Would Mini-Yo-We be Mini-Yo-We without Mary Lake?
Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Camp without being able to jump off the dock into the lake?
How important is our waterfront to what happens at Boys Camp?
You might have heard that we’re celebrating 25 summers of Boys Camp at Edgewoods during our Christmas Campaign this year. Already, friends of Mini-Yo-We like you are responding to help us ensure our ministry at Boys Camp is strong for 2020 and beyond by funding two mission-critical areas!
One of the things we’re funding through this year’s Christmas Campaign is a total upgrade to our waterfront and docks at Boys Camp. You might be wondering, why is the waterfront so important to us?! Here are just five reasons why the waterfront is so essential to what we do at Mini-Yo-We:
- Muskoka Means Lakes! // Nearly 75 years ago, the founders of Camp Mini-Yo-We very wisely chose to place our ministry in the heart of Muskoka. We love being in Muskoka! This summer playground is a unique location with incredibly breathtaking views. God has used our physical surroundings to inspire campers for so many years and a big part of that inspiration is Mary Lake! However, our docks at Boys Camp have become a distraction from our surroundings. We want our docks to complement and not compete with God’s beautiful Muskoka creation! Your donation will serve the future years of campers who come to enjoy Muskoka.
- Belly Flop King // Every Thursday, for at least for a generation of campers, Boys Camp holds Beach Day featuring the famous Belly Flop King Competition. This fun tradition is just one of the ways our staff creates memories that last a lifetime for our campers. Fun is the bridge we use to develop relationships that God can ultimately use to see our campers grow. While “BFK! BFK! BFK!” is just a goofy way to rally our campers, it points to a bigger strategy to help campers become who God is calling them to be! The waterfront is a beehive of many other activities and these docks are heavily used all summer long. Your donation will be put to use for years and years to come!
- A Quiet Place of Reflection // Our waterfronts are spots for quiet reflection at Mini-Yo-We. Our staff will often slip down there on an early morning to reflect and pray for what’s happening at Camp. Our LITs use the docks for small group discussions from time to time. After a reflective campfire, you can often find our staff chatting with a camper about what they’re learning about God and themselves during their week at Camp. Our docks are a very real ministry platform at Mini-Yo-We. More than just a way to get in and out of the water, they’re gathering places and meeting spots.
- Good Environmental Stewards // At Mini-Yo-We, we want to be good stewards of God’s creation. At the core of our mission is this idea of developing tomorrow’s leaders through life-changing adventures in God’s creation. We believe that within that mission is a call for us to increasingly improve how we care for the environment. Our current dock system is not state of the art when it comes to its environmental impact. The new system we are installing across our waterfronts leaves a lighter environmental footprint through its innovative design. Your donation this Christmas will enable us to be better stewards of what God has given us for years to come!
- Help Keep Campers Safe // Finally, safety is our highest priority at Mini-Yo-We. The waterfront is an important program area, and we want to keep assessing how to make it even safer for our campers. The new dock design will allow our waterfront team access to swimmers on all four sides of the swimming area. This additional access will give our team the ability to see what is happening in our waterfront more clearly than our current design. This added safety factor will help our summer staff members keep all of our campers safe while they are having fun!
Friends of Mini-Yo-We like you are already contributing to this campaign! Would you consider donating before December 31st, 2019? [Please give generously today. Click here to learn more and to give.]