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Many Hands Make Light Work

The first (small) snow fell yesterday at BBC! The snow fell on leaf cleared grass, newly built pallets and freshly felled trees. Saturday Nov 4th was a busy day at BBC. Thirtyish folks came from Rutland, Bethel, Woodstock, Plymouth, Bridgewater, Brandon, White River, Randolph, etc to help BBC get ready for winter. A big thanks to all you from Calvary Bible Church who came and joined the fun!

Volunteers brought different skills. All brought smiles. Volunteers were different ages with different familiarity with BBC. Some were at BBC for the first time. Others were campers who were attending their first work day. And still others have been coming to BBC in some capacity for the last 50 years! Over the course of 6 hours the group raked ALL the leaves, cleared the garden, built a number of pallets and fell trees to clear space for pallet storage and pond beach expansion.

Each October I try to focus on the beauty of the changing leaves but always find myself distracted by the knowledge that all the leaves will drop. And then need to be cleared. And how exactly will that get done? Along with all the other pre winter work 100 acres of forrest requires?

And each fall a group of people show up to help. This year was no different. This year people joined in the leaf raking, pallet building and falling trees. God continues to bring people to do the work of God and I am grateful to be part of that.

-Amber “Cheeks” Bergey

Summer Camps Almost Full

Summer is under way and we are excited! Summer 2017 is shaping up to be Bethany Birches’ most attended summer in our 53 year history. You can see the current capacity of camp that remains open and which sessions are full on the 427 page. If you see a session you’d like to attend and see that it’s full, it may be worthwhile putting your child on the waitlist (as cancellations do happen). To do that, just sign up like you normally would.

To those of you who helped spread the word about Bethany Birches Camp and our rustic, relationship and skills developing, faith-building camp program, thank you! Please continue to share with your friends all that Bethany Birches has to offer: from unique and awesome summer and winter camp programs to weddings and other facility rentals. It takes a village to raise a child and we need all of you to help in that work. If you’re reading this and don’t have children camp age and don’t have use for the facility, consider sponsoring a camper this summer. Give to the Kids to Camp fund or join us at the annual benefit auction to make it happen.

Pray with me that this summer will be like all the others before it – that God’s presence will be experienced and that each person will be filled with God’s love, mercy, hope and joy. Come see for yourself as a volunteer.

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

Mission Success

It is challenging to gauge success when trying to accomplish a mission like Bethany Birches’. We do some surveys after summer and winter seasons to see how we did in a couple different areas. I just LOVE what came from the surveys this past summer.

33% of survey respondents (parents) rated their child’s experience a 10 or “the best time imaginable.” 33% more rated their child’s experience as a 9. And 24% an 8. Half of all survey respondents said their children “seem more loving or kind” after their week at camp. As I read through survey’s from camper parents post summer I saw this report from a mother about her two campers:

“They both came home singing great pre-dinner songs like, “thank you God, for giving us food!!!!” We loved learning these songs and still sing them before meals! They also learned about how to be a good friend, and how to work well with others. They learned how to do their own dishes which made me very happy!”

I think that part of the reason most campers loved it here last summer (ratings of 8, 9, 10) is because they felt loved, accepted and cared for (fun, great people and great activities didn’t hurt either!). “Proof” that we are creating the type of atmosphere required to accomplish our mission. I also take great encouragement knowing that half of the parents surveyed said their children “seem more loving or kind.” This reminds me of Jesus’ teaching to love God and to love people. We must become a person filled with God’s love and love for those around us to accomplish this. If parents are noticing their children becoming “more loving or kind” I bet it’s because what happens at camp is helping people live out this teaching of Jesus and develop a relationship with God.

Mission Success!

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

Fall Newsletter: What’s up with the Pavilion Project?

We are fortunate to be operating completely out of the new pavilion! We gained occupancy to the entire building June 2016. We had partial occupancy June 2015. We are focused on finishing this project! That includes finishing moving in, some additional fundraising and completion of a few items.

Moving in is the easy part! Total cash needs to finish the project and pay down outstanding debt is $249,500. $116,000 of this is debt on which we are paying interest. We are working to get rid of this debt (you could make a contribution now… or buy a session of camp for your child for Christmas)! The remaining $133,500 is to finish aspects of the project. Those aspects include kitchen equipment, climbing wall/high ropes, wood boiler, finishes (paint, sealing floor etc). Find the detailed list and estimated costs at the bottom of this post.

To date we have spent a little over $1,800,000 on the building including the loans referenced above, some in-kind gifts of materials and almost 7,000 volunteer hours. We expect to complete the project and all its components as time and money allow. We expect to finish paying down debt by end of calendar year 2017. And we expect many great uses of the building from now on! The building has served campers for two summer camp seasons and this winter will be the second winter camp season hosted in the new building. There have been 5 weddings and many other group uses already in the short time the building has existed. If you would like to give to help finish this project, PLEASE let me know.

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey,

Executive Director

brandon @ bethanybirches.org

14th Annual Benefit Auction Report

Greetings friends!

Another auction has come and gone. Boy was it fun! Preparation always seems so stressful for the committee and staff. I left camp at 10pm on Friday night knowing there was plenty to finish on Saturday morning. Slept OK. Woke up thinking about all there was to do. Rushed up to camp after kissing my wife and daughter. Got out of my truck and took a deep breath. Immediately I smelled quiche baking and doughnuts frying. The air was brisk and the sun bright. Fog was rising from the valley below. I recalled a snapshot from a recent board retreat. Someone wrote “Auction Day.” That was a response to the question, “What do you love about camp?” I hadn’t thought about that much until that moment. And I realized that even though it’s stressful for me I just love auction day! Campers are back on site. Many of our most faithful supporters are here. Lots of volunteers hustle around to get food out. And there are new-to-camp folks checking it out for the first time. Sometimes just passing by sometimes from a nearby town.

