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Snapshots from Camp:·
Renovated Eden Wood Dormitory in Use:·
Annandale Lions Contributions Profiled:·
St. Cloud State Help Staff Dances at Camp Friendship:·
Wedding Donations Benefit Friendship Ventures:·
Upcoming Events:·
Thanks to Donors:·
Snapshot Archive:·
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"... My two
summers at Eden Wood count as two of the happiest, hardest, most fulfilling and
memorable of my life...''
~Past Staff Member
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Snapshots of Friendship
A monthly news update from Camp Friendship, Camp New Hope & Eden Wood Center
June Features
Snapshots from Camp
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| Crystal, Monica and Anne biked the trails near Eden Wood Center during the first week of camp. |
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Renovated Eden Wood Dormitory in Use
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| Elise checked out one of the private bedrooms that break up the long wings in the dormitory. |
After more than a year of construction, most completed by volunteer union workers, the historic dormitory at Eden Wood Center is back in use with great improvements in place. The first participants to stay in the building were a respite care group in mid-June.
Thanks so much to all the donors who contributed to the dorm renovation project. Many thanks also to all the volunteers with the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades Council and affiliated unions and apprentice programs who worked tirelessly to get the building ready. Special thanks to Charlie Canesi, Pete Nelson, Rollie McGahn and Dick Svoboda, our dedicated carpentry volunteers, who have been leading the charge.
Landscaping will be completed in the fall, but for now campers and staff will enjoy the beautifully renovated building with its climate-controlled environment, upgraded and accessible bathrooms, more private sleeping accommodations and new central lounge area for socializing.
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| Monica enjoyed one of three new lounge areas in the renovated dormitory. |
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Annandale Lions Club Contributions Profiled
An article in the Annandale Advocate highlighted the Annandale Lions Club’s work on the addition of the lodge at Camp Friendship. Club members helped with construction, landscaping and electrical work. To read the article, click here.
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St. Cloud State Students Help Staff Dances at Camp Friendship
“You can’t tell me that you don’t have one Saturday night that you could give up partying. It’s one night of your life, but to them it is ‘the’ night of their life,” Rachel Schafer said to her peers about volunteering at Friendship Ventures.
As volunteer chair of Shoemaker Hall at St. Cloud State University, Rachel was responsible for finding volunteer opportunities for hall residents. She learned about Friendship Ventures at a SCSU volunteer fair and thought volunteering at Friendship Ventures would be an amazing opportunity. She contacted Patrick Zant, volunteer program specialist, who asked her to help coordinate the Christmas and Valentine’s Day dances.
Rachel and the other volunteers designed and arranged decorations, served refreshments, provided music, and encouraged people to dance. At the beginning of the evening, students accepted roles based on their initial comfort level working with people who have disabilities. “People who had never volunteered before would tend to want to help with food, but by the end of the night they would be out on the dance floor. Everyone got involved,” said Rachel.
One of her friends who volunteered was skeptical at first, but at the end of the night he told Rachel, “That was so cool! I am so glad I came! When is the next dance?” By the second dance, the number of SCSU volunteers doubled. Rachel stated, “It’s something you can’t judge until you do it and once you do it, you will do it again.”
Rachel created memories at Friendship Ventures that will last a lifetime. One of her most cherished moments from the dances was when a participant on the dance floor started “raising the roof” and chanting “Whooo! Whooo!” “It was so fun!” said Rachel. “Everyone did ‘raise the roof.’ It was this huge deal. Everybody loved it.” According to Rachel, whenever volunteers from that night see each other on campus they simultaneously chant, “Whooo, Whooo” and “raise the roof.”
Rachel thinks everyone there is unique; she doesn’t think of them as disabled, just in need of different attention. “It’s not about the differences. Everyone is equal and we need them to feel equal,” stated Rachel. According to Rachel, the participants at Friendship Ventures are, “very encouraging, extremely forgiving, and so positive.” She thinks volunteering is something everyone could benefit from tremendously.
Note: More than 20 St. Cloud State students volunteered at the two dances at Camp Friendship last year. SCSU students Erik Botsford, James Childers, Hannah Palmquist, and Heidi Tobler wrote this article as an assignment for their Writing in the Professions class. They also updated copy for a Friendship Ventures brochure. We thank them for their contributions.
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Wedding Donations Benefit Friendship Ventures
At her wedding, to mark the significant change she was making in her life, Melissa Craig Spall and her husband Kevin made a donation to Friendship Ventures as their gift to their guests. “Friendship Ventures had changed my life,” Spall said. “Getting married was a huge life change as well, so the two went well together.”
Instead of leaving engraved golf tees or custom-wrapped chocolate bars on the tables for guests, the Spalls put a small card describing the donation at each place. “We were trying to figure out a way to give a gift that was more meaningful to us rather than stuff that our friends and family would have to take home,” Spall said. “We wanted to do something different.”
