We have all received an E-mail from one company or another reminding us to wash our hands. We have laughed at about various toilet paper memes or jokes on Facebook. We have created unique ways to stay in touch with our friends and families on Zoom and “social distancing” has become a normal phrase. Some of us are scared and all of us have been impacted in one way or another.
Our camp has made sacrifices to ensure we survive this crisis. The heat is off, the budget is cut and we are preparing for the worst while planning for the best. I wanted to share a few moments we witnessed people stepping up for camp and they all occurred in the last 7 days.
Firewood. We have been getting creative regarding finding work for our staff. One idea was to cut down our dead trees and split it up and sell it to the community. Well instead of cutting down trees, out of nowhere, a local logging company dropped off dozens of huge logs to split up. They have since been cut into rounds and we can put someone to work because of that donation. (PS if you want to buy some firewood, let us know)
Cash Donation(s). Obviously these are fantastic. With no strings attached, we received a $5,000 donation that will go directly to payroll. We also received a planned donation of $6,000 that is earmarked for our ongoing kitchen remodel that was begun prior to the virus ramping up. We long for the months ahead when can host groups and generate income, but for now these donations help. Our bare minimum monthly expenses range from $11,500-$13,750 including utilities, payroll, insurance etc. If you are able to contribute, there is a link below.
Paid Invoice. It seems simple, but believe me this is a huge deal. For the month of March, April and May, we will total $72,000 in cancellations. We have a 90 day cancellation window for groups to walk away with no penalty, but those who have to cancel inside that window, well that involves a little more conversation. We know this is not their fault and the state of Washington has made it officially not their fault. We know we need to be flexible so we are offering all our groups the ability to apply their funds to a future retreat in 2020 or 2021. It would be easy for these groups to say “sorry Charlie” and leave us without paying a dime. However, we have hoped for the best and today we received a check for $3,400 from our first cancellation. (You know who you are and we thank you!!). I am certain some groups won’t (or can’t) pay their invoice, but this first check gave us hope. We know that this situation stinks and we know it isn’t easy to come up with funds for a cancelled retreat. With that being said, we hope the option is there for groups to help support camp and we hope to welcome them back very soon to use every dime they put forward.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers, your patience and for being a friend to camp.
Taken by the pond March 22, 2020