What a wonderful mix of people! And all for the purpose of supporting a vision of a better world – a vision of giving local children a needed experience; young people who need a place to go and get outside and play. To experience God in nature and the people around them. To be inspired to hope and dream and love. Who doesn’t want to invest in our youth in a meaningful way.

And then there’s the food. Fresh made doughnuts. Quiche & fruit. Fresh coffee. Fresh squeezed apple cider. Popcorn just popped like at the movies. Add the people and food to the event itself – the auctioneers doing their thing with their crazy fast talk. What fun and fellowship!

Some stats:

$42,049 has been recorded so far.
80 bidder numbers were handed out to over 130 people.
95 raffle tickets sold (congrats to Rebecca Golding, winner).
180 doughnuts made and consumed in 4 hours.

See photos from the day on the main auction page. Coming to that page in a day or so will be the lot list with winning bids attached. It’s often fun to see how much items sold for.

And please please please plan to join us next year, September 23 OR 30, 2017 (committee will be deciding shortly).

Please also plan to join us as a volunteer during winter or summer programs. Or, sign up for monthly giving (email me brandon @ bethanybirches.org for the monthly giving form). No matter how you join in the fun, hope to see you here at camp sometime soon.

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

Volunteers Invite Friends to Camp

I’ve been struck the last few days how much fun it is to bring friends to camp! This past week 2 volunteers who have been coming to camp for the past 18+ years brought two friends to camp. Each of them contributed to help the 2nd floor of the pavilion progress.

Merle Horst and Dave Mussleman are part of the Musser Woodcutting crew. This crew of guys have been cutting the camp’s wood for the last 18+ years. A few weeks ago I sent an email to Merle to see if he could round up some able volunteers to help us finish the 2^nd floor of the pavilion. Dave was available and so were 2 friends – Lester and Will.

Thanks to Merle and Dave inviting friends a lot MORE was accomplished in 2 and a half days on the top floor of the pavilion. Beautiful barn doors, trim, wainscot caps, shelves were among their projects. Not to mention everyone seemed to have a lot of fun! Community building happens among campers, volunteers, staff and whoever finds themselves on the hill. Camp is always more fun with friends!

If you’re a camper family – consider inviting at least 1 new friend to BBC this summer!
If you’re a volunteer – consider inviting a friend who’s never been to camp to join you the next time you’re on the hill!

We hope to see you on the hill soon!

Cheeks.

The sawing station

Lester and Will work on shelving

Pine Trim Everywhere

Shelf and Coat Rack at the Main Entrance

Dave putting up Barn Board Trim

Rustic Shelving above office doors

Friends from Lancaster helping at BBC!

Having a good time

2015 Annual Report and Meeting

Greetings BBC Supporters:

Each year in March, we have our Annual Association Meeting. The Association is the formal ownership group of the camp (being a non-profit, there are no financial benefits to ownership). FYI – anyone can join the association.

It’s a fun evening; sharing a meal, hearing from the staff and board directors and conferring together about important issues. This year the association had discussion around the camp’s core values.

You can listen to a good portion of the meeting right here.

The annual report can be found here. If you would like a copy mailed to you, let us know here at the camp office (802-672-5220).

It would be great to see you at next year’s meeting!

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey

Ongoing Pavi Volunteer Opportunities

BBC continues to be an exciting place to be in the winter. With and without snow! Thanks to the doors being installed in the new pavilion snow camps are exciting and fun even with limited snow.

Can you help us continue to move towards a finished pavilion? This time it’s in a slightly different form than a traditional work day.

Do you have an hour or 3 to give to the pavilion progress efforts over the course of the next 2 weeks? Pavilion Progress will continue during the weeks between snow camps with the following projects:

– Staining pine boards for the upstairs ceiling and the garage door interior siding.
– Painting the walls of the 2nd floor.

Staining/Painting will be set up in between snow camps. If you can come for a chunk of time on any of the following days, please let me know and we’ll be ready for you! No prior experience required.

Tues Feb 23 – Thurs Feb 25: 9:30am – 4pm

Tues Mar 1 – Sat Mar 5: 9:30am – 4pm

While the format is different we’ll still plan to have coffee, snacks and lunch for you if we know you are coming. Email amber at bethanybirches.org to let us know when you can help!

We are so thankful for your help! Hope to see you on the hill soon,

Amber “Cheeks” Bergey

Volunteer to Help Finish the Pavilion at BBC – Feb 6th

2016 is off to a good start at BBC! Framing for the big doors is happening, an inaugural fire was lit in the pavilion fireplace and drywall on the 2nd floor is almost complete. Can you help us keep going?!

Join us on Feb 6th to keep making progress on the 2nd floor of the pavilion AND to transform the pavilion from a construction zone to a snow camp zone! We’ll have work for skilled (hanging pine boards, trim, etc) and unskilled (painting, clean up, organizing, etc) volunteers alike. Coffee Break, Lunch (12:30) and a tubing break for all as well! Please let us know you’re coming so we can plan projects and lunch accordingly. (amber at bethanybirches dot org or call the office 802-672-5220)

The fun will start at 9am. Come for an hour or come for the day.

If you can’t join us on the 6th but would still like to help, please let us know. There are various projects that can be done outside of work days if you have other time you are able to give.

OR if you have a group you’d like to bring for a few days we’d be happy to coordinate that as well.

We are so thankful for your help! Hope to see you on the hill soon,

Amber “Cheeks” Bergey