(A message from Pathfinders’ President, Ted Langevin)
This is my first message to you via our newsletter, and I want to start by saying a big Thank You! to all who helped us acquire the camp and all who are now using the camp facilities in the many programs we offer. Thanks also to our many volunteers as well as our professional staff – our camp runs smoothly and gets better each week as we work on many projects. It is such a delight to see all the Day Campers, weekend campers, school groups and event participants enjoying Deer Lake Outdoor Center. The mission of Pathfinders is to provide outdoor recreation and educational programming to people of all ages. I would like to hear from you on how you think we’re doing.
I am sure that you have noticed the improvements we are making around camp. Many of these needed improvements were a result of the previous owner deferring maintenance and upgrades. The improvements we have made and are making have all been paid for by donations, maybe from some of you reading this. They are not part of the Day Camp budget. We are very fortunate to have donors who generously support the projects we need to offer our youth and adults the best possible experience at our camp. We are also fortunate to have many volunteers who spend countless hours working on these projects to stretch our donor dollars as much as possible.
Going forward, we plan to focus on three fundraising areas. The first is a camp operations fund which will be used to offer camperships to youth who would not otherwise be able to attend camp. Second, we have more capital projects on our five year plan, which will require funding from donations to be completed. Included among these are a new bath/shower house with nurse’s facilities and the completion of our high ropes course. The third area is our endowment fund. This will be used to pay some of our operating expenses, and will enable us to offer more program and facilities while holding the line on costs to those who utilize Deer Lake’s many program offerings. The Pathfinders board of Directors has seeded the fund with $100,000.00 in donations and income from operations over the past couple of years to show our commitment to how important our endowment is to our future.
Donations can be made to any of these funds in person at camp, or through our web site www.deerlakeoutdoors.org. I hope you will choose one of these funds to help us continue our work and expand access to even more people here at Deer Lake Outdoor Center. If you have any questions regarding donations, I am happy to respond via email.
Enjoy the summer!
From the outdoors,
Ted Langevin
Ted@pathfindersinc.org