Welcome

North Star Reach
Camp-At-Home

Wherever you are, come celebrate what it means to be connected to one another. Together, we’ll create a community where friendship, laughter and kindness are what matter most. A place where we’ll reach for the stars and remind ourselves that anything is possible. We’re so glad you’re here.

Photo: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

Love the Mooseness

Welcome from Our
Director of Camping

We’ve always known that our camp is not about the place, but the people. People who clear away the everyday to make good things happen for children who live with serious illnesses and often miss out on chances to just be kids. That feeling of community coming together to create a brighter world for others, and ourselves, is something we call “mooseness.” After you’ve experienced our programs, we hope you too will come to love the mooseness.

Patrick Smith

North Star Reach Director of Camping

Photo: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

Love the Mooseness

We Are Here for You

Parents & Caregivers

We are proud to announce a series of new programs designed to deliver support, resources, improved well-being and hope to parents, guardians and caregivers of seriously ill children.

Parents & Caregivers

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Aug 11

A huge intergalactic thank you to all of the amazi

A huge intergalactic thank you to all of the amazing campers and volunteers that have spent their week with us during our virtual Camp-At-Home experience!🚀👽🛸

We can't wait to see all of the out-of-this-world performances during our closing campfire this evening🌙👨‍🚀🌟

#VirtualSummerCamp #CampAtHome #IntergalacticAdventure

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Aug 9

Our team of incredible volunteers and staff are ex

Our team of incredible volunteers and staff are excited to begin our virtual summer Camp-At-Home experience this morning! We can't wait to meet all of the wonderful campers and have an amazing week!

#CampAtHome #VirtualSummerCamp

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Aug 8

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS: With the 2022 Swim to the

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS: With the 2022 Swim to the Moon, an extraordinary open-water swim race hosted by @epicraces, just 12 days away, there are some amazing volunteer opportunities still available, including being a part of our 'Kayak Patrol' team on Sunday, Aug. 21.

You will help participants stay on course throughout the race (you must be 18 or older; we can provide your kayak). Part of our team will launch from camp's Patterson Lake beachfront at sunrise—all around, a pretty spectacular morning and your support helps an important fundraising for camp!

Please take a moment and share to help spread the word! Click link in bio to sign up and note that you are part of the North Star Reach team. A HUGE thanks to Epic Races for choosing North Star Reach as the race’s charity partner! 💛💙😊

#volunteersmakeadifference #swimtothemoon #epicrace #pattersonlake #northstarreach

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Aug 5

We are grateful to so many generous donors for mak

We are grateful to so many generous donors for making our 2022 summer camp season possible. Today we send a very special thank you to @healingnotesfoundation for its generous funding to launch our Music and Drama Program. To the amazing Healing Notes Foundation team (Mark, Jessica, Ali), we are honored to partner with you in bringing the gift of music and drama to kids living with serious health challenges, experiences that open them to new worlds of song, joy, and possibility.
💛💚💙

#healingarts #changinglives #donorsmakeitpossible
#seriousfunchildrensnetwork #northstarreach #thankyouashley💜

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Aug 4

This summer has been full of countless memories an

This summer has been full of countless memories and magical moments. As we reflect back, we are looking forward to sharing inspirational stories from our camper families, seasonal staff, and volunteers about their summer at North Star Reach. Today, we are highlighting one of our amazing Unit Directors, Kenzie!

"Reflecting back on this summer it's like we never missed a beat! It was amazing seeing campers reconnect and pick up right where they left off! My favorite part of the summer was watching campers be very shy and timid entering the week and by closing campfire, they were open and performing alone on stage."

Thank you, Kenzie, for sharing your favorite summer moments with us, and thank you for continuing to be a dedicated member of our campily. For those who are registered for our virtual Camp At Home, Kenzie will be there along with many other wonderful volunteers providing an out-of-this-world experience!

