Gala celebrations, new camp activities (GaGa anyone?), facelifts for a beach and a barn, the best Campership Fund appeal ever….2011 was a great year at Camp Ondessonk!
January “Choose Your Own Adventure” program is born! Summer campers will be able to choose their own specialized programs , like trotting lessons at the barn, sign language, music/percussion instruction, advanced archery, and more. It’s a chance to explore and build skills in their area of choice rather only by their unit schedule.
March: Volunteer Roundup! More than 150 volunteers rebuilt Durbin’s Barn, renovated Tekakwitha cabins, rebuilt the beach wall, and landscaped. Check out all the 2011 volunteer projects at Facebook.com/ondessonk.
April: “Night at the Races” Gala and Auction was a sell-out smash! Generous gala attendees helped raise over $56,000, including earmarked gifts for riding helmets, bathhouse tile and a new camp PA system. Join us on March 3, 2013 for the 2013 Gala “Margaritaville.”
May Our staffers show us that they are the BEST! At the Staff auction, cheers of “It’s all for the kids” spurred donations of $5,000, about $600 more than 2010.
June: Summer Camp 2011 began with 600 Open House guests and beautiful sunshine. In total, 2,597 campers and 114 staffers called Camp “heaven on earth” this summer.
July Our friends from Notre Dame Catholic Elementary School in Kyoto, Japan returned with 19 campers. They honored us with a performance of the National Anthem and “Country Roads” at the flag lowering ceremony. Their principal says that Camp is the highlight of their annual trip to the U.S.
August: More than 300 campers, families and friends attended our second annual Camp O Night at the Grizzlies in Sauget, Illinois. Our new “End of Summer” tradition.”
September The 16th Annual Golf Benefit was hosted by Pete Korte at Locust Hills in Lebanon, Ill. It was a perfect golf day, the “Hit the Ball in the Boat” contest was hilarious and our sponsors helped contribute more than $21,000 to the Campership Fund, the best ever. Thanks to Pete, his family and all the volunteers!
October After a year of discernment, Camp implemented a new database, the Raiser’s Edge. The benefits will be huge: we will streamline our camper registration process, manage our volunteers and events, and become more “green” by saving postage and paper with more targeted communications. A great tool to help Camp grow!
November We kicked off our 2011 Annual Fund appeal, as Camp friends helped write letters and emails, and reminisced during a phonathon. In all, the Annual Fund raised $17,300 for programming, building projects and other priorities in our operating budget. Heepwah!
