With three sites and three different schedules, camp has begun for the summer for Friendship Ventures. Already 600 participants have had their summer fun at Camp Friendship, and 150 have attended a session at Camp Eden Wood. Camp New Hope is just getting started, with five fun weeks of camp planned.

The great Minnesota weather has allowed participants to take part in all outdoor activities at each site, especially enjoying water activities. A great summer staff has also made for a memorable summer. The young adult seasonal staff, both new and returning, from the Midwest, California, Georgia, Illinois and Michigan, are working hard and doing a great job of providing enjoyable experiences for every participant.

Often special guests visit toshare their hobbies or talents to make camp especially fun. Many groups and individuals have already entertained campers this summer. They include:

ABATE Motorcycle Club – 24 members of the Minnesota Lake chapter of American Bikers for Awareness Training and Education brought their motorcycles in for campers to climb, sit on and view, voting for their favorite.

Magicians Michael Callahan and Brian Richards wowed campers with their amazing magic tricks.

The Annandale Fire Department and the Eden Prairie Fire Department brought fire trucks and equipment for show and tell.

Misty and Friends Mobile Zoo shared a llama, sheep, goats and pot belly pigs, generating lots of smiles as participants held and petted the animals.

Musicians Terry Tunes and Granite City Sound, a Sweet Adelines group, performed songs to please everyone’s musical taste, from oldies to country to hip-hop.

Tom Richmond, a caricature artist from Valleyfair, captured the happy faces of camp participants.

The Interact Center, a theater group comprised of people with disabilities, performed a play and conducted an acting workshop for participants of the Theater in the Park special session.

A group of Israeli young adults called Israel Scouts performed skits and sang songs, danced along with participants and mingled with cabin groups, interacting with clients during the visit.

Thanks to all special guests for giving your time to make super summer camp memories for our participants!

Golf to Benefit Friendship Ventures

There are several chances this summer to golf in a tournament to raise money for Friendship Ventures.

This year is the 20^th annual Jolly Open Golf Tournament! Join us Monday, August 7 at Southbrook Golf Club in Annandale for golf, dinner and silent auction.

For the second year, Majors Sports Café is hosting a golf tournament to benefit Friendship Ventures. The Majors Sports Café Golf Classic is Monday, August 28 at Deer Run Golf Club in Victoria.

The first tournament of the summer was the 2^nd annual Circle of Friends Golf Classic, July 17. Friendship Foundation board members Mark Steen (also a Friendship Ventures board member) and Bob Harnett began this tournament last year, and already have raised $185,000 to support programs!

If you need another reason to golf this summer, how about to support Friendship Ventures’ great programs? Contact Jerry Carter at 952-852-0106 for details.

Tuesday Night is Ice Cream Night

Brooklyn Park Lady Lions Club member Shirley Seid and counselor Kristina Hesse helped participant Allexzander choose ice cream toppings on a recent Tuesday night.

Ice Cream Socials, a Friendship Ventures tradition, are a wonderful opportunity for caring groups to become involved and watch our camps in action. For many years, Tuesday nights have been ice cream night, when a Lions Club, Lioness club or another group of people serve up ice cream to camp participants.

The groups tour the site, learn about programs and then interact directly with campers, offering them ice cream, sauce and toppings to end the camp day. It’s a tradition that everyone enjoys. On July 11, the Brooklyn Park Lady Lions Club hosted the social at Eden Wood Center. “We enjoy coming here,” said Shirley Seid, who noted that the group has been serving ice cream at the site for 20 years. “It’s nice to come out and see who we contribute to.”

Thanks to the Maple Lake Lions, Clearwater Lions, Kimball-Fairhaven Lions and Brooklyn Park Lady Lions who have hosted ice cream socials this summer.

Another Great Way To Be Part Of Something Good

Donations of cash and volunteer time are great ways to support Friendship Ventures, but they are not the only ways. In-kind gifts—donations of goods and services—are another welcome option that’s sometimes easier to offer.

The variety and value of in-kind donations that benefit Friendship Ventures and our clients may come as a surprise. In 2005, donors provided nearly $121,000 worth of much needed goods and services. Many thanks to the following people and businesses who so generously provided in-kind gifts last year:

·       Tony Doyle, Doyle Digital Video—video production
·       Toro—industrial mower
·       Clearwater Lions—arts and crafts building renovations at Camp Friendship
·       Besco Poured Concrete—multiple projects
·       Thermo Tech—new windows
·       Miller Architects & Builders—architectural services
·       Les and Linda Cantin—new boat motors
·       David Van Sickle—new deck and campfire area at Eden Wood
·       Faegre & Benson—legal services
·       Muller Theaters—advertising

Thermo Tech’s former CEO Dave Ferkinhoff put it this way: “I have family members with disabilities, and I’ve seen how much they enjoy spending time at the lake. I’ve enjoyed access to lakes all my life and used to take it for granted.” In 1999, Dave pledged to supply new windows to Friendship Ventures whenever they were needed. Dave has since moved on to another business, but his brother John Ferkinhoff, who currently runs Thermo Tech, continues to honor that pledge.

Is there something you might have, make or do that you could share to help us enhance life for our participants? If so, please get in touch with Verlyn Menning at 952-852-0101 or 800-450-8376. And please pass the idea on!

The Dormitory Has Landed

It was perched up on blocks for a while, but the dormitory has been put down – not back on the ground, but on its new foundation. Volunteer members of the Minnesota Building and Construction Council of Union Trades spent several weeks this spring jacking up the dormitory, building the foundation and, finally, lowering the building down. It is being used this summer for camp, after which union volunteers will complete the renovation project, creating a more accessible, stable dormitory with private sleeping quarters.

Thanks to Donors

Special thanks to these donors for their recent contributions to fund scholarships

Wright County Area United Way
St. Victoria Church, Victoria
Wooden Hearts, Inc., Cold Spring
Bernick’s Pepsi Cola, St. Cloud
Annandale Snowmobile Club
Honorable Order of Blue Goose, New Hope
Wal-mart Foundation, Bentonville, AR
Rosemount, Inc., Chanhassen
VFW Department of Minnesota, St. Paul
Caring Rivers United Way, Elk River
UBS Financial Services, Wayzata
Bokers, Inc., Minneapolis
Besco Poured Concrete, Buffalo
Maple Lake Lions Club
Monticello Lions Club
St. Cloud Metro Lions Club
Knights of Columbus Council, Finlayson
Knights of Columbus Council, Bloomington
Knights of Columbus Council, Willmar
Knights of Columbus Council, Brooklyn Park
Knights of Columbus Council, New Brighton
Various Knights of Columbus Councils statewide for proceeds from their Tootsie Roll campaigns

Thanks also to donors who funded special projects:
Monticello Lions Club, for project costs for the Fix-N Fun weekend
Hopkins Jaycees, for project costs for the Fix-N Fun weekend
Minco, St. Cloud, in-kind technology services
Minnesota Valley Electric Trust, Jordan, for Team Quest course improvements and the Eden Wood Center Renovation project
Albert-Home Tech Fashions, Inc., Minneapolis, donation of window coverings
Ramsey Lions Club, for support of Camp New Hope
Spring Lake Park Lions Club for support of Camp New Hope
Clear Lake Lions Club, additional donation for support of Camp New Hope

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.

Friendship Ventures is a non-profit agency that creates unique educational, recreational and social opportunities for people of all ages with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. We also offer conference and retreat services and professional team-building programs to the communities we serve. Friendship Ventures operates Camp Friendship near Annandale, MN, Eden Wood Center in Eden Prairie, MN and Camp New Hope near McGregor, MN.

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