2011-Annual Report

Friends Camp
Association of PA, Inc.
Suzan Neiger Gould
Director
Camp
Onas
Annual
Report
Inside this report
The 2011 Summer
1
One Week Campers
2
Quaker Programming
2
Operations and
Improvements
2
Camper Statistics
3
Our Meetings
3
Financial Aid
4
Off-Season Group Use 4
Special Onas Events
4
The Well
by Drew Jacobson
Far down deep, where the water is
fresh, and past the stone,
Where the water rests,
The creature sits for someone to
find,
It waits for the future.
When someone finds, the real
meaning,
And realizes it is just your mind.
from The Camp Onas Literary
Magazine, 2nd Session, 2011
The 2011 Onas Summer: Strategic Plan in Practice
The 2011-2015
Strategic Plan-with input
from campers, parents, and
counselors-was completed
in May, just in time to be
put into practice for the
summer. As planned, the
newly formed Board Program Committee met during
pre-camp orientation with
Camp’s Program Director,
Elizabeth Bolick, and other
key program counselors to
share ideas for programs
and activities outlined in the
Strategic Plan. This meeting
was very fruitful and informed much of the summer’s program. In Elizabeth’s words: “Working
towards the goals set forth
in the strategic plan was
very rewarding, although it
was definitely a challenge. I
think each and every idea
and goal are wonderful ideas
of how to improve the
Camp Onas Experience. We
did our best to carry out the
ideas and goals outlined in
the Strategic Plan. Some
goals were more easily met
than others, but I can hon-
estly say that each and every
staff member worked incredibly hard to improve
Camp Onas this summer.”
Several new programs were developed for
this summer. An Arts Carnival had the whole camp doing art activities, viewing a
gallery show of campers’
artwork and enjoying dance
and musical performances.
A creative writing program
taught various writing forms
and produced three literary
magazines. The Nature Art
program had campers create
art from found natural materials in natural settings.
And, a Nature Club met
consistently to explore nature at Camp and our relationship to the environment
through hands-on activities.
Efforts were made
both to understand the different interests boys and
girls have in activities, and
to program ones that were
inclusive to both. This summer girls were taught and
enthusiastically played
“Magic: the Gathering”, a
card game hugely popular
on the Boys Side; boys participated more in Arts and
Crafts activities; and a Softball team of boys and girls
coached by a male and female counselor practiced all
fourth session improving
their skills and then beating
a team of counselors.
In addition to these
new activities, the tried and
true activities of past summers were present to complete the program.
Boys and girls playing Magic: The
Gathering together.
Page 2
The very first group of
One Week Campers
one-week Onas campers.
For the first time at
Onas, we had campers that
came for just one week. The
one week session was open
to ages 7, 8 & 9 and was designed to give younger campers a full camp experience in
a week. The response from
families was very strong.
While we planned for only
two, one-week sessions, we
added an additional session
for boys because of demand.
The one-week campers
were bunked together with
counselors experienced with
younger campers. These
counselors made sure that
the one-week campers were
fully integrated into camp
and experienced all that camp
has to offer.
At the end of the first
one-week session, Sue and
Elizabeth Bolick, Program
Director, met with the oneweek campers for a feedback
session. We asked them questions about the activities,
sleeping in tents, the food,
how they were treated by
other campers, and home-
sickness. Their responses
were very positive and mirrored the responses we get
from older campers. They
really enjoyed doing activites
with the other campers and
commented on how much
fun they were to be with.
When asked if they wanted to
return next summer, all said
yes. Some wanted to return
for a two week session, a few
were ready for four weeks,
and one little 7 year old
thought she would return for
another one-week session.
lunch – peanut butter and jelly,
vegetables, a few other foods and cleaning up. The money
saved from eating this simpler
lunch was donated to Camp
Dark Waters to help them repair flood damage. In a similar
vein, one of the Quaker Programming Counselors brought
the, “Clean Plate Club” to
camp, teaching campers to
avoid waste and take only as
much food as they need.
again this summer, campers
understood it better as selected
campers stood up at the beginning of each meeting and described the spiritual processes
of silence and sharing. In one
meeting we split the 140 campers into groups of 8-10 and
spread them around camp for a
more intimate Meeting experience. For the graduate campers, Josh Laker, Assistant Director, ran a Meeting for Worship the last Wednesday of
each session where the gradu-
ates walked in silence to Sheeps
Hole Creek and held a focused
Meeting for Workship there.
