Camp Cherith: Making History!

The blog has moved!

2010-09-24T12:53:00.003-04:00

Today we launched a completely new revision of our camp website -- just about everything has changed! As a result, we've decided to move the Construction Blog over there, so we can keep the blog updates, upcoming events, fundraising announcements, and so on, all in one place.

All of the blog posts and photos have been moved to the new address, which is:

http://www.cherith.ca/category/construction/

See you over there!

Mid-camp update: we're having a blast!

2010-07-17T22:59:00.006-04:00

First things first: I apologize for the lack of updates recently. All of us have been so busy getting camp ready for the kids, and now we're right in the middle of it all, so we haven't been updating the blogs or the website as much as we wish we could.

We have a new Twitter account that you can follow for general camp updates: www.twitter.com/Camp_Cherith.

So, while the focus of this blog was primarily on the construction of our campsite, we want to give you an update. Weeks 1, 2, and 3 have finished, and tomorrow is the beginning of Week 4 -- our final week of summer camp!

Camp has been going really well! The weather has been all across the board. Week 1 saw cooler, wetter weather, Week 2 endured the heat wave that blasted through much of Ontario, and Week 3 was just right -- hot by day, cool by night. For the hotter days, we enjoyed lots of swimming to cool off -- including cannonball competitions! -- and during each week we set up the biggest slip-and-slide you've ever seen! (We knew that surplus roll of vapour barrier would come in handy!)

Many of our improvements for camp this summer have been behind-the-scenes. One example is our new staff parking area, back in the maintenance area. Not very exciting? Maybe not, but it keeps all the cars away from where kids run around and opens up much more room in our main play area. It also keeps cars protected from flying balls and other play equipment. A safer, more enjoyable camp experience for everyone!

This year we also changed the flow of traffic for when parents come in to drop off and pick up their campers. Again, this keeps traffic away from the dining tent and play areas, and allows our staff to control the entry and exit of vehicles and provide organized parking instead of a haphazard arrangement of cars. On closing day, our staff can watch the driveway loop to make sure all campers are deregistered with the Camp Director before leaving the campsite. All of these steps help us monitor the safety and well being of our campers and staff.

We'll continue posting updates when we can! Remember, there are several ways to keep track of how we're doing up at camp:

This blog is primarily for updates on our campsite, including new construction projects, maintenance, property enhancements, and opportunities to volunteer during work parties.
Our camp Twitter account, @Camp_Cherith, for overall up-to-the-minute status updates, including links to videos and pictures from summer camp sessions.
Our camp YouTube account, LaurentianCherith, for video clips from current and past summer camp sessions. (We posted a video from Week 2 -- experience the sheer bliss of a rainstorm to end the heat wave!)
Our main camp website (www.cherith.ca) for camp-related announcements!

Hope you are having a great summer, and if you were at camp recently (or are coming tomorrow) we hope you have a blast!

May 21-24 Work Weekend!

2010-05-23T21:36:00.003-04:00

A few of us went up to camp for the May 21-24 long weekend.

The weather was beautiful! Too beautiful, in fact -- it was unanimously decided that work would pause in mid-afternoon so we could swim and take the kayaks and canoes down on a tour of the Clyde River. Did you know this was Jay's first time out on the river in a canoe?

The focus this weekend was on cleaning up the property. We mowed -- and mowed and mowed -- and got rid of a lot of the brush and garbage piling up from our construction and renovation projects. There was also some more painting and some more bunk work -- still more to do, however!

We're looking forward to having all of our staff up at camp for pre-camp training in just a few weeks, and the campers begin arriving in just 34 days! There's still much to be done, so keep watching for updates!

Happy Victoria Day!

May 14-16 Pictures!

2010-05-20T21:35:00.004-04:00

As promised, here are some photos from the work weekends!

We start with the guys who worked hard clearing trees for our future work shed:

The area in and around the Health Care Center becomes a window factory:

One of the completed, painted, grading-improved washhouses:

Working at replacing the deck on the main washhouse building:

Completing some final exterior construction and then painting the buildings:

Finally, here's Hawkeye enjoying a hearty breakfast!

Thanks to all the great volunteers who came out to help! We had a great time and we hope to see you again next time!

May 14-16 Work Weekend

2010-05-17T12:53:00.002-04:00

Thanks to all the volunteers who came out to the second work weekend in spring 2010! We had a great time and got a lot of work done! The weather was fantastic (no snow, unlike last weekend!) Pictures are worth thousands of words so we'll let them speak for themselves. Here's a summary of what we did over the weekend:

A completely new deck was built at the entrance to the washhouse.
All cabins' remaining exterior sheathing were completed.
Several picnic tables were refurbished.
Grading was improved around both the boys' and girls' washhouses, including patio stones at the entrances.
All the cabin and washhouse exteriors were painted to protect them from the elements.
4 more cabin floors were painted with floor paint.
All of the remaining leaders' beds were completed in the girls' cabin area.
A number of window shutters were produced, assembly-line style. These are being put together into completed, ready-to-hang window shutter assemblies.
Cabins 1 and 5 were each partially outfitted with completed shutter units, including two prototypes of "swing away" screens that we'll use to access the exterior shutters from inside the cabins. We'll start converting all of the cabin screens to this style.
Cabin 1 was outfitted with screen assemblies for each window.
Tree clearing was started in the area where the new quonset hut will be located.

