New Attendee Retreat Brief

If you’d like to contact the Trout Lake Retreat Center for any reason:

(570) 620-0238

office@troutlakeretreats.com

To view more photos of the grounds, go here.

Closest Airports:

Philadelphia International Airport (108 miles/1.5 hours)

Lehigh Valley Airport (40 miles/45 mins)

Newark Airport (75 miles/1.2 hours)

Pocono Medical (11 miles)

206 E Brown St, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

(570) 421-4000

Clothing

• Pants and/or shorts (depends how May is acting)
• Sweatshirt for the evening
• PJs
• Bras/Underwear
• Socks
• Good walking shoes

Personal Items

• Shampoo/conditioner
• Body wash
• Lotion
• Deodorant
• Toothbrush/toothpaste
• Hair dryer/products
• Makeup
• Medications
• Bug Spray
• Flashlight
• Snacks (if you have a special or limited diet)
• Extra ostomy supplies (if needed)

Bedding

• Sheets or sleeping bag (beds are twin sized)
• Pillow 
• Blanket
• Towels

Note: The schedule below is tentative and subject to change.

Friday

4:00pm – Check In

5:00pm – Dinner in The Lake View Dining Hall

6:00-6:30pm – Opening Ceremony outside the Boat House/Icebreaker Activity

6:30pm – Kintsugi Activity in the Boat House

8:00pm – Campfire

Saturday

8:00am – Breakfast in The Lake View Dining Hall

9:00am – Group Photo – Location Lakeside outside of Dining Hall

9:30am-11:45am – Small Group Breakout Sessions in and around Boat House

Session #1 – 9:30am-10:30am

• Crohn’s Disease
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Surgeries

Session #2 – 10:45am – 11:45am

• Intimacy
• Dealing with Trauma
• Navigating Life – Work, School, Social Life

12:00pm – Lunch in The Lake View Dining Hall

1:00pm-4:00pm – Waterfront Boating/ Archery (free time)

5:00pm – Dinner in The Lake View Dining Hall

7:00pm – Movie Night!

Sunday

8:00am – Breakfast in The Lake View Dining Hall

9:00am – Closing Activity (write to newbies)

10:00am – Check Out

Of course! You can check out our carpool doc here.

*Please DO NOT submit your information until/if you are accepted! 

The info form registration link will be emailed out to you to fill out, if accepted, in February!

This must be filled out by March 15, 2023!

*If you do not complete and submit this form by March 15, 2023 you will not be able to attend the retreat.

The travel form links will be emailed out to you to fill out, if accepted, in February!

*If you do not complete and submit this form by March 15, 2023 you will not be able to attend the retreat.

Yes! Your lodging, meals and all activities are covered. All accepted attendees will also receive an event t-shirt and swag bag full of lots of other Girls With Guts goodies.

*Item color and design may slightly differ.*

Yep! Contact us directly and we will make sure to get you access.

For this event registration is covered, however travel is not, so you’ll need to pay for your own transportation to make it to the retreat. If you are chosen, you will need to send your travel information to GWG to attend this event. If you’re not able to submit your travel info by March 15, 2023 we will have to pass your spot on to another person on the waitlist.

Sorry, this event is only for those with a confirmed IBD diagnosis and/or ostomy.

We are currently working on the menu. Once it is finalized, it will be announced so you can plan accordingly. The menu is being designed to be IBD friendly, but keep in mind we cannot please everyone.

Let us know ahead of time and we will try to accommodate you as best as we can. If there are things you would like to bring to eat, we can provide a refrigerator for that.

At every retreat we have small sessions where you get to talk to a group about a specific topic. The topics will vary, but may include:

Work and School
Managing Guilt and Chronic Illness
Intimacy and IBD/ostomies
Pregnancy/Parenting/Family Planning
Body Image Discussions

We ask that all attendees have had their primary COVID-19 vaccine series.

• *A primary series is the initial dose(s) of a COVID-19 vaccine. For Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines, the primary series is two vaccine doses. For the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine, the primary series is a single vaccine dose.

As part of registration, you will be required to provide the date of your last vaccine. Additionally, we will be asking all attendees to provide a copy of their vaccination card as part of the post-registration forms that will be emailed.

We ask that all attendees provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken at least 72 hours before the retreat.

*Clinical guidance via the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/interim-considerations-us.html

Elizabeth Kestel – events@girlswithguts.org

Alicia Aiello – president@girlswithguts.org