What they liked best about Onas...
Kickball~sitting in the bunk~Rose
and Thorn~Dingle~diving
boards~Prisoners Base~A&C~pool
games~nature~gimp~friendship
bracelets~high ropes~theater workshop~dessert at lunch~sitting at
meals with older kids~PB&J
Quaker Programming
The Quaker Programming
Committee was sure-footed
and enthusiastic this year and
continued to innovate new
activities and events, and also
to tailor the format of Meeting
for Worship to better engage
the spiritual life of the campers.
An event that had great
success was the Simple Lunch.
Here, as in many other cases,
the group partnered with the
older campers, who served the
entire camp by preparing the
For Meeting for Worship,
Two goals of the Strategic
Planning Session held during
pre-camp were Service and
Developing Spiritual Awareness. With creative innovations
on the part of the Quaker Programming group and programming staff in general, and
whole-hearted participation
from the campers these goals
were met.
Operations and Improvements
Camp operations ran effectively and efficiently in all
areas. The office operations are
streamlined to handle the
needs of our camper families
and groups while running the
business of camp. The food
service staff consistently served
delicious, healthy food to both
our campers and groups.
Camp’s ground and buildings
were in good shape for the
summer after major work was
done on the pool, Boys
Shower House, and lower field
septic area. The C.I.Ts were
directed by Lee Gould this
summer and accomplished
several large scale projects including clearing the proposed
septic area of brush and small
trees, installing new pool fencing, and major trimming of all
Camp paths and lanes. The
rope swing was replaced with a
new rope and hung in a safer
position. This resulted in fewer
falls and zero injuries.
The resources of Camp
came together to deal with two
challenges. The first was the
heat of July with temperatures
climbing into the 100’s. Creative programming, menu
changes, and heavy use of the
pool and water activities got us
through those days. The second challenge was a lice infestation found at the very end of
Third Session. Quick action on
the part of our staff enabled us
to completely clean all laundry
and bedding of staff and campers staying over till Fourth Session. Everyone was treated with
either lice shampoo or preventative sprays. We were straightforward in dealing with camper
families, and continued to work
throughout Fourth Session to
rid our camp of these “lousy”
pests. New policies will be in
place next summer to ensure
that campers and counselors are
lice free before arriving at
Camp.
Page 3
Camper Statistics
Camper Statistics
2011
2010
2009
Our Meetings
Total enrollment
581
559
551
Bucks Quarterly Meeting
% full (578 in 2011)
101%
99%
98%
Boys
275
267
258
Number of Meetings
Girls
306
292
293
478
464
Boys
237
Girls
Represented - 11
Bristol-1
Buckingham-1
434
Doylestown-2
Fallsington-2
228
212
Lehigh Valley-6
Makefield-0
241
236
222
Middletown-1
Newtown-16
339
369
317
Boys
176
189
166
Plumstead-1
Quakertown-0
Girls
163
180
151
Solebury-6
Southampton-0
30
n/a
n/a
Wrightstown-5
Yardley-4
Number of campers
One session campers
One week campers
Boys
18
Total number of campers from BQM:
Girls
12
2011-45
Two session campers
109
95
117
Boys
43
39
46
Girls
66
56
71
Returning campers from ‘10
291
246
276
% of eligible campers
76%
76%
78%
Boys
72%
73%
Girls
78%
78%
New campers
182
209
158
Friends Meetings outside of BQM
Number of Meetings Represented - 28
Abington-2
Brooklyn-3
Central Phila-3
Centre-1
Chester-1
Downington-2
Framingham, MA-2 Frankford-2
Germantown-4
Greenwich/Salem-1 Haverford-2
Horsham-1
Kennett-4
London Grove-2
Moorestown-1
Number of Friends
95
91
84
Philadelphia-1
Plainfield-2
Plymouth Mtg.-1
% Friends
20%
20%
19%
Princeton-1
Swarthmore-2
Upper Dublin-1
Unami-2
Unity-1
Valley-2
Graduating Campers
78
77
110
West Chester-1
Westtown-1
Wilmington-2
# of Friends Graduating
14
12
19
Wilton, CT.-1
Total Friends Meetings
Registrations were very strong this year and we were
full for boys and girls by the end of March. This reflects consistent, focused marketing and outreach,
and program changes to meet the needs of today's
families. Our BQM campers increased in number
reflecting Board Members efforts in their meetings.