Pictures to follow!

Camp Cherith thanks everyone who came out to help! We look forward to seeing you again in the future!

“Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail..."

2010-05-10T11:42:00.003-04:00

The work weekends have begun! Spring work parties are a tradition at Camp Cherith, and now that we own a property we certainly have no shortage of work to do. We are so thankful to all the volunteers who share the workload!

That being said... brr! Our first volunteer work weekend of 2010 featured a bit of everything -- sun, wind, rain, even hail and SNOW! Still, lots of work got done and we enjoyed eating, sharing, and laughing together throughout the day. Many thanks to the 18 intrepid volunteers who made it out!

Here's a sampling of what we got done this past weekend:

Felled logs were chopped into firewood
Cabins and buildings swept out and cleaned up
Additional work on bunk beds in the girls' cabin circle
Replaced temporary screens with proper framed screens
Beginning of work on building window shutters for cabins
Repairs and conversion of Nurse's trailer to stop leaks in the roof

There's still lots to do, including painting the cabins inside and out, window shutters, clearing land for the installation of the new quonset hut storage shed and staff parking area, raking, new electrical work, and lots more. We hope to see you at our next work weekend this coming May 14-16! Please email us at info@cherith.ca to let us know when you're coming so we can make enough food to feed everyone.

Site Improvements Planned For 2010

2010-03-03T15:08:00.003-05:00

Last spring was a huge push to have all of the "big stuff" built in time to run summer camp in July. We thank God that we were able to get so much done last year, both before and after camp. This spring we will be focusing our attention on some of the finer details:

Cabins and bunks: We will replace the temporary screening with permanently mounted screen windows, with swinging shutters so that windows can be closed to block out light and rain. Each cabin's floor will be painted to make it easier to sweep up, and the exteriors will be painted to keep them weatherproof. The few remaining unfinished staff beds will be completed, and bunks will be sanded to remove rough spots.

Wash stations: Look for the installation of hose-down vinyl floors, a completed steel roof, improved odour control, and -- finally -- permanent electric lights at all wash facilities. No more LED flashlights!

Landscaping and bug control: We will be doing general work around the campsite to improve water runoff and drainage as well as open up areas that are attractive to mosquitoes. The cool weather and incredible amount of rainfall last year led to an equally incredible amount of mosquitoes -- hopefully with improved weather and these site upgrades, we will have a more pleasant experience this summer! We will also be working hard to eliminate weeds and other pesky plants like poison ivy.

Maintenance Storage: Our tractor finally has a home! We are installing a metal "quonset hut" which will become a storage facility for equipment such as the tractor and lawn mowers, off-season equipment storage, and an area for maintenance work.

Woodworking Shop: Once the maintenance building is installed, the existing storage building will be converted into a woodworking shop for the campers! For the first time in our camp's history we will have a dedicated space for our woodworking tools and projects! This will also free up space and reduce noise and traffic in the Dining Tent, which will benefit the other activities too!

Nurse's: We will be rehabilitating the Nurses' accommodations, as the existing structure was damaged from all the rain we experienced last summer.

Other stuff: We have lots of ideas about how to improve other areas of camp too, including waterfront, archery, and Gobbler Green!

You can help! If you'd like to help with any of these projects, please come to one of our volunteer build weekends in May. We're currently planning for the weekends of May 7-9 and May 14-16. Come out for the entire weekend or just for the Saturday -- your choice! Meals and fun fellowship are provided! Many of our camp crew will be around for most other weekends in April, May, and June as well -- we'd be glad to have you join us!

Winter Camp Visit

2010-03-01T19:28:00.000-05:00

On February 22, 2010 Daffy, Feecho and myself (Hawkeye) did a day trip to camp to make sure all was in order. Although we found many different kinds of animal tracks (deer, fox, rabbit, squirrel, turkey, dog/wolf?, snowmobile) there was no apperent sign of damage or trespassers. The strong wind did blow some of our widow covers of as well as the soffit covers on the Phoenix (Cabin 10). Both Daffy and I were a little concerned about falling trees and branches but all was good.

Seeing camp again has made me even more excited about this year!

Four Weeks of Summer Fun!

2009-10-10T15:13:00.003-04:00

This year's summer camp was fantastic! We enjoyed four great weeks of camp, and you can check out the photos on the website.

