Announcing Monthly Giving in Support of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca

Each year, thousands of people come through Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca’s gates. Most notably, in the summer, we’re host to hundreds of campers, providing them with Christ-centered education, recreation, and inspiration. It’s an exciting mission, and it doesn’t end there! Though our primary mission is met through our summer camps, our mission is continually met when youth, families, congregations, parachurch organizations, and schools use Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca year-round for the same purpose. Whether it’s a week of summer camp, a relaxing weekend reuniting with family, or a productive and educational weekend retreat, time at camp can be refreshing, motivating, impactful, inspirational, and even life changing.

If you believe that Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca can be these things for its guests, then you believe in camp. You believe that teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to children is essential. You believe that Christian role models, such as our summer staff, can accomplish more good for campers’ lives than a summer of being glued to a screen. You believe that interactive, face-to-face friendships developed in a Christian atmosphere are so much more worthwhile than “friends” and “followers” online. You believe that time in God’s Word is an important part of life and living, and that while at camp, God’s Word can be learned thoroughly and applied to life beyond the camp’s gate.

Today, we’re announcing a new way to think about supporting Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca called, I BELIEVE IN CAMP. We’ll still be keeping all of our traditional ways to support Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, such as donating and volunteering, but rebranding the support we receive under I Believe in Camp. We’ll also be adding new ways for people to support Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, and this time around we are announcing that we’re looking to secure monthly donations from individuals and households who believe in the mission of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca and want it to succeed! 

Do you believe in camp? If yes, then I BELIEVE IN CAMP Monthly Giving is a new and important way you can support and grow the mission of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca. The goal is to recruit 100 households by the end of 2018 to support Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca with at least $25 a month.  How does this monthly support benefit Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca? Regular support ensures we have adequate funding in all of our key areas from staffing to facilities, and it allows us to not worry about financial resources but focus on our mission and providing a best-in-class experience. It also allows for us to recruit larger gifts for programs and projects that further and expand our mission opportunities, and improve our site and facilities. For example, with sufficient monthly giving in place, we can better dedicate this newsletter towards recruiting funds and volunteer support for improvement projects rather raising money to operate the camp. This also means that the dollars used to operate the camp won’t take a hit when we have a significant need or opportunity. There are opportunities on the horizon for Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, especially as numbers for summer camp continue to grow. Regular monthly donations will help us to capitalize on these opportunities!

Simply go to our website (www.campiodiseca.org) and click on the “Online Donations” link. If you have already used online registration for this year’s summer camp, you’ll still need to setup as a “New Donor”, but if you plug in the same information for your online summer camp registration it should link you to your existing user profile. If you’re new to our online system, you’ll need to set up a new login and password. Once you’re past that, click, “Schedule a Recurring Donation” in the Quick Access bar. From there,  type in the monthly amount you wish to donate and select, “I Believe in Camp” as the campaign. Then go to checkout to enter your card payment information and select “Record Payment.” That should be it! Your donation will then come out on the day of the month you have selected. Be sure to see the video tutorial here if you need help! 

Do you believe in camp? Our supporters have shown time and time again that the answer is yes. Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca has been regularly supported with prayers, supplies, money, donations, volunteers, and most importantly, campers and guests! This is all thanks to people who believe in Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca. Whether you’ve been a camper or staff member in the past, a volunteer, a parent or grandparent, or have attended any other event on camp, please support Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca in this new way by becoming one of our monthly supporters. Thank you!

Stop.

Stop.

It is the goal of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca to provide Christ-centered education for all who attend our programs. I have the pleasure to speak about this frequently as I go about presenting on Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca’s mission to congregations across Eastern Iowa. As I prepared my presentation for congregations for this season, I became aware of a few shocking statistics that emphasize another goal we have: Recreation. But before I go any further, let me share these statistics with you.

According to a recent survey[i], the average youth ages 8-18 spends, per day:

1)      270 minutes watching TV

2)      82 minutes on the phone

3)      80 minute playing video game

4)      27 minutes on computers

5)      4 minutes playing outside

That means kids spend an accumulative 7.5 hours per day consuming electronic media and that on average, kids spend nearly 2 hours of TV, cell phone, video game, and computer time for every 1 minute of outdoor recreation. Yikes.

Perhaps scarier than these statistics are what children are presented with through electronic media. Please don’t misunderstand me; I am not saying these things are bad. But I do find it hard to believe that so much screen time in our culture comes without a consequence. We are presented with the reality that children are exposed, on a daily basis, to 270 minutes of mostly non-Christian morality and shows that skew a proper understanding of reality; that the drama and difficulty of others is to our delight and entertainment. Many video games desensitize young people to stealing, killing, and war. Computer screens are never short of sin these days. The veil of a computer screen or cell phone makes it too easy to gossip and slander about others and even easier for eyes to wander and lust. This is the world most kids are growing up in.

Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca isn’t just a place where kids can experience Christ- centered education, recreation, and inspiration. It’s a place where kids can get away from the challenges of the digital world and the temptations and lifestyles that come with it. The internet and TV never stop. But at camp, we all stop. We pause our days and what we are doing to pray to God and to learn His Word. We stop so that we thank Him for each meal. We stop, and each time we do, God blesses us with His Word. At camp, we teach campers to live a life surrounded by and connected to God’s Word and to take it with them into the world.

For most kids, camp is an unmatched outdoors experience filled with opportunities and activities that spark imaginations, foster creativity, and develop friendships. As campers depart from their time here, I hope they’ll value their outdoor experience and treasure recreation, especially playing outdoors. I hope they’ll take time to stop throughout the day to be blessed by God’s Word and to cast their fears, worries, and temptations on Him in prayer. I hope they’ll stop and remember their vocations of son or daughter, student, and sibling. 

Lastly, and most importantly, I hope our campers will stop so that they can be active participants in God’s forgiveness. I hope they stop playing video games, watching TV, and chatting online a little earlier on Saturday night so that they can receive forgiveness and learn God’s Word on Sunday morning or whenever it is they go to church.

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[i] http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf

50!

Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca turns 50 in 2013! As we celebrate 50 years of service to the Iowa District East, we hope you will join in the celebration by helping us achieve 4 simple goals for 2013.

50 more campers in 2013

For the past few years, overnight summer camp has grown by an average of 62 campers per summer. Let’s keep camp growing! Support the mission of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca by sending campers to learn the Word of God and experience the great outdoors!

50 more bidders at Summerfest - July 13, 2013
Our 50th Anniversary Celebration will be at  Summerfest on Saturday, July 13, 2013. Mark your calendars and plan to be there! We plan to look through the history of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, honor past and present summer staff, and enjoy the annual quilt auction fundraiser!

50 Endowment Fund contributions
We’re looking for contributions that support the future of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca. The Endowment Fund pays for future program and facility expansions and repairs. These gifts support the next 50 years! 

$50,000 in individual contributions
We’ve budgeted to receive $50,000 in unrestricted individual con- tributions for 2013. Help make this goal a reality by making a tax deductible donation and by designating your Thrivent Choice dol- lars to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca!

Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca Celebrates 50 Years in 2013

A paragraph from the Io-Dis-E-Ca Report - 1963. 

The idea for a church camp in Iowa District East was inaugurated by the "Mo. Service Club." this organization is a non-profit service club of five area churches meeting at Bishop's Cafeteria in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The prperty (78 acres) was purchased on March 1, 1963.... The is not land, or the Directors, it is the people!

We will be celebrating our 50-year anniversary in 2013.  The Camp has developed a lot in 50 years and we want to reminisce and celebrate with the people who helped the camp along the way. We are preparing for a big celebration next summer and we need your help to make this event a success! This summer we took several thousand pictures but we only have several hundred pictures from the past 49 years. So gather around the family, dust off those old photo albums, dig out the old shoebox, pull together an armful of memories and send in your pictures of camp, camp staff, and campers of past. Do this a couple of different ways: you can scan and email your pictures to campiodiseca@gmail.com or mail your photos to the office with names and the date of the picture if possible.  If you would like the photos returned to you, please indicate that and include your name and address on the back of the photos. Otherwise we will keep them for our next anniversary celebration!  

We are also looking for volunteers to serve on an anniversary committee. This committee would meet as soon as Saturday, September 22nd and discuss, plan, promote, and organize this 50-year celebration. This rewarding opportunity will be a lot of fun as we dig through the history of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca and shine light on all the great people God used to make Camp what it was, is, and will be.

Looking forward to your memories,

Luke Fischer

Interim Executive Director

Site Manager

2012 Summer Camp Program Concludes

As quickly as they began, these wonderful few months of summer camp have come to a close. We have no doubt that all of our campers were able to enjoy fun games, outdoor activities, and close friendships. More importantly, however, campers have gone home knowing that we have God With Us.

Here are some of the comments campers and parents had to say about their summer camp experience:

"Thank you to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca for a great week of keeping my son interested in bible study, outdoors and off of the computer." 

"I was so excited to hear my daughter talk about the greater understanding of the Bible and God's will for us. She really had an "aha" moment in going beyond the Bible stories to the meaning and application of the story. What a blessing! 

"He wishes he could stay for a whole summer."

"The sermons were really good! (Must have been really good to make a 13 year old say that!)

“My daughter works all year to save enough money to fund her entire amount to attend this summer camp. She gives up b-day gifts and Christmas gifts to get money to put  for paying. She had such a good time this year and she said she will again forgo the presents for money for next year’s camp.”

“Focused on God’s Word… She loved every minute and is planning for next summer.”

 “We feel blessed to have our son get the opportunity to go to Io-Dis-E-Ca each summer. It's a great camp and the proximity to home is a plus! The staff is awesome and I can see him grow in faith yearly as a result."

“Loved it :-). Didn’t stop talking the entire ride home!”

“The new rock wall is fantastic… and the zip line is just awesome.”

“Thank you for providing a safe and fun camp as always.”

“It was great! Our son has been to at least three camps and this has been the best yet! Immediately when leaving camp, he asked to return for another camp.”

