Making Camp Possible

Summer is up and rolling! July is our busiest month for youth camps. This summer’s theme is CHOICES. Daily events and activities will emphasize choosing Hope, Courage, Love and Eternal Life. Our theme verse is Philippians 4:8: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Sometimes people have asked us, “How do families from the inner city pay for their children to come to summer camp?” Families from the inner city often don’t have the financial resources to pay the full cost. The Oaks raises money year round to help these families. In addition, World Impact raises funds nationwide for its various camp programs.

The Oaks’ biggest fundraising event is held in the spring. It is the Cruise Across Camp 5k Fun Run. This year, I joined the 5K committee and did a lot of networking and promotion. The committee decided to put a new spin on this year’s Fun Run; making it even more fun by adding mud, paint and water elements! I was given the privilege of designing the mud and water features. This was one of the most fun tasks I have ever worked on here at the camp.

The course was redesigned to include more scenic trails with expansive views of the desert from our mountain. Volunteers helped me do tractor work, dig trenches and make dirt piles and move dozens of tires and giant pipes into position. It rained two days before the race and filled our biggest mud trench deep with water, so we ended up using very little of our well water! We had fire hoses spraying the runners, several locations where colored powder was thrown onto them, and we had volunteers in gorilla suits running around the archery range. They were moving targets for runners with water balloons!

The results? 136 Runners. 327 Donors. $18,000 Raised! Multiple churches participated and ran with their pastors. This was a great event and is responsible for helping many struggling youth afford to be here this month. We are often told that coming to camp is the highlight of the year and is the most effective time for youth groups to bond and deepen their relationships with God and each other. Please pray for our staff, the campers, and the communities they are impacting!

Mario Currado works for the maintenance department at The Oaks and assists in the adventure and outdoor education departments.