We've also created a slide show video featuring some of our favourite photos from last summer! Check it out on YouTube:

We're already looking forward to some great things happening for summer 2010! Hope to see you there!

We Did It! We Built A Camp!

2009-10-01T13:56:00.002-04:00

OK, I admit, this blog entry is long overdue. As you can imagine, we got a little busy with many, many things as our 2009 summer camp weeks came up! So the last entry showed a site plan for what the campsite was shaping up to look like. So how did it go from there? And where are we going to go next?

Cabins: We did it! We built 10 cabins, five "down below" for the girls, and five "up the hill" for the boys. What a relief it was to finally see these buildings (mostly) completed, passed inspection, and ready to go! Now I say "mostly" completed because we did have to take a few shortcuts -- window screenings on many of the cabins were quickly stapled on, for example, because we didn't have enough time to complete all of the screen frames. We discovered that these required frequent maintenance under constant barrage from excited campers, and we plan to have these all replaced with stronger frames -- with shutters to close the windows entirely -- by this summer.

Bunks: When I (Jay) volunteered to take charge of building the bunk beds, I had no idea what an enormous undertaking this would be! It's one thing to build one set of bunks... but to build 100 individual bed frames and put them up into 40 sets of bunk beds... wow! I am so grateful to all the volunteers who worked with me to build the frames, cut endless sheets of plywood, and drive in thousands of screws, nuts and bolts. I was still assembling bunk beds literally up until camp started, and a few lucky campers got to watch their new sleeping accommodations being built right before their eyes!

Wash Stations: We built two wash stations by the cabins, with sinks and outhouses in each. These are relatively temporary affairs -- the long term plan is to install septic facilities and exchange these for real flushing toilets -- but they will see steady improvements over the coming years.

Water System: This one wasn't so obvious, but it was a huge (and expensive) undertaking. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment places very strict regulations on the water quality for a children's summer camp -- and so it should be. We are pleased that our newly installed water system passed all the tests with flying colours!

Kitchen: We converted the existing lodge -- we affectionately called it the "social building" -- into a kitchen big enough to cook for 100 people at once. In addition to cooking and dishwashing, we also used the building for storage of tuck, camp suppplies, and a temporary camp office. This building was also our dining room for all of the volunteer build weekends, a place of fellowship and rest after a hard day's work!

Dining Tent: We were very lucky to have access to the large, blue-and-white striped "circus tent" that became our temporary dining hall! We ate our meals, played games, ate tuck, and ran activities like Newspaper, Movie Making, Arts and Crafts, Woodworking, Drama, and Guitar in various corners of this massive tent, and it also became our stage for events like the Talent Show. In Week 3 we even had sleepouts in here! Of course the long-term plan is to build a dining hall, and we hope to begin construction soon after a bit more fundraising!

Map of the campsite!

2009-06-15T21:15:00.001-04:00

Now that the cabins are built, it is starting to look much more like a summer camp! Kittiwake drew this little map, which shows the location of the cabins and other facilities we'll have when we run camp during this first summer!

June 5 Construction Update

2009-06-05T21:07:00.000-04:00

Good news! The tin roofs are on all 5 cabins on Maple Grove (the girls' side). Some still need windows and railings on the stairs; but the doors are all in and the railings have been fixed on the decks. Here's a picture of Black Bear and Stetson working on the roof! We also hauled rocks to make an area for the Gobbler Green campfire pit. (clearing beside golf course) Get it? (golf course, golf green--and we've seen lots of wild turkeys running around there!)

Bunny

Interim Update

2009-05-25T11:44:00.004-04:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to our official build week between May 1 to May 10! We took tons of photos, and Bunny prepared daily reports with photos that show how well the cabins are coming together! (See the earlier blog entries).

Meanwhile, a small core group of us have continued to work steadily up at camp every weekend and every spare day we can get! We're focusing our attention now on roofing -- every cabin needs to have tar paper, strapping, and a tin roof installed, and right now all the cabins are in various stages of progress on this (from "almost complete" to "almost started"...) There is still much to do!

The first day of camp is just weeks away, and the clock is ticking. We need your help! If YOU have a spare weekend and would like to offer your help (and check out the new camp at the same time), please consider joining us. We'll provide food and lodging (we've got warm rooms, showers, toilets, everything you need).

MAY 8 PROGRESS REPORT by Bunny

2009-05-09T21:02:00.000-04:00

Recruits from Toronto arrived—halleluiah! Theo and Rob enjoy a hearty lunch before heading out to assemble the two pre-fabricated cabins they brought with them. Meanwhile George gives his buddy a hard time—maybe he wasn’t working fast enough? Black Bear is spying on Dragonfly—a hearty meal perhaps? Today was mostly spent building decks and putting roofs on. It was another great day with beautiful weather and a lot was accomplished.

