Monday, June 28, 2010

Space Is Still Available, But Filling Up Fast!


The July 4th holiday has left plenty of room at Anokijig next week, but that's certainly not the case in the weeks following. Weeks Five and Six at Anokijig are already sold out and Weeks Seven and Eight only has a few spots remaining.

Our Stamper program is also at or close to capacity for the rest of the summer, so if you are interested in participating, call Camp today! Our Fishing Expedition programs are always popular and this year is no exception. Fishing Expeditions II in Week 5 is very close to capacity, but there is still plenty of space in that program during Week 8.

Our Mini Camp program is at capacity for Week 8, but there is still space available in other weeks. Ranch Camp only has a few spots remaining in Weeks 5 & 6, so if your child would like to learn more about horses, don't wait too long to sign up.

Our day trips to Noah's Ark in the Wisconsin Dells have been so popular, we've made them available in Weeks 5-9, but Week 5 is already full. This is a very popular day trip, so if your son or daughter would like to sign up, now is the time. Our Paint Ball day trip is offered every week this summer, but it is filling up fast in Weeks 5-8. There is still space available in each of those weeks, but don't wait too long to sign up!

For up to the minute details on available programs and activities, you can call the Camp office at 1-800-741-6931.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

A Luxury For Some, a Necessity for Anokijig

Like many non-profits, Anokijig has a long list of things we need to help provide a wonderful experience for our campers (not the least of which is a generous donor, who would like to help pay off our bank loans).  When we first saw these golf carts a few years ago, we thought the big tires were just for showing off and didn't think they actually served a purpose.  As we've acquired a few golf carts over the years at Camp, we've come to realize they do have a functional purpose, at least at Anokijig.  This particular cart is an ST Express, manufactured by EZ-GO, but other manufacturers make similar versions.

Anyone who has ever visited Anokijig can tell you our terrain can be very hilly and some of our roads can be quite rocky.  The golf carts we have now do an admirable job of handling that terrain, but many times they are just not up to the task.  Our golf carts have tires that were designed not to tear up well-manicured grass, not scramble over a rocky hillside on the way to a tent section.  Bottoming out on rocks and flat tires at Anokijig are not uncommon.

Our golf carts are also limited in their seating capacity at four, while this cart has three rows of seating.  This is especially important when families are at Anokijig.  We frequently shuttle families to and from sections on check-in day and we're often limited in what we can carry.  Sometimes there's only enough room for mom, dad and some luggage.  There is also a big need on family weekends, when larger families need help moving around camp or from remote parking during our special events.

We don't expect someone will read this blog today and we'll have a new golf cart at our doorstep tomorrow, but we at least want to put the information out there, so folks know there is a need.  Someone may know a person who has one of these carts, but rarely uses it and might be interested in making a tax-deductible donation.  We suspect this cart might be similar to the RTV that was donated by Ken and Melody Cavan a few years ago.  We never had an RTV before, so we didn't recognize the specific need for it.  Now that we have one, we don't know how we ever survived without it.

If you know someone who has one of these carts or a dealer or manufacturer, please tell them about Anokijig and help us better serve the children and families who visit us!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Leadership Training- Free of Charge!


Did you know Camp Anokijig offers a comprehensive leadership training program free of charge? It's true and it's one of our most valuable, but least-talked about program areas. Many camps charge a fee for this training, but we have always believed this life skill is too important to restrict only to those who can afford it.

Many of the staff members who go through our program move on to careers in fields involving education and mentoring youth and Anokijig's leadership program and the experiences they have here are often the catalyst for that career path. We once lived in a world (and country), where military service was required of our young people. While we are thankful for the sacrifices made by previous generations, we still acknowledge that the leadership skills and training those generations learned through military service to our country are still needed today. That's not to say we put our participants through boot camp, but they do learn many valuable lessons and skills that many of today's young people simply are not exposed to at all.

Our senior staff is already at Camp and we're just wrapping up our lifeguard training. We can't thank our wonderful donors and supporters enough for making these programs available to all who are interested. If you'd like to learn more about our leadership training and staff opportunties, please visit this link- http://www.anokijig.com/staff_benefits.htm