Spall, who lives in Akron, Ohio, spent the summers of 2003 and 2004 working at Friendship Ventures camps. The first summer helped settle some uncertainties she had about her career choice to work with people with disabilities. “At the time that I decided to go to work at Friendship Ventures I was having a hard time in college getting the classes that I needed to become a special education teacher,” she explained. “I knew that I wanted to help people with disabilities, but I was frustrated with my college courses and didn't know if I should continue in that field or switch to something else. My experience at camp gave me the strength to get through all the hassles at my university in order to do what I fell in love with, which was work with kids with special needs. If my husband would let me, I would probably be back up at camp this summer as well.”
Another wedding donation will help fund scholarships for respite care weekends. Debby Newman and Cliff Yentes asked their guests to contribute to Friendship Ventures or Special Olympics for their June 8, 2007 wedding. Debby’s daughter Eve has attended camp and respite care weekends for many years.
Newman, recognizing how much respite care weekends have meant to her, wanted to contribute enough to fund several partial scholarships for respite care. “Eve has been going to respite care at Camp Friendship for years,” she said. “It’s a place where I feel safe to let her be and she loves it. It has also been very good for me.
“A few years back, cuts caused several families I know to no longer be able to use respite care,” she continued. “We thought we’d see how many families we can help with partial scholarships for respite care.”
Wedding guests had the chance to see and meet Eve, who sang at the wedding. She and some of her friends were also involved in a three-generation, inclusive softball game that took place at the barbecue reception.
Eve is looking forward to a respite care weekend and a horseback riding special camp session later this summer. Because of the generosity of Newman and Yentes, several other participants will soon be able to look forward to a weekend respite of their own.
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Upcoming Events
Please join us for these special events this summer.
- July 16 - Circle of Friends Golf Tournament, Medina Golf and Country Club, Hamel
- August 6 - Jolly Open Golf Tournament, Southbrook Golf Course, Annandale
- August 16-19 - New Ventures Wagon Train, Hobble Trail Ranch, Isanti
- August 16 - “Friendship in Action” lunch, Majors Sorts Café, Bloomington
- August 27 - Majors Sports Café Golf Classic, Eagle Valley Golf Course, Woodbury
- October 16 - “Friendship in Action” lunch, Majors Sports Café, Roseville
For information about any of these events, or to register, please call Friendship Ventures at 952-852-0101 or 320-274-8376.
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Thanks to Donors
Special thanks to these donors for their recent contributions to fund scholarships:
- Cutler Magner Company, Duluth
- Garrison Lions Club
- Luther Holding Company, Golden Valley, from proceeds of Friday Casual day
- Dairyland Peach, Sauk Centre
- CH Robinson Foundation, Eden Prairie
- Maple Lake Lions Club
- Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Richfield
- Bernick’s Pepsi Cola, St. Cloud
- Cottage Grove Lions Club
- St. Victoria Church, Victoria
- Knights of Columbus Council, Maple Grove
- Osseo Lions Club
- Prior Lake Lions Club
- Knights of Columbus Council, Buffalo
- Knights of Columbus Council, Bloomington
- Knights of Columbus Council, Willmar
- Knights of Columbus Council, Chanhassen
- Spring Lake Park Lions Club, for Camp New Hope participants
- North Metro Sertoma, Plymouth
- Annandale Snowmobile Club, donated proceeds of the annual steak fry
- Coon Rapids Lions Club
- Wright County Area United Way
- William and Jane Dudley Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation
- Spring Lake Park Lions Club
- Camp Friendship Auxiliary
Thanks to donors who contributed for these special purposes.
Camp Friendship Lodge renovation:
- Anoka Lions Club
- Besco Poured Concrete, Buffalo, for an in-kind donation of concrete
- Wright Hennepin Electric Cooperative, for automatic door openers
- Donna M. Kuiper Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation
- Clearwater Lions Club, for support of the Camp Friendship Lodge renovation
Eden Wood Center dormitory renovation project:
- Bloomington Lions Club
- Eden Prairie Lioness Club
- Rotary Club of Minneapolis Foundation, for furnishings for the dormitory
- Miller Architects and Builders, St. Cloud, for in-kind services
- Eden Prairie Lions Club
- Steen Engineering, Crystal, for in-kind plumbing and electrical services
- Westwood Fine Custom Cabinets, Minnetonka, for an in-kind donation
Camp New Hope kitchen upgrade project:
- Clear Lake Lions Club
- Spring Lake Park Lions Club for a second donation
- Minnesota Valley Electric Trust, Jordan, for purchase of a utility cart for Eden Wood Center
And…
The Camp Friendship Auxiliary, for another donation to purchase carbon monoxide detectors for all Camp Friendship cabins and items for the dining hall.
We thank these and all contributors for your support.
Thanks to all donors!
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You Can Help:
To give a gift to children and adults with disabilities, Click to access our secure, on-line giving site. Your support will make all the difference in the world.
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