Camp Koolaree 2014

2014 was a typical summer at Camp Koolaree, full of unexpected surprises and lots of happy children.  Our season got off to a rocky start when the fire inspector paid us our first visit in recent memory.  Overall, the camp’s
fire safety was good, however he did not like the ventilation system for the propane appliances in our kitchen and effectively shut our kitchen down two days before our first rental group was scheduled to arrive.  A propane technician was able to pay us an emergency visit, however adequate cooking facilities were not in place until mid-July.  Our Teen Camp ate a lot of barbecued food! Fortunately, this fit well with their theme of “Survivor”.

Teen camp was the only camp this year that saw an increase in enrolment, jumping up by 33% over the previous several years. Likely, this was thanks to an intentional increased presence on Facebook.  The rest of the camps saw drastic decreases in enrollment, most likely as a result of brochures not making it into many of the schools because of the teacher’s strike. (Facebook is restricted to those ages 13 and up!) Initial numbers indicate that the missing camper were mainly those least likely to be able to afford camp, as campership applications were also down significantly.  The campers who did enroll, however, had an absolute blast!  Hot weather made for lots of dips in the lake and the occasional “test” of the fire hoses.  

Looking ahead to next year, Camp Koolaree is looking for a couple of special volunteers: 

* Our kitchen facilities need to be re-configured into a permanent solution to address the Fire Inspector’s concerns and we need a Project Manager to make this happen. It has been wisely suggested that we consider an alternative energy source to propane such as solar or micro hydro.   
* We also need a Project Manager to help us replace our wash house. 

These Project Managers’ jobs would be to get estimates and try and put all the logistics puzzle pieces in place in terms of what needs to be done. Project Managers would  then let the Board of Directors know how many volunteers to recruit and how much money to raise.  The Project Managers would also oversee the delivery of materials and completion of the work, either by volunteers or paid contractors or both.

If you feel called to help out the camp in this way, please contact us.

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