PLEASE - Help Us Weather the Lean Months

We have mostly prepared Sound View for fall/winter and, as usual for this time of year, are worried about the lean months ahead. We are looking to bolster our SOUND VIEW FUND to help us keep up the good work and prepare for the busy season of 2020.

One hundred acres of woods, fields, farm, waterfront and numerous buildings is truly a handful to maintain. Sure - in the summer we have able-bodied college kids to help with the everyday tasks of keeping Sound View looking and functioning well - but, this time of the year we have only three staff members to do the work and deal with what nature hands out.

We do offer retreats into the late-fall which provides some income for salaries and maintenance needs but it is never quite enough. This is why we rely on contributions to the Sound View Fund to help us make ends meet . Every little bit helps and recurring donations (tax deductible) are easily set up. With your