As our work parties come to a close for 2023, it got me thinking back to when I first started serving at Camp on the weekends. I have great memories from back in university of making the trek up north to serve alongside friends of the ministry tackling various projects around the facility. Whether we were leveling a tabin or building a set of stairs or pulling cables through conduit, it was always exciting to see a range of people working towards the common goal of improving Camp in anticipation of the upcoming summer. Sometimes, I would convince my friends to join and the day was full of reminiscing about summer; other times, it was an opportunity to connect with long-serving alumni and hear their stories. These days always punctuated my year with a taste of Camp as I looked forward to serving the next summer.
It has been such a joy these past few years seeing work parties recaptured as part of the natural rhythm of Camp culture. Not only do they provide a way for friends of the ministry to get together on property, they also significantly help improve our seasonal facilities when they’re not in use. In 2023 alone, we had over 100 volunteers join us in tackling bunkie renovations, shingling projects, inventory projects, firewood processing, painting, leveling cabins, network/IT upgrades, building new steps, organizing lost and found, serving in the kitchen, raking leaves, putting in new pathways and more.
To check out some pictures of the fun take a look at our latest Facebook albums from our October Work Party and November Work Party!
One of the great things about work parties is that they’re for everyone! Here is just a snapshot of who joins in each month to make the work happen:
- Summer Staff – Young leaders from past summers are some of my favourite people to see sign up! It’s a joy hearing how God has been working in their lives and to see them engaged at Camp throughout the year.
- Camper Parents – We have a dad and his two boys join in regularly. It’s so good to see them jumping in with renovations, trying new power tools and serving together as a family.
- Alumni – It is such a blessing to have skilled labourers take on tasks like shingling, renovations and other projects. This strong core of alumni serving faithfully is at the heart of what makes our work parties a success.
- Interns – I love seeing past interns put to use the skills they developed over a year serving at Camp!
- Neighbours – Seeing locals and our Mary Lake neighbours passionate about helping Camp succeed is also a blessing!
If you are interested in joining in on a work day, we would love to have you! We’re taking a break for December but will be back at it in 2024.
For 2024 dates and to sign-up head to www.campmyw.com/work.