MAY 7 PROGRESS REPORT by Bunny

2009-05-09T20:59:00.000-04:00

Wow! Things are really moving along well. Cabin 1 now has 3 walls and a deck on. Cabin 2 has 4 walls and a deck. Cabin 3 has the very first door in place—it’s almost habitable! Justin is up on the roof nailing the last piece of tar onto the plywood. Check it out from the inside! Bugs don’t hold me back—there I am pretending I’m working on cabin 8. Rain or shine, the work must go on, as demonstrated by Cabin 10 & their tarped roof. By supper, they had all 4 walls up as well. Like clockwork, Meagan & Sarah bring snack to the hungry workers. The last pics show Justin chain sawing out a window, before he & Dave look out to admire the view from their handiwork on Cabin 5.

May 6 Photos, Part 2

2009-05-09T20:53:00.000-04:00

MAY 6 PROGRESS REPORT by Bunny

2009-05-09T20:49:00.001-04:00

It was another beautiful day of fine weather and plenty of black flies, as you can see by most of our headgear. At day's end, Maple Grove was looking pretty good. Cabin 1 had 2 walls up with only 2 guys, and cabin 2, with a larger crew, was well underway with 4 walls finished. Cabin 3 was prettied up with an awesome railing and finishing touches.

Up on Oak Ridge, Norm's team had a wall up and the deck half done. As well, construction of cabin 8 began, with the putting up of the floor beams and the joists. Justin wields a mean chainsaw!

May 5 Progress Report

2009-05-08T11:04:00.000-04:00

With fewer volunteers to help, we still managed to proceed quite nicely today. Even the women helped with construction. Faye continued work on our bunk beds until a little accident interrupted her work. Praise God she is OK now. We had 4 teams working on the girls side, and one team started the floor on Cabin 10 on the boys' side. Even though there were only two of them, they managed to get the floor joists completely finished. See the pics for how they looked before supper. Another awesome day!

MAY 4 CABIN PROGRESS

2009-05-07T17:09:00.001-04:00

Things are really moving along well on the girls' side. All five cabins are underway! As you can see by the photos, the black flies have found us; but they haven't deterred us from God's work! We just wear our alien headgear. Jubilee, our head cook for the week, is making her mark in the cement, a permanent reminder of the great memories we've shared here. The last 10 photos show what each cabin site looked like by the end of the day.

May 3rd Progress Report by Bunny

2009-05-07T10:33:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more pics to show the cabin progress on the weekend. There is a lot to do, including trailblazing, hauling bush, and yard maintenance. We even have first aid when someone gets a booboo -- right Heather!

Every day the cooks bring us a delicious morning and afternoon snack, besides the yummy meals we eat in the Social Bldg. We're moving along!

Sunday was Kittiwake's birthday; so we helped her celebrate by eating her cake — yummy!

Mid-Week Update: Cabin Progress

2009-05-06T21:59:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Heather Peterson for these photos:

Cabin Construction Begins - Report From Bunny

2009-05-06T19:34:00.003-04:00

The official cabin building began on Friday May 1st with the completion of the floor on Cabin # 5. Next morning, with 42 wonderful volunteers on site, its walls were up, Cabin 4's floor & 3 walls were up, and Cabin 3's floor & one wall completed. As well, Whippoorwill and the Toronto crew made us an awesome fence for waterfront. Things went well on Oak Ridge with more teams working on the foundations of the boys cabins , clearing trees, & trying to get our lawn back by 'divetting'. Check out the pics to see for yourself! Each evening we had a program with games and songfests, followed by a campfire talk. It was an awesome weekend!

First Weekend Construction Report From Bunny

2009-05-05T18:08:00.003-04:00

FOUNDATIONS:

On Saturday, April 25th, a crew of fresh recruits came up to help build the foundations. They began by chopping out massive roots in the holes dug by the backhoe. In all, we were 22 workers. While some filled the holes with 6" of stone and then 4" of stone dust, tamping all the while, Jay led others in building the forms in which to pour the concrete. Lastly, Norm went around with a transet and staked the centre of the footings. By the end of the day, one cabin was ready to start pouring cement.

The next day, with a crew of only 5 men—four of whom were non-camp staff, they completed another foundation and poured the cement into both. Kudos to Tom, Jad, Justin & Norm! Justin is only 17 but is a very accomplished carpenter. Jad came up to help his friend, and stayed the week. He is a Cement Finisher by trade and arrived right when needed most. Norm is a Jack-of-all-Trades and invaluable to us in his expertise.

