The Skinny on Reaching Higher
As many of you may know - we embarked on an exciting journey last June to build a new lodge to fit our growing needs. Get it? Growing needs? It's funny because we're growing...fast. If it helps - last year we filled our summer camps by mid-May, which was pretty fantastic. We were extremely delighted by that. If you need a refresher on Reaching Higher, take a look here:
This year? Family Camp filled within 3 days of opening registration and we're 250 registrations AHEAD of where we were last year on February 10th. Can we just take a moment to reread that sentence? I can barely believe it. We're trying to be creative about how to fit more campers and do our camps better. Then there's rentals - we can't book any groups until November! These are very exciting facts which make it important to keep talking about Reaching Higher and what it will mean for Evergreen.
As we made our way around to our member churches in the fall to talk about the project - there were some questions that came up consistently and we'd love to talk about those things here.
Why does the building have to be so big? It's huge!
It is quite large, isn't it. Currently - we're feeding around 230 people each meal in the summer in a dining hall that was designed for about 150. We're making it work but it's tough. Ken, our amazing Food Services Manager and Chef, is working miracles in a kitchen that was designed to feed about 100 people.
Indoor space is another challenge. As Program Director here for many years - there were a lot of days when we would have to tear down our chapel set up so that we could play indoor games or indoor programming when it would be pouring rain outside (sometimes for days on end) and then set chapel back up while the worship team was practicing in the dining hall. We sure got creative on those days.
And we're still growing. Camps and rentals are growing. We don't want to just build for what we need because we know God is opening doors through camp and we want to be ready for that.
The new building looks really fancy! I went to Camp Evergreen as a child and it was woodsy and we were in the wilderness. How will the new lodge change the camp?
This is a great question! I was asked this at nearly every church. The new building will have an Adventure Centre (gym and indoor climbing wall), a dining hall that seats 350 people, and rooms that have their own bathrooms plus more. We don't want to change how our campers and guests experience camp. We value our semi-wilderness environment and teaching people, young and old, about creation and the fun that can be had when you unplug. This building won't stand in the way of that. What it does mean is that when it is pouring rain (for days) - there's a space that is separate from our chapel space to go play in. It means that our volunteers can have their own accommodations when they volunteer during the summer. It also offers a place for adult groups to rent during the year which is more comfortable than our cabin accommodations. This lodge becomes the spring board to not only do what we have been doing better and allows us to explore what else is possible.
The building is being funded by donors. But there will be a higher cost to run it once it is in use. Who will pay for that? Will costs go up to rent the camp during the year?
Our reality is that we're turning away countless groups on a weekly basis because we just do not have the space. With a dining hall that seats more and more accommodations, we're confident that we will be able to bring in the additional groups to cover the cost of using the new building. We do not plan on changing our costs because of the new lodge.
Will summer camp costs go up because of the building and because Evergreen is growing? What will happen to the camp that I grew up with?
We don't want to lose Camp Evergreen for the sake of growth. We want to continue to be A Camp that sees Lives Transformed by the Power of Jesus. God is doing something amazing here and we want to be faithful with what He has given us. So we will continue to be a camp that pursues the heart of God, creating a place of sheer fun and excitement, crazy games, relationship-driven staff, and a camp that wants to see children and youth come to Jesus.
We never want summer camp costs to be the reason why campers do not experience camp. That's why we work very hard to offer Campership Aid to families who need help making camp a reality for their kids. We work with member churches to run fundraising pancake breakfasts to build our Campership Aid Fund.
I hope that this helps to answer some of the 'heart' questions about where Evergreen is headed. We want to be transparent through our growth so if you ever have any questions about Reaching Higher or if you're interested in purchasing a brick or becoming a donor - please email me at courtney@camp-evergreen.com. I'd love to talk to you about it.
This year? Family Camp filled within 3 days of opening registration and we're 250 registrations AHEAD of where we were last year on February 10th. Can we just take a moment to reread that sentence? I can barely believe it. We're trying to be creative about how to fit more campers and do our camps better. Then there's rentals - we can't book any groups until November! These are very exciting facts which make it important to keep talking about Reaching Higher and what it will mean for Evergreen.
As we made our way around to our member churches in the fall to talk about the project - there were some questions that came up consistently and we'd love to talk about those things here.
Why does the building have to be so big? It's huge!
It is quite large, isn't it. Currently - we're feeding around 230 people each meal in the summer in a dining hall that was designed for about 150. We're making it work but it's tough. Ken, our amazing Food Services Manager and Chef, is working miracles in a kitchen that was designed to feed about 100 people.Indoor space is another challenge. As Program Director here for many years - there were a lot of days when we would have to tear down our chapel set up so that we could play indoor games or indoor programming when it would be pouring rain outside (sometimes for days on end) and then set chapel back up while the worship team was practicing in the dining hall. We sure got creative on those days.
And we're still growing. Camps and rentals are growing. We don't want to just build for what we need because we know God is opening doors through camp and we want to be ready for that.
The new building looks really fancy! I went to Camp Evergreen as a child and it was woodsy and we were in the wilderness. How will the new lodge change the camp?
This is a great question! I was asked this at nearly every church. The new building will have an Adventure Centre (gym and indoor climbing wall), a dining hall that seats 350 people, and rooms that have their own bathrooms plus more. We don't want to change how our campers and guests experience camp. We value our semi-wilderness environment and teaching people, young and old, about creation and the fun that can be had when you unplug. This building won't stand in the way of that. What it does mean is that when it is pouring rain (for days) - there's a space that is separate from our chapel space to go play in. It means that our volunteers can have their own accommodations when they volunteer during the summer. It also offers a place for adult groups to rent during the year which is more comfortable than our cabin accommodations. This lodge becomes the spring board to not only do what we have been doing better and allows us to explore what else is possible.The building is being funded by donors. But there will be a higher cost to run it once it is in use. Who will pay for that? Will costs go up to rent the camp during the year?
Our reality is that we're turning away countless groups on a weekly basis because we just do not have the space. With a dining hall that seats more and more accommodations, we're confident that we will be able to bring in the additional groups to cover the cost of using the new building. We do not plan on changing our costs because of the new lodge.
Will summer camp costs go up because of the building and because Evergreen is growing? What will happen to the camp that I grew up with?
We don't want to lose Camp Evergreen for the sake of growth. We want to continue to be A Camp that sees Lives Transformed by the Power of Jesus. God is doing something amazing here and we want to be faithful with what He has given us. So we will continue to be a camp that pursues the heart of God, creating a place of sheer fun and excitement, crazy games, relationship-driven staff, and a camp that wants to see children and youth come to Jesus.
We never want summer camp costs to be the reason why campers do not experience camp. That's why we work very hard to offer Campership Aid to families who need help making camp a reality for their kids. We work with member churches to run fundraising pancake breakfasts to build our Campership Aid Fund.
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| Much love, Jogee |
I hope that this helps to answer some of the 'heart' questions about where Evergreen is headed. We want to be transparent through our growth so if you ever have any questions about Reaching Higher or if you're interested in purchasing a brick or becoming a donor - please email me at courtney@camp-evergreen.com. I'd love to talk to you about it.
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