#summermemories #magicalmoments #campmagic #summer2022

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Aug 2

A huge thank you to @abercrombie for the generous

A huge thank you to @abercrombie for the generous donation of all of our Summer 2022 camp t-shirts! So many wonderful memories were made throughout the summer while wearing these comfortable tees. We're incredibly grateful that we can always count on you to help us represent the Mooseness!💛💚💙

#donorsmakeitpossible #campily #lovethemooseness

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Aug 1

We are honored and excited to announce that North

We are honored and excited to announce that North Star Reach has been chosen to participate in Target Circle™, a special charitable giving campaign sponsored and funded by @target. ✨

Vote for us now through September 30th and help direct Target’s giving to benefit our mission of providing no-cost life-changing camps and programs to kids with serious illnesses and their families.👍

From your mobile device, simply follow these easy steps:
1. Choose “My Target” in the Target app
2. Tap on “Target Circle™”
3. Select “Vote for nonprofits”
4. Find North Star Reach & vote!

On your computer? It’s just as easy:
1. Click on the link in our bio.
2. Log into your Target account
3. Cast your votes for North Star Reach!

Please share this post with your family and friends. The more votes we get, the larger the donation! 💛💚💙

#thankyoutarget #targetcircle #CommunityGiveBack #powerofcommunity #backtoschoolshopping

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Jul 31

We are honored to be a featured @generatorzfuture

We are honored to be a featured @generatorzfuture Grantee in recognition of our “Find Your Place, People & Voice” project, creating opportunities for teens with serious health challenges to explore who they are and feel a sense of belonging. What a great day we had filming at camp on Friday with the talented team at @reelcleverfilms and some of our teens and staff.

Thank you, Ava, Devin, and Faith (and your parents) for joining us. Thank you, GeneratorZ and @rcwjrf for helping us to make a positive impact in the lives of teens living with serious illnesses.

#GenZ #inspirethenextgeneration #seriousfuncamps #belonging

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Jul 30

We are beyond grateful to everyone who helped us t

We are beyond grateful to everyone who helped us to bring campers safely back to in-person camp this summer for the first time in two years. Creating a place where kids with serious health challenges find belonging, experience joy, and make lasting friendships isn’t possible without an AMAZING community of volunteers and donors. Today we send a special thank you to our North Star Reach Board Members for all they do to support our mission. ✨ ✨ ✨

Be sure to check out our summer camp photo albums and learn about an exciting lineup of upcoming camper and family/caregiver programs, volunteer opportunities, and fundraising events in our latest TrailMix newsletter (see link in bio).

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Jul 27

Looking for S'more Camp fun this summer? Campers (

Looking for S'more Camp fun this summer? Campers (aged 7-17) are invited to join us for our upcoming Camp-at-Home program, hosted online Aug. 9-11. This is a great opportunity for campers who could not attend one of our in-person summer sessions or did participate and would like another camp experience.

The online program features a terrific lineup of real-time camp clubs with community guests, Solar Adventure Challenges, camp-in-a-box supplies, cabin chats, and more. Be sure to apply before midnight this Sunday (July 31) to ensure delivery of your camp-at-home box. See link in bio to apply today.

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Jul 26

Another extraordinary week of memories! Enjoy our

Another extraordinary week of memories! Enjoy our photo album from our third summer camp session, Sickle Cell/Hematology/Pain Management Camp (see link in bio for complete Facebook album).

Our heartfelt thanks to the program and medical volunteers and medical teams who ensured campers safely enjoyed a week of adventure, joy, and connection. To our donors who ensure camp is offered at no charge to our families, our deepest thanks: We simply can’t offer these life-changing experiences without each and every person in our incredible community. 💛💚💙

#lastingimpactofcamp #seriousfuncamps #donorsmakeitpossible @sicklecellmichigan @scdai @advocatekids @childrenshospitalofmichigan @mottchildren

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Jul 25

You're invited to Under the North Star, a communit

You're invited to Under the North Star, a community celebration and signature fundraiser on Friday, Sept. 30 (5-10 pm), featuring unique camp experiences, a strolling dinner, mission walk, concert by @fiftyampfuse, live auction, incredible camper stories, and much more.

We hope you will join us for this special evening at our beautiful 105-acre campus in Pinckney as we celebrate welcoming campers safely back to camp and raise funds to continue providing experiences that make a lasting impact.

To get your tickets today, see link in bio.