Monday was 30 degrees and sweltering, and we only had 2 guys in the morning; so only one site was prepped for concrete by the end of the day. By Tuesday night, one more foundation was completed and both then poured with cement. Shoveling tons of stone and stone dust by hand is grueling work; so by Wednesday, we rented a Bobcat, which made light work in filling the holes on top of the hill. Thursday was spent constructing piers of concrete blocks on the footings in Maple Grove, the girls' side. The first one had to be anchored to the footings with anchor bolts and filled with mortar. More were then stacked upon each other until a level height was reached for all 11 footings beneath each cabin. They were also filled with mortar and rebar, capped with a wood plate, and anchored in place with more anchor bolts. By evening, the girls' side was ready to begin cabin construction. As well, the first cabin on Oak Ridge, the boys' side, was filled and poured with cement.

Friday brought fresh recruits, including 2 teams of carpenters and help to cook. My job of chief cook and bottle washer was finally over! Thanks go to another non-camp staffer, Dave's sister Cheryl from Toronto who came up to be Head Cook for the weekend. Foundations were complete on the girls' side, filling had begun on the boys' side, and one cabin was already poured. All in all, it was a very successful and satisfying week.

Praise God!!!

Weekend Life

2009-05-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

Photos From Sunday, May 3

2009-05-03T20:59:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Emma Richmond for these photos:

A view of our waterfront, with the new log fence around the perimeter.

We raked up a lot of leaves and cleared a lot of dead brush!

Jay and Picasso rest from building bunk beds.

The Grace youth group works on their cabin floor.

The floor is almost complete in what will be Cabin 3 on the girls' side.

Photos From Saturday, May 2

2009-05-03T09:12:00.002-04:00

Cars, tents, and trailers, and piles of construction materials, dot the landscape during the first weekend!

Piles of roof trusses and lumber -- all the supplies needed for building 10 cabins.

Kingfisher hauls a board into place for what will become Cabin 4 on the girls' side.

Footings and foundations are ready for what will become Cabin 2 on the girls' side.

Hawkeye gives a ride to the team of youth helping to clear dead trees and brush.

Cabin Progress!

2009-05-02T21:47:00.003-04:00

Our first cabin is getting there! Here are some photos of our
progress as of Saturday, May 2!

These photos show the various stages of construction of one of our "pre-fabbed" cabins. The completed structure will be Cabin 5 on the girls' side.

May 1-3: The Work Week Begins!

2009-05-01T13:20:00.004-04:00

Watch this space as we post details of how the first weekend of our Volunteer Work Week goes! Whippoorwill is going to be directing the spiritual and social aspects of the following week, which should have a strong "camp" feel. Here's (approximately) how each day is going to play out:

7:30am - Devotion
8:30am - Breakfast
1:00pm - Lunch
7:00pm - Dinner

In the evening we'll try to run games, songfests, worship, campfire (if possible, though I understand there is a regional fire ban), the usual camp fare.

We hope to see many of our camp friends up at the site! I know several families and teams are up there already, some staying for the weekend, others staying even longer. Camp Cherith is truly thankful for everyone who has offered their support, prayers, and volunteer efforts for this project.

P.S. We have internet access at the site! So expect updates and photos to be posted regularly! (Maybe it's time for a Camp Cherith Twitter feed?)

Report From Bunny!

2009-04-30T18:09:00.000-04:00

This post was prepared by Barbara Marin (Bunny) and sent to the blog while she was up at the campsite during the volunteer construction week on Monday, May 4th. The post entry has been backdated to April 30 to tell the whole story in chronological order.

Last fall we cleared land out of the forest to make room for 10 cabins. On April 18th, a few diehards went up to 'open' camp and prepare for cabin construction. 'Dragonfly' & 'Black Bear' got the water running so we could all have hot showers and cook. Then Paul, our cabin designer, along with Kathy & Fred, Charles & Philip, & Dave & Barbara began marking out the area where the cabins would be located. On the 22nd, Brian joined us in the race to get the footings ready for construction by Saturday. On the 23rd, 'Frog', who has a John Deere dealership in Rockland, very generously loaned us his backhoe and dug the holes for the foundations of the cabins. I cooked and tried to keep the place clean and tidy. By Friday we were all prepared to begin the footing construction!

Check out these photos showing the work that was done over the last few weeks of April!

April "Pre Work Week" Work Week

2009-04-29T10:34:00.002-04:00

From May 1-10, we will be up at camp for our official "Volunteer Build Week", where volunteers like yourself will be helping pour foundations, build cabins, build washhouses and outhouses, and much more. (Visit our Work Party Information Page for details!)

Thanks to the mild spring weather we've already had a few productive weekends up at the site. We are grateful to the many people who have volunteered their time, effort, and in some cases even equipment!

With your help, we've been able to dig the footings for all 10 cabins, and the concrete has been poured for the first five. We've dug the pits for our two washhouses (including outhouses) and have begun preparing the existing recreational building for its conversion into a temporary kitchen.

