Author Archive

Summer 2014 Dates

Summer 2014 Dates are here!

As usual, there will be all sorts of good things to follow.  Updates on special features, blog posts from counselors, videos and more.

But for now, here are the dates (https://www.bethanybirches.org/summer-camps/):

 

2014 Summer Camp Schedule

Program

(pages with specifics not yet updated)

Length

Age

Date

Friendship1/2 week6-87/13 – 7/15
Pioneershort week7-97/13 – 7/17
Pilgrim1 week9-116/22 – 6/27
Voyager1 week10-126/29 – 7/4
Voyager Extended2 weeks11-126/29 – 7/11
Discoverer1 week11-137/6 – 7/11
Favoritesshort week11-148/3 – 8/7
Explorer1 week12-147/20 – 7/25
Sojourner1 week14-187/27 – 8/1
Favorites Crewshort week15-188/3 – 8/7
Internship2 weeks16-186/29 – 7/11

Get a New Perspective

God is on the move at camp! I write this because there is so much happening and a lot of it seems very good.

As I reflect on this, I think about how we experience things we like, we can easily attribute those feelings to God’s goodness and gifts. Similarly, when we experience things we don’t like, we can easily attribute our feelings to God and say God is against us (sometimes this may be but often, we simply need to re-calibrate our understanding of what is good, or rather, who is good).I really like the fundraising that’s happening at Bethany Birches Camp (BBC) right now. For example, the 11th Annual Benefit Auction that happened at camp in late September raised $60,000. It’s easy to feel a sense of blessing in the wake of that fundraiser. Or, consider the current status of Mission Possible: The Pavilion Project. $1.2 million has been committed to date. These two numbers are historical for BBC.On the other hand, this coming weekend we’re hosting a teen connect. Only 15 are signed up right now. On a bad day, it’s easy for me to feel like God has not blessed this event.

It helps me in the face of what I perceive as wild success and annoying failure to remember a couple things from Scripture. First, in Isaiah 55, God exclaims “I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” Second, from Paul in Philippians 4 we learn that it’s possible to be content whatever our circumstances. And third, from Jesus, we come to understand that God’s blessings pour out on the righteous and unrighteous and that often things are reversed (the beatitudes illustrate blessing in tough situations and it’s hard for wealthy people to enter the Kingdom).

Join me in praying for the camp and the many people it serves. Pray for blessing, for effectiveness in ministry, for those of us in leadership to stay near to Jesus and for many campers to experience God’s love.

When you’re done praying, check out a few of these interesting webpages:
All about the Pavilion Project
All about the Auction
Winter camps coming up
Sign up for MP campaign text updates
Sign up for camp update emails

Thanks-Giving

Below is a guest post from Chad Yoder:

Thankful for Gifts of all Sizes

Fundraising is a funny thing.  A need arises out of the blue or a vision is put into action, both of which require a capital investment.  So where does this money come from?  A single donor?  A few select individuals?  Or a village ready and willing to raise a barn?  And why are some people intimidated by a call from someone asking for financial help?  Do they think “someone else will cover the cost” or “my gifts are not significant enough to make a difference”?

I have a growing appreciation for people who do development work.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been on the other side of the phone making excuses why I cannot give to a certain project.  Or maybe because each time I agree to help with fundraising, the job is just as difficult as I remembered it.  Or because of influences that are out of my control can stifle the joy of people who have typically considered giving as an act of worship and an example of Jubilee.  So why do I raise money for BBC?

I had my first taste of fundraising success a few years ago when I recognized the need for BBC to purchase some equipment so maintaining the camp property would be more efficient.  A friend of mine, Herb Wenger, had shared a story of raising money to purchase a tractor for BBC years earlier.  He was at breakfast with some friends and happened to mention the need for a tractor at BBC.  One friend spoke up and said “raise the money Herb and we’ll all pitch in”.  And so he did just that, and with the encouragement of some friends, he soon had the money to purchase the tractor.

I was encouraged when I found similar success to that of Herb.  I was surprised to hear people say “thanks for asking me Chad” and “we’re happy to pitch in for this cause”.  Soon enough I had the money needed to purchase most of the equipment on our wish list.  What a wonderful feeling it is to raise money without feeling intrusive or burdensome.

So why does fundraising for BBC feel so different to me?  PASSION!  I can’t remember a time that I’ve been so excited about a project and I think that my passion makes all the difference.  It get’s others excited for both BBC and for me.  People want to help BBC build a new pavi, but they also want to support me in my efforts because they see how important this project is to me.

The fall of 2012 was the beginning of the Mission Possible campaign, the Pavi Project.  An estimated building cost of $1,400,000 plus another $400,000 (includes three years of programming needs) makes the total amount needed for this project $1,800,000.  For some organizations, this may not seem like a big deal, but for BBC it is a major financial mountain to climb.  The passion of Brandon and Amber, the BBC board, the staff, campers, and the development resource committee could not be more evident.  This is why we named our project “Mission Possible”, because with God, all things are possible.

I am pleased to announce that we have surpassed $1,200,000 in committed dollars to the campaign so far.  This is only possible from a wide variety of gifts and we are thankful for gifts of all sizes.  Like the gift from the Clemens Family Corporation (shown in the picture), the unique auction match from Glen and Diane Moyer, the many creative auction donors and generous bidders this year, and offering projects like that of the Blooming Glen Mennonite Youth Fellowship.  It’s so cool to know that BBC has made an impact on all of those who choose to support the mission of the Camp.  This empowers me to keep pressing forward with the Mission Possible campaign with energy and PASSION!

