March Update from LBC Executive Director Ed Kelley
March 2021
Hello all!! We do live in interesting times, don’t we? Up here at Lakeside we’ve been planning and strategizing how to operate camp this spring and summer. We’re excited to say that we’ll be doing camp this year, though we may have to make some changes. A key date is April 5th as the staff gathers to decide what camps we can put on and what changes we’ll need to make. It’s sort of a “go” date where we’ll be making the final calls on what the summer will look like. We’ll have a social media blitz to let you know the changes, if any, for this year. (By the way, I hope you like the new website at www.lakesidebiblecamp.org, Justin and company did a lot of work to get that working. We believe it’s simple and a step up from our last incarnation. Check it out when you get a moment).
In other news, as some of you are aware, Cody is back at camp. He’ll be engaging the camp ministry in a variety of ways and we’re glad to have him, all the while looking for more opportunities for his impact here at LBC. Additionally, we are launching a program where people can come to camp for the day in the middle of the week to do their virtual office work here at camp. Spend the night, relax, enjoy the peace and quiet and use one of our virtual office spaces we’ve made up to do your mobile office work while in the serene beauty of LBC. Kinda different...a lot of people are just longing to get away, refresh etc...well now we have an option to come up to camp and enjoy the natural surroundings while doing your “work from home” tasks.
As far as finances go, 2020 was a record year in giving from our LBC family. We didn’t generate hardly any income from camping activities comparatively to previous normal operational years, but before depreciation expenses, we actually came out in the black!! I am thankful for that. We are really encouraging everyone who can, to join us as a Generosity “Rockstar” establishing a monthly gift for Lakeside. A “Rockstar” is someone who just faithfully automatically donates to the Cause of Christ through LBC. It’s my belief that the LBC family’s generosity is changing lives. We may do a bit of a campaign using that moniker. Bottom line, we’re just really thankful for the response in 2020! Amazing.
As far as needs go, most of you know that we are replacing our freezers/coolers (a must) and if you’d like to join us financially with that project, just designate that in your giving. That process is going to cost in the neighborhood of $30,000. We have reserves set aside for this sort of thing, but really don’t want to tap those if we can avoid it. Along with that we have some work on the dock, the boat house, and the climbing wall that need immediate attention as we get ready for Summer 2021 and beyond. Infrastructure spending isn’t really very flashy but it’s super important. We have to remember that LBC is 60 years old and some of our equipment doesn’t have replacement parts available!! We do our best, but we do have a small backlog of issues that need attention. In fact, I established an RMC Fund here at LBC early last year. RMC stands for Repair, Maintenance, and Capital. We take a certain percentage of our income/donations and put it in the RMC fund so as to have some resources to apply towards repairs, etc. when they pop up.
Also, just so you know, we have lots of people signing up and registering for TCL, Staff, and the 2021 Camp weeks. Please tell everyone you know to sign up ASAP (helps our planning) and if you know of any young people who would like to join our Summer staff, have them contact the camp!! We could use store attendants, boat drivers, lifeguards, program helpers. Again, just have them contact the camp or go on the website and submit an application.
We constantly evaluate and pivot as we strive to create digital content for those not able to make it to camp AND prepare a place for our live Summer Camp programs. We also have a ton of rental groups ready to go, but the State has put a lot of roadblocks to our normal operations and most of those rental groups are on hold. Ugh. So, as you can tell, we’re very busy at the moment trying to cement commitments from worship leaders, directors, nurses, and kitchen crews. If you’d like to help in any of those areas...let us know, love to have you help out personally!
Well...that’s it for now. You’ll find an envelope or two for your convenience as always. We so need and appreciate your financial support! Lakeside has so many great memories for so many people. We just want to continue to be creative in helping more and more men, women, and kids have a great time learning about the King. Lakeside is a special, special place for sure!!
Thanks again and God Bless!!
Ed Kelley
Acting Executive Director
Lakeside Bible Camp
PS: We have switched to an integrated registration/donation system. We would like to make sure we have the most up-to-date address/phone/email information on file. Please email details to office@lakesidebiblecamp.org. Very helpful for our onboarding process of donations/campers, etc. Thanks!