’s a place where I can be me. I am so ready for summer 2021! It is most important that we all stay connected as a camp family .
Carolyn
ALC Alumnae, 9 Summers;
Parent, 6 Summers
San Rafael, CA
I truly believe that camp is the greatest gift you can give your child. In society's trend towards helicopter parenting, camp tells your child, "I know you can make good decisions independently." In an age of over-abundant technology, camp tells your child, "I know you have the interpersonal skills to make friendships and communicate with others."
Alford Lake Camp has been a constant in our daughter's life. Every summer she comes home with healthy habits of kindness that transfer into her life at home, especially valuable as she enters adolescence.
She has the opportunity to savor those beautiful Maine days - living simply, breathing deeply, and noticing her surroundings in new and thoughtful ways.
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Olivia
ALC Alumnae, 4 Summers
Bethesda, MD
Camp is inspiring and you make friends so quickly you forget you were ever scared! It's a great experience, the most fun summers of your life! It is encouraging and teaches you wonderful lessons that you will never forget!
No one judges you or makes fun it's just one big family where I have a couple hundred moms and sisters and about five fathers.
Just to add.....I never get homesick at camp. I always get camp sick at home. Also, I'm in touch with my camp friends all year and can't wait to see my fellow tent mates this summer!!!!!!
Hope
ALC Alumnae, 10 Summers
ALC Parent, 5 Summers
Stamford, CT
We choose to send our daughter to ALC because we firmly believe this summer experience will empower her for years to come. She will take safe risks in a supportive community, whether that is scaling the ropes course or testing a new skill on a horse, perhaps in the same day. She will live in a tent and on a tent row with girls from around the world. She will learn to navigate relationships with peers and counselors whose perspectives are different from her own. And we, as the parents, will miss her. But that walk to the mailbox to see if a letter has arrived describing all of her adventures, adventures we cannot give her in Stamford, CT, makes sacrificing our time with her so incredibly worth it. This year, with numerous opportunities taken away from our children, we are looking forward to putting her on the bus to camp and then waiting eagerly for the letters describing the magic that is ALC.
Caroline & Katie
ALC Alumnae, 3 Summers
ALC Alumnae, 5 Summers
Denver, CO
They’ve laughed in the sunshine and listened to the loons. They’ve ridden horses and spotted constellations. They’ve learned flexibility (eating whatever was served) and independence (choosing activities, making new friends). After coming back from their first summers, they each had this spark of passion—they had found what they loved and a place that was safe and caring. Their summers at ALC have given them a sense of confidence in who they are, allowing them to bring more of themselves into the dramatic worlds of middle school and high school. They have a greater appreciation for their friends and have sought out truer relationships that mirror the deep friendships they made at camp. I thought they’d be homesick at camp, but in reality, they are campsick at home!
Karn
ALC Alumnae, 35 Summers
Ballymena, Northern Ireland
We are always trying new things at riding: barn overnights, trail rides, cross country jumping course, dawn breakfast rides, barn ‘fun days’, decorate a horse and gymkhana games. I have added stable-management to the program as I noticed that some campers do not choose to ride but love to spend time at the barn, just caring for the horses and helping out.
Paula
ALC Alumnae, 6 Summers
Madrid, Spain
I love being with friends, which I consider my second family, and having the chance to know people from all over the world. Being a part of the ALC community makes me happy. If you are a girl and want to experience something new, you should totally come to ALC. Especially if you are from another country, like me, you will only find joy and happiness here. No sadness.
Lindsay
ALC Alumnae, 4 Summers
Saranac Lake, NY
It is obvious to me now that camp was a place where I started to develop the skill of judgment and risk management in the outdoors. It was a place where I learned by doing. I was in an emotionally safe environment to take risks, to be brave, to be myself, and to constantly work at being better. Leading courses for NOLS requires me to call on my judgment all the time. I have to make big decisions about risk and safety and still leave space for others to learn through experience. I credit my time at ALC as place where I learned to believe in myself, to be humbled, and to take a risk to be who I want to be.
Lee
ALC Parent, 8 Summers
Bronx, NY
How we love Alford Lake Camp and the experiences our children have had over the past few years. The Alford Lake Camp summers are a respite from our "rest of the year" routines. We are grateful for the beauty of place, the slowing of time and the thoughtful, caring community that welcomes us back each year. Our girls have been nurtured, challenged and appreciated for their uniqueness.
With life being so hectic and connected, it is nice to string together a few weeks where the daily rhythms are unlike any other place in their lives. What a gift. Thanks ALC!
Nina
ALC Alumnae, 2 Summers;
ALC Parent, 7 Summers
Cape Elizabeth, ME
We love the values embraced by ALC's amazing, beloved camp directors and counselors. Leading by example, they teach kindness, inclusion, and respect for others. They encourage the girls to grow and thrive as individuals. They actively demonstrate the importance of striving to be your best self while caring about your community. Magically, they manage to model all of these values while simultaneously sharing their personal goofiness and love of laughter! The Alford Lake Camp community is fun, joyous, silly, welcoming, beautiful and profound. Our daughter has found so much love and friendship there each summer!
Lily
ALC Alumnae, 4 Summers
Woolwich, ME
Camp means my second home.
Camp is friends and family.
Camp is endless fun activities.
Camp is food, food, food!
Camp is when you can't stand any longer, and NEED to have tent time.
Camp is going into the lake sweaty, and coming out "clean".
Camp is everything that you could possibly wish for.
This is what ALC means to me.
Perrin
ALC Alumnae, 10 Summers
Brooklyn, NY
I learned how to trust myself. How to use my voice. Looking back, it was very important to go to a place every summer run by women for women- being a woman in science, there aren't as many female role models for me in my career path as there were at camp every day. I learned to let people emerge- I might meet someone and want to make an assessment, but when you spend time in the woods with people you begin to realize everybody has their something, and I learned at camp how to have faith in the individual and try to support them in letting their light emerge. I learned public speaking, lifeguarding, how to cry in front of people, how to be vulnerable, I learned how to light a camp stove. I could go on and on. You'd be surprised how appealing it is to employers to be committed to a camp- when I bust out my ten years stat- working with young women in that intensive environment- knowing how to splint a broken femur on a log? No big deal. Just give me a hanky we'll handle this. Hire me. Thanks.
Charlotte
ALC Parent, 12 Summers
Clinton Corners, NY
ALC is my two daughters' "happy place!" They look forward to reconnecting with their camp friends and staff all year! The best part of camp for them is the inclusive nature of the camp with many options for activities in a non-competitive atmosphere. ALC has been a place for my girls to grow, mature, and have their own amazing experiences! The out-of-camp experiences, such as ALPS and AMT, have been life-changing for my older daughter.
Sarah
ALC Alumnae, 8 Summers
Harrison, NY
Being a counselor is so rewarding! You get to see your campers make long lasting friendships and memories, and of course, learning all of the wonderful ALC songs!
What I love most about camp is how it really feels like a family and a second home. Regardless if I've met someone for the first time or have known them since I was a camper, everyone at ALC is so friendly and welcoming, and I think that's something very unique about this place!
Addie
ALC Alumnae, 6 Summers
Medford, MA
Alford Lake shaped me more than anything else in my life, second only to my parents. I use that, I am that, every day with my family, friends, and colleagues. I use the lessons of how to be resilient, flexible, how to make new friends and get along in groups, how to express myself in a constructive way, how to be less afraid, how to appreciate the right things, how to be strong, how to contribute, and where to draw from when the going gets tough.