This is all in preparation for the coming weekend, so that when our Work Week volunteers arrive, the site will be ready for several teams to immediately begin building cabins, while another group can complete the remaining cement pouring. Many thanks to the members of our Building Committee for taking on the planning and coordinating, and for all the support we have received from individuals, churches, and schools!

We look forward to seeing you this weekend! Please watch the blog, as well as our Photo Gallery, for updates during these next few exciting weeks!

Site Progress Update - Late April

2009-04-27T17:53:00.002-04:00

The following is an update from Kathy (Kittiwake):

Greetings All,
An update from the building committee.... We have had a very busy week at camp!!!!!

We had a very successful volunteer meeting last Monday night with a turn out of about 30 people!

On Tuesday a group of us went back to camp to finish marking out the cabins. Thursday and Friday all the footings were dug thanks to Luc Seguin and his wonderful back hoe!! Saturday saw a fresh group of volunteers join the work force and 2 cabins had their footing holes cleared and filled with gravel and stone dust. The footing forms were made and on Sunday night the first two cabins had their footings poured. Tonight a small group of dedicated workers are still up there compacting gravel and stone dust for two more cabins.

Spring Has Sprung! (Work Parties and Other Updates!)

2009-03-27T15:21:00.003-04:00

The snow is melting and the sun is shining, and that means it's time to start thinking about camp again! (Who am I kidding -- we never stop thinking about camp!)

Those of you on our camper/staff mailing list received a newsletter last week with some updates (if you didn't get it in the mail, you can download it), but I want to call your attention to a couple of upcoming events:

newsboys - join the tribe tour 2009

Yes, believe it or not, the newsboys are coming to Ottawa, and proceeds from the concert will be donated to our camp! On Tuesday, April 7, at 7:00pm, the newsboys will be playing at the Robert Guertin Arena in Hull along with decembeRadio, Bread of Stone, and VOTA. Tickets are $25 (plus applicable surcharges). Click here for more information and to purchase tickets. Camp Cherith will have a booth outside and we look forward to the opportunity to share our ministry with the thousands of people who will be attending the concert!

It's a roller-coaster ride of a story, and sometimes even we can't believe it's happening... But this is more evidence that the God we serve is bigger than anything we can even imagine! Please show your support for camp and come on out!

May 2009 Spring Work Parties

With less than 100 days to go until camp starts, we've got a lot of work still to do -- and we need your help! Between May 1 to May 10 (that's two weekends, and the week in between) we're having a big work party up at the campsite! Please come on out whenever you can! We need people of all ages and skill levels, to work on all kinds of projects including:

digging and pouring cabin foundations
building 10 camper cabins
building outhouses and washhouses
converting an existing building into a temporary kitchen
blazing trails and clearing brush
raking, mowing, cleaning, and painting
... and lots more!

High school students, here's a chance to earn a ton of volunteer hours!

Please see our camp work day information page for more details and to register. We hope to see you there!

Merry Christmas! (We're still working!)

2008-12-16T14:54:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas!

With snow on the ground, and Christmas quickly approaching, you will see less physical progress on the site (cabin-building, digging, etc.) over the coming months. But that doesn't mean we're not doing anything.

Behind-the-scenes, the camp board and building committees are hard at work on the following:

Getting permit applications into the municipality for our buildings, site plans, septic plans, and temporary kitchen and dining hall plans.
Continuing to plan fundraising activities, such as the upcoming New Year's Eve party.
Construction of the 40+ wooden bunk bed frames that will be placed into the completed cabins. We will need many volunteer woodworkers who can each build a few of these, perhaps in their garage or basement, and next spring we will transport these into the completed cabins.
Construction, in modules, of a few of our camper cabins.
Planning of a major volunteer work party in the first weekends of May. This is when we expect to dig the foundations, pour the footings, and assemble the completed cabins.
Planning for activities at our new site, and answering questions like "where will we build the new archery range?" and "where will we put our craft hall?"

Please watch your mailbox! You should receive our Christmas Newsletter which has some photos of our new site and other cool stuff. Please mark the dates in your calendar for our upcoming camp dates. Watch the main website and this blog and we'll provide further details as the dates draw nearer.

On behalf of all of us at Laurentian Camp Cherith, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Cabin Design: Artist's Rendition

2008-11-21T19:45:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Kathy Logan (Kittiwake) for providing this beautiful artist's rendition of what our camper cabins are going to look like. We've taken the absolute best things that we loved about the cabins that we used at our previous site, thought about the things we always wished we could have, and retained a rustic styling. Each cabin will be 16' by 24' with an 8' overhang and covered porch. Inside, there's room for 8 bunks for the campers, plus up to two single beds for staff members.

We think you're going to love these!

Fundraising Dinner THANK YOU!