"It's her favorite place on earth and she will keep coming back. One of her dreams is to someday be a camp counselor. She loved all the people, and although the camp is amazing by itself, the friendly staff, JC's, and other campers really make it more like home."

From beginning to end, the Bible teaches us that God desires to be with His people. Each week, our campers learned how God has been with His people throughout history and into the present day. Campers learned about the separation the fall into sin created between God and man. But the story doesn’t end there. God did not simply discard humanity but instead, chose to redeem it. God stayed with His people in the Old Testament, as we see in the Tabernacle. But God was unapproachable without mediation.

Then comes Jesus, Immanuel (God with us), who dwelt with us here on earth to be a sacrifice for us and save us from our sins, restoring the broken relationship between God and man with His perfect life, death on the cross, and resurrection from the grave. And God has not left us alone since the time of Jesus. He is with us today, as He has been since that time. We have God with us today in the Church through His Word and sacraments, bringing to us, today, forgiveness and life in God. Through all this we know God is not a distant, far-off figure. These things teach us that we have God With Us and that we are His people.

As you can tell by the comments, we at camp are not the only ones excited for 2013. We look forward to seeing many returning campers next summer and are equally excited for new first-time campers as we celebrate Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca’s 50th anniversary!

Daniel Sanchez
Program Director

Opportunities Ahead

By Daniel Sanchez, Program Director

Here at the end of March, it isn’t just business as usual at Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, it’s business all the time! From now until winter, things are in full swing for our staff and volunteers. Our vision at Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca is to support the ministries of congregations, nurture the faith of individuals and families, and motivate patrons toward congregational involvement and positive vocational choices. We have all kinds of opportunities available to our guests as we serve them in light of this vision we have as a camp.

We have opportunities to serve you and you have opportunities to serve Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca. When you serve Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, it is truly a special thing because it gives us the opportunity to serve someone else. The gifts you give and efforts you make fuel the opportunities others have to experience Christ-centered recreation and inspiration in a quality and safe way at Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca.

One of the most notable opportunities we have is our new camp scholarship initiative, Family’s First Camper. Every dollar we receive for this initiative goes to create opportunities for youth across Eastern Iowa to experience a week filled with fun, adventure, friendship, and most importantly, knowledge about Jesus and the treasure we have in Him through Word and Sacrament.

Over the past month and into the next two months, your camp staff is out on the road promoting the upcoming summer camp program. This scholarship initiative is a way we hope to recruit up to 50 new campers from families who have never before sent children to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca. We’ve recruited several already, but we need more funds to reach our goal of recruiting these 50 or so campers. Indeed, this is an opportunity.

Camp is the place where individuals, groups, and congregations have the opportunity to do good and receive good. Whether it is having the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and walk our trails, or to sponsor a camper by donating to our scholarship fund, I urge you to be a part of our opportunities at Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca. We have so many opportunities for so many people, including you!

Family's First Camper

By Greg Gerjerts, Development Director

One of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca’s prominent goals is to increase our market penetration within the boundaries of Iowa District East. That’s just a fancy way of saying that we intend to have more summer campers coming from IDE congregations that traditionally have not been heavy users of the Camp.

You could say that we’re a pretty good example of the “80/20 Rule”—that is, we get a clear majority of our summer campers from a clear minority of our congregations. One strategy to counteract that imbalance is to develop programs that target the “80-percenters” without diminishing the attention we pay to the loyal “20-percenters”. And, one tactic to help implement that strategy is the focus of this column: our inaugural youth scholarship initiative we’ve named Family’s First Camper.

Our intent is to award financial scholarships to campers who come from family units that have never before sent children to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca. We hope to receive donations totaling at least $5,000 so that we can award scholarships of meaningful amounts to qualifying campers. Ideally, scholarship awards can reach $50 or more for a mini-week camper (3 days, 2 nights) and $100 or more for a full-week camper (6 days, 5 nights). Of course, actual awards will vary depending on the amount of donations received and the number of scholarships applied for, but we certainly will award 100 percent of all dollars taken in. Parents, please be watching for a January 2012 mailing (both paper and electronic) coming to your congregations and to friends of the Camp. The mailing will include posters and brochures formally announcing the Family’s First Camper scholarship fund and how to apply for it.

For now, however, let me emphasize that contributing to this scholarship fund is a wonderful way for you to tie yourself to the mission of Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca:

On behalf of IDE and in accordance with Lutheran doctrine and practice, Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca exists to promote and provide Christ-centered education, recreation and inspiration for individuals and groups of all ages.

Won’t you help seed this special scholarship fund? To do so, please send a check for any amount to Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, 3271 Sandy Beach Road NE, Solon, IA  52333. In the Memo line on your check, please write FFC Scholarship so that we can properly record and credit your contribution.

We’ll be happy to accept Family’s First Camper scholarship donations right up through the 2012 summer camping season, but won’t you contribute this month so that we can accurately gauge the scholarship’s revenue potential? 

Christ’s rich blessings to you all in this beloved season of Advent.