#lastingimpactofcamp #seriousfuncamps #donorsmakeitpossible

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Jul 23

"How lucky I am to have something that makes sayin

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." - Winnie the Pooh

#2022summercampfriends #cantwaittowelcomeyoubacksoon

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Jul 22

WOW, our third and final camp of the summer has ju

WOW, our third and final camp of the summer has just wrapped and what a week it was! Here are just a few memorable moments from our time together. We can't wait to share the full photo album early next week and celebrate these amazing campers! ✨✨✨

Our heartfelt thanks to the dedicated program and medical volunteers who made this week possible!!! A special shout out to the volunteers who helped support the bus transportation for our campers from Detroit and Chicago, including @scdai, @sicklecellmichigan, and @advocatehealth.

#loveourcampily #seriousfuncamps

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Jul 20

We're excited to share that Casey, one of North St

We're excited to share that Casey, one of North Star Reach’s superstar unit directors, is hosting a takeover of the Delta Epsilon Mu Instagram account tomorrow (7/21). @dem_alphaiota is a professional pre-health, co-ed fraternity at the University of Michigan. She’ll be sharing moments from the day during session 3 and why she’s passionate about our mission for providing life-changing experiences for campers. Along the way, you’ll hear how her life has been changed as well. Be sure to tune in on our social channels!

📷: NSR 2022 Summer Unit Directors: Casey (left) with Kenzie

#powerofseasonalstaff #lifechangingsummerwork #DeltaEpsilonMu
#universityofmichiganstudentlife #nextgenerationhealthcareproviders
#seriousfuncamps @umichmedschool @umichmedicine

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Jul 20

Did you know that yesterday was Camp Kindness Day?

Did you know that yesterday was Camp Kindness Day?💛💚💙

We celebrated by thanking our AMAZING kitchen staff for providing us with delicious and nutritious meals and distributed kindness bookmarks in Story Studio!📚

#campkindnessday #intentionalactsofkindness @acacamps

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Jul 19

Yesterday was a slam dunk!🏀 The day was full o

Yesterday was a slam dunk!🏀
The day was full of basketball, archery, splashing at the pool, and of course playing multiple games of Gaga ball during the Unit Olympic Night. We can't wait to see what today has in store for us!

#sicklecellcamp #sicklecellwarriors #siblingcamp #seriousfuncamp #lovethemooseness #donorsmakeitpossible

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Jul 18

Let's give a big camp welcome to our session 3 cab

Let's give a big camp welcome to our session 3 cabins! Although we ended our day with a drizzle of rain, these amazing campers and volunteers continued to shine bright at our opening campfire!🔥

For our session parents, a few campers were feeling a little camera shy and opted out of being in their cabin photos. Be sure to follow our 'story feed' for highlights of all the camp fun throughout the week!💛💚💙

#sicklecellcamp
#sicklecellwarriors
#siblingcamp
#seriousfuncamp
#lovethemooseness
#donorsmakeitpossible

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Jul 17

We are SO excited to see our session 3 campers shi

We are SO excited to see our session 3 campers shine on the opening campfire stage tonight. Welcome home, camp friends. 💫

#sicklecellcamp
#sicklecellwarriors
#siblingcamp
#seriousfuncamp
#lovethemooseness
#donorsmakeitpossible

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Jul 16

We’re sending a BIG CAMP CHEER to the #allstarvo

We’re sending a BIG CAMP CHEER to the #allstarvolunteers getting ready to welcome our session 3 campers tomorrow. Thank you for dedicating your time and talents to give our campers an experience of a lifetime. 👏👏👏

#changemakers #seriousfuncamp
#sicklecellcamp
#lovethemooseness
#bestweekever

Get in touch!

EMAIL

info@northstarreach.org

PHONE

FAX

North Star Reach Camp

1200 University Camp Drive
Pinckney, MI 48169

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

North Star Reach is an independent nonprofit medical speciality camp based in Pinckney, Michigan. We provide life-changing camp experiences for children living with serious illnesses and their families, at no charge to them. You can support us today by making a donation.

Click Here & Donate

Stay Connected

PHONE

North Star Reach Camp

1200 University Camp Drive
Pinckney, MI 48169

Stay Connected

FAX

EMAIL

info@northstarreach.org

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

North Star Reach is an independent nonprofit medical speciality camp based in Pinckney, Michigan. We provide life-changing camp experiences for children living with serious illnesses and their families, at no charge to them. You can support us today by making a donation.

Click Here & Donate

GuideStar Platinum

North Star Reach is a platinum-level
GuideStar participant

American Camp Association

American Camp
Association Accredited

Visit North Star Reach

Photo Credit: Leisa Thompson Photography