2008-11-21T11:52:00.002-05:00

We would like to offer our thanks and appreciation to all the people who came out to support Laurentian Camp Cherith at our fundraising dinner on November 13th. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and appreciated hearing from all of you who shared about what Camp Cherith means to you. And, of course, it wouldn't be a camp banquet without a performance of "The Prince From Far, Far, Away." Thanks, Shamrock and Chili!

With your help we raised almost $20,000 in immediate donations as well as an on-going commitment of over $1,300 a month. Over the course of one year this adds up to a total of well over $35,000!

Between all of our fundraisers and the support we've seen from our camp friends, I estimate we've now raised cash or commitments totalling about $95,000 over a one-year period, which brings us well on our way toward the $130,000 we'll need to get camp running at the new site next year.

So, on behalf of camp, THANK YOU. To every one of you that have offered donations, loans, time, supplies, and prayers. Thank you for demonstrating your commitment, enthusiasm and support for the Camp Cherith ministry. We couldn't do any of it without you. Praise the Lord for providing everything we need, in His perfect timing.

(These figures are unofficial, as I don't have the financial records in front of me. We will be publishing a fundraising progress article soon in our upcoming Christmas newsletter which will provide a breakdown of where the money has come from, and where it will be needed.)

November 13 Fundraising Dinner

2008-11-05T10:58:00.003-05:00

On Thursday, November 13, 2008, we will be holding a special Fundraising Dinner at the NDHQ Warrant Officer's and Sergeant's Mess, downtown (near Lisgar Collegiate). This will be a semi-formal event, and we will be providing an evening of dinner and entertainment as well as an opportunity for people to donate toward our fundraising goals.

Our goal is to raise about $130,000 in cash or loan commitments over the coming year, which is how much money is required to build our first cabins, washhouses and outhouses (to supplement our flush toilets, until such time as we can build additional toilets), water purification system, road work, purchase activity supplies, etc. We will require all of the above to be in place in order to run camp out of the new site. Our hope is that this will be ready in time for summer 2009. We know it's a challenging goal, but we also firmly believe that God has been great in providing for all of our needs in the past, and we are confident that He will continue to provide as we need it. I don't have the figures in front of me, but by my estimate we have already raised about $60,000 in cash or loans. We're almost half-way there!

If you are interested in attending our fundraising dinner, please contact us by phone at (613) 288-5806 or email info@cherith.ca. We look forward to seeing you there!

Ground is Officially Broken!

2008-10-03T15:04:00.002-04:00

Despite the occasionally drizzly weather, we had a successful little work weekend and on Saturday, September 27th, we held an official ground-breaking, sod-turning and dedication ceremony. Daffy read some Scripture verses, we prayed over the camp, and the Building Committee posed for photos.

We also managed to clear areas for all of the proposed boys and girls cabins, in preparation for laying foundations in the next few weeks (we intend to keep working as long as it is not too cold to work!) Construction on the first few cabins will begin shortly.

On a side note, we've already got a prototype of our new bunk bed frames built, and they're going to be pretty cool! Each set of beds will include a built-in set of shelves as well as a coat hanger rod, so campers can actually hang up their clothes. Many thanks to our sister camp, Camp Cherith - Ontario, for the ideas.

Thanks to all the folks that were able to come out on the weekend. We didn't get as many people as we'd hoped, but I suspect the weather had a lot to do with that. Stay tuned for future work and tour opportunities at the new site!

September 27 Ground Breaking: More Details

2008-09-24T22:51:00.001-04:00

This information is copied from the Facebook event that Daffy wrote up:

Lunch will be provided on Saturday, but the rest of the weekend is a bring-your-own food event. If you choose to come Friday evening before 6:00pm, bring some food for a potluck supper; for Saturday dinner and breakfasts, pretend you're camping and prepare accordingly. We have 3 BBQ's, an electric stove/oven and 2 microwaves for your use.

Feel free to come up on Friday night and stay Saturday night too if you choose. Bring your tents, ground sheets and warm sleeping bags. There is room in the cottage and trailers for up to 50 people; first come, first served. Hot indoor showers and flush toilets are available!!

Here is the weekend agenda:

Friday Sept.26
18:00 potluck supper
20:00 campfire and singing

Saturday Sept.27
08:30 Polar Bear Swim
10:00 Sod Turning and Dedication
10:15 work begins
12:00 lunch (provided)
(break for dinner on your own)
21:00 Communists & Christians
22:00 Campfire, Songfest and Celebration

Sunday Sept.28
09:00 Polar Bear Swim
11:00 Camp Prayer Walk and Worship

Things To Bring:
A friend or two
Tent or tent trailer
warm sleeping bags and extra blankets
air mattress or foam mattress
flashlight
work clothes and sturdy shoes
work gloves
rain coat (we work rain or shine)
extra pair of dry shoes and socks
swim suit
water bottle
tools: rake, shovel, large pruners, bow saw
food (in coolers w/ice) for breakfasts or Saturday dinner
a few golf clubs and some balls for a couple holes on Sunday on our little golf course!

