Midsummer Update: Growth and Generosity

People spelling out Wanakee on the docks

The last week has been a special one in the Wanakee world, and I wanted to take a moment away from the whirlwind of summer to share a bit of it with you. For the sake of time, let’s do bullet points.

During week 5, we welcomed 70 campers, as we have this week, and will again for our last week. We have been over capacity in the dining hall during 6 out of 7 weeks this summer… which is the definition of a good problem! And one we can solve right now through outdoor dining, cookouts / packouts, and the “Wanakee Lofts.” About that new dining hall though…
In order to provide creative, meaningful, and impactful programming to last week’s campers ages 5 to 18, we welcomed a small army of 17 volunteers as counselors, directors, nurses, and support staffers. Of those 17, 12 were under the age of 30. Last summer, Phil Polhemus commented that when he arrived at Wanakee 50 (!) years ago, Wanakee’s leadership and engagement was full of passionate, motivated young adults (like him), and that he was excited to feel like Wanakee was entering a similar phase. Week 5 really embodied that! I’m excited to continue working alongside emerging leaders and those who have been passionate about this place for decades to grow Wanakee’s impact and reach.
We’ve started totaling volunteer hours for the year, and we’re already well above 5,000. This gift of time is incredibly important in providing creative programming while keeping costs to families as low as possible. Thank you to all who make us a priority through gifts of time!
A huge part of my role is financial management, and last week was notable on that front. You may have seen that our final push for funds in support of the Farmhouse Renovation yielded a phenomenal $16,844.34 - I had gone into that campaign with a goal of $15,000, and was thrilled to exceed it. I also quietly set a stretch goal of $20,000, because one must live in hope. I shared this goal with a small handful of supporters, and last week an anonymous donor decided to give a gift of $3,200, putting us over the $20,000 mark. Beyond that, we gratefully received a number of other donations totaling more than $3,000, and I was fortunate to have a couple inspiring conversations with individuals feeling called to make leadership gifts of their own. Wanakee’s investment needs are many, and your financial support is integral to our continuous improvement. Thank you for being incredibly generous and incredibly inspiring.

Girls singing a song and doing a strong action

I set some goals for Wanakee over the winter, and we’ve started surpassing them! I’ll have more on metrics when the dust from summer clears, but here are the highlights. From 2016 to 2017, camper numbers as measured by the industry standard (one meal or one overnight = one unit) have gone up 7.6%. From 2015 to 2017, they’ve increased by 15.8%. Our registrations are up 8.3% from last year, growing from 420 to 455. These are our most important metrics. The reason Wanakee exists is to impact campers of all ages through an experience in authentic Christian community, lived out through unconditional love and radical acceptance. We are growing that impact. This entire post should probably have just been those two sentences, because that’s truly what we’re all about.

The hum of camp continues around me – it’s time to get back to it. We’ll see you in 11 days at the Homecoming BBQ and Wanakee Wilderness 5K!

Grace and Peace,

James Tresner, Executive Director