represented, including
Bucks Quarter Meetings:
2011-39
2010-39
2009-42
2008-45
Page 4
Financial Aid
Camperships
2011 Financial Aid Contributions
We continue to be able to help every family who asks
for financial assistance send their camper to Onas. Although the
total number of campers receiving financial assistance was down
due to filling so quickly this year, more campers needing major
aid ($500 or more) were assisted.
35 Campers attended Camp Onas with the help
of financial aid.
 3 campers received $500 from SCOPE
 5 campers received $500 from SCOPE and additional
money from the Camper Aid Fund
We are so thankful to all those who gave. Here is the
breakdown of contributors to the Camper Aid Fund in 2011:
 27 campers received aid from the Camper Aid fund.
Camper Families
$6,988
Range of aid - $195—$1,058
T-shirt and hat sales
$978
 22 campers received over $500
BQM Meetings
$1,715
 13 campers received less than $500
Alum and friends of Onas
$5,175
Total Camper Aid Fund, 2011
$14,856
SCOPE-NY Grant
$4,000
The Russ and Jane Neiger Camper Fund was not used this
year. The Fund stands at $43,648, and is held as a special fund
used only for camper aid and camper projects. It is our hope that
it will grow in value as the market improves.
Off-Season Group Use
Group Type
# of groups
people
served
Schools-9
379
(from these schools,
28 campers came to
Recreational
268
Organizations-5
Faith Based
Groups-5
145
Including Young
Friends
45
Onas Sponsored
Winter Camp
18
Family Camp
139
Older Camper Wknd. 43
Total groups
served-22
1,037
people
Aid Given in 2011
From Camper Aid Fund, 2011
$14,856
From Camper Aid Fund, 2010
$1,059
From SCOPE
$4,000
Total
$19,915
Total Aid Given in 2010—$21,151
Total Aid given in 2009—$21,490
Special Onas Events
Two never-before events were held
this past year at Onas. Both arose from a
goal of making Onas available to more
people. The first was Winter Camp, held
over Presidents’ Day and the week following. Directed by Josh Laker, 18 kids,
ages 8-13, came to camp either as day or
overnight campers, staying inside in Dell
view and the Texas Building. Flexibility
in choosing days to attend enabled families to work Winter Camp around their
schedules. Campers had a week of creative and fun indoor and outdoor activities including sledding, kayaking on the
frozen pond, archery in the barn, climbing wall, tie-dying and an evening talent
show. Dinner preparation was part of
the day’s activities. Sushi and pizza were
two of the dinners campers made from
scratch.
The second brand new event was
Family Camp Weekend. Held over Me-
morial Day Weekend, it was a huge success with 42 families (139 people) attending. Parents and their children enjoyed all
the activities that campers do in the summer, and experienced sleeping out in the
tents and pavilions. Indoor sleeping was
also an option. Both families new to Onas
and families of campers participated, but
by the end of the weekend, all felt a part
of the Onas community. Both of these
events also proved to be an effective
camper recruiting tool.
Canoeing at Family Camp Weekend