Here is a link for a map to camp:
http://tinyurl.com/4pjga7

Camp is:
12 kms from Hopetown (gas and snacks)
22 kms from Lanark
30 kms from Calabogie
38 kms from Almonte
43 kms from Carleton Place
65 kms from Terry Fox Road and 417

Thanks and God Bless for your interest in furthering this ministry to children for Jesus Christ...
...Daffy

Upcoming Ground Breaking Ceremony and Work Weekend!

2008-09-22T15:16:00.004-04:00

Come on out to our official groundbreaking ceremony and (the first of many) work party! Please join us on Saturday, September 27, 2008 as we hold a ceremony and dedication at 10:00am, and then join us for a work party as we prepare the site for upcoming construction. Things to do: raking, cutting grass, blazing trails, cutting down small trees, making a road, clearing areas for cabins, preparing concrete forms for cabin footings, and much more.

Please feel free to come up on Friday evening for a potluck supper and campfire, and/or stay over on Saturday night as well -- we will hold a worship and prayer time on Sunday morning. We have space at the camp to sleep up to 50 people in the cottage and trailers, otherwise you will want to bring your own tent or trailer for the weekend. First come, first serve! Remember, the new site has full washroom facilities including flush toilets and showers!

Take advantage of this opportunity to explore our new site for the very first time, and be a part of this historic event! This event is open to all camp staff, alumni, friends and parents. Campers are welcome to attend with your parents.

Please contact Daffy (John Tallett) at (613) 440-0981 to RSVP or if you have any questions. You can also check out the Facebook invitation for this event.

Oil Changers Grand Opening

2008-09-15T12:22:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, September 13, 2008, a new Oil Changers location opened at 1457 Woodroffe Ave (at Norice). This was significant to us because for their grand opening promotion, $10 was donated to camp for every oil change or gift certificate sold. They also had a free BBQ, with a cash donation box, and a car wash (for a minimum $5 donation). I showed up before lunchtime to have my oil change and car wash, and the place was hopping. Thank you to all who came out and got your oil changed to support both Oil Changers and the Laurentian Camp Cherith ministry!

I don't have the final numbers yet, but I will post an update when I can. Pictures to follow, as well.

Update: I heard word from Bunny that this was the most successful Oil Changers grand opening (ever!) Between the oil changes, the donations for car washes and the donation box at the BBQ, we raised $2,150! A huge THANK YOU to Oil Changers and to all of you who came that day to support us!

Weekend Update: September 12-14

2008-09-15T12:11:00.004-04:00

We had a number of volunteers up on site this past weekend (and, indeed, some of them are still up there. Thank you so much for your hard work!) The primary goal for the next few weeks is to start laying the groundwork (literally!) for new cabin construction. We were able to completely clear four sites, which meant chainsaws and snippers and lots and lots of grunt work hauling trees out. Meanwhile, a more mechanically-minded group (I do NOT consider myself in this category) were working on getting our tractor and riding mowers operational. New site, new toys!

Pictures to follow.

The Transformation Begins

2008-09-01T16:27:00.002-04:00

On August 1, 2008, Laurentian Camp Cherith bought a property of our very own.

This was no small feat -- it took almost a year of planning, thinking, deliberating and praying in order to make it happen. And there will be many months ahead of planning, preparing, fundraising and building -- which is what this blog is all about. We want you to be able to keep up-to-date on our planning and construction progress, and give you opportunities to help out with fundraising and construction work.

This is an exciting time for everyone. We have existed, as a summer camp, since 1948, and we have been renting from the same place, Camp Kalalla, since 1969. That's almost 40 years -- three entire generations have grown up going to the same place. We loved it, cherish it, and will miss it... but at the same time that we were renting, we were also looking to find a place to call our own. Somewhere we could run four, or even more weeks of camp, do weekend retreats, run more activities. And as much as we loved those outhouses, you can't deny the allure of real flushing toilets!

We've been looking at properties off and on for decades. I recently went through some old minutes from meetings of the board of directors in the mid 1990's, and those also included some growth plans and evaluations of sites that were for sale at the time. Clarus and Peaches (for those who remember them, and their near-legendary contributions to Camp Cherith as we know it today) were looking at alternate places we could rent from or purchase.

In the fall of 2007, Bunny and Black Bear were driving home from their cottage out in Lanark County when they happened upon River Farm Christian Campground. I'll save that story for another day, but fast-forward to today, we are now the proud owners of 160 acres of land along the Clyde River in the Lanark Highlands.

Keep watching this blog. We'll post photos, show you how we're doing, and tell you about ways that you can help! We look forward to seeing you soon at our new home!