Chad Yoder

Co-chair

Resource Development Team

 

 

Goals

Flo here again… have you ever set a goal? Camp has a goal… to raise $1.8 million for a new pavi so that campers can keep coming to camp for many years. When I was first asked to help that seemed like such a big number… and it is! But we’ve already raised $1.2 million!

What kind of goal would you like to achieve? Is there something you’d like to challenge yourself with? Last weekend, I had the pleasure of running with Sparkles and Benjamine in their first ever race. It was awesome! They both set a goal and reached it. Make a decision today to challenge yourself and set a goal… YOU CAN DO IT!!

– Flo

TODAY: Fall work day

From raking leaves to a re-roofing project, there will be all sorts of fun! Come join us anytime from 9-4pm. We’ll serve Lunch around 12:30.

Bring a rake!

Experience The Auction

Apple cider, maple syrup and donuts, oh my! Have you ever experienced the BBC auction? Let me give you a glimpse into the things that touched me this past weekend:

Campers come and help sell the items on the live auction by presenting the items to the audience – little do they know what an impact that has on the sale of the item!

Counselors and staff return with donated items- or they are like “mystery shoppers”, proxy bidding for those online bids that have been submitted.

People travel from places far & wide to come spend a day in the beautiful countryside and support camp.

A fabulous auctioneer from PA comes with his entourage to most definitely get more money per item with his perfect blend of humor, compassion and philanthropic encouragement.

Items are baked, chopped, squeezed, pressed, fried, ground, and cooked with loving hands to provide nourishment for the crowds and yummy additions to the sale!

Oh yes, and then the money…. People pay crazy amounts for everyday items. 15 people chose to simply donate $200-$400 each to send a camper to camp. And a wonderful “matching donor” (Glenn and Diane Moyer) agreed to double what was raised per dollar for any amount raised between $20,000 and $40,000.

Maybe it is because I didn’t grow up going to auctions that I am just awed by it all. Maybe because I truly love BBC – the place that it is, the kids, staff and counselors, and all that it represents. Maybe it’s because I know that there is something bigger than me out there, and He always shows himself to me when I’m there. Whatever the reason, I left the 2013 BBC Auction with a thankful heart and a happy soul. And the icing on the cake is that through all of this we keep making progress towards this wonderful goal of keeping the camp alive and thriving for generations to come. With the additional money raised, we have now raised well over $1 million towards the goal of $1.8 million for a new pavilion at camp.

For more information on that project (Mission Possible: The Pavilion Project) go here.  To read about the auction totals go here. Photos of the auction day go here.

If you like what you see here, share it with others! “Like” us on Facebook! Repost a blog! Tweet about it (@BethanyBirches)! You can use #MissionPossible, #WithGod, #ThePaviProject Tuna loves to use the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”. This was so evident this gorgeous, amazing weekend in VT. Praise be to God, thanks be to all of you and blessings to all the kids who continue to develop their relationship with God.

Flo

(aka Beth Goshow)

Mission Possible Communications Manager

————————————————-

THE $1100 GOLDEN SHOVEL

Benefit Auction 2013 Gross Totals

Greetings Friends!  Here’s a message I wrote internally just now (to board, staff and auction committee).  It’s so exciting I just HAD to share it with everyone!

————

I just did the math and here’s what it seems we’ll receive (gross) when all payments are made.  This of course does not include any further rounding up people may do ( or any mistakes I’ve made!).  I’ll publish the net when we finalize that and receive outstanding payments.

SourceAmount
Cashier including (live and silent bidding and raffle tix paid cash/check)24500
Bidding (live and silent NOT paid to date)3830
Bidding (live and silent paid by Credit Card)9146
Snowmobile Raffle sold BEFORE auction980
Cash Box From food/beverage540

TOTAL = $38,996.

When we add the match to that we’ll be pushing $60K raised from the day!!!  As a German-speaking friend of mine says: “awe inspiring”
Thanks to each of you for your part in making the day a success and for your commitment to helping young people develop their relationship with God!
Brandon
————–
To God be all praise, honor and thanks!  And to many who gave items to be sold and who bid on those items.  As the saying goes, “it takes a village.”  Here at camp, we say it takes a community of love.  And how fun to be part of that community!
In case you missed out on the fun, you can do three exciting things from this post:
[button-medium color=”green” link=”eepurl.com/puW8r”]Get Camp Emails[/button-medium]     [button-medium color=”green” link=”bethanybirches.org/wp-content/media/2013/09/2013-auction-lot-list-w_.pdf”]View Winning Bids[/button-medium]    [button-medium color=”green” link=”bethanybirches.org/donate/”]Make A Donation[/button-medium]

Online Auction Bidding Form

Place your online auction bids from the item of the day email below. You can also visit the total listing here.

The form has been taken down for this year’s auction.  We hope you can make it out to the event Saturday!  If not, plan to join us September 27, 2014 for next year’s event!

 

Greetings friends!  I’m pasting the Annual Benefit Auction Online Bidding Form here so that those who are receiving the item of the day email can come straight here and place bids.  Not receiving the item of the day emails?

[button-medium color=”green” link=”eepurl.com/puW8r”]Sign up for emails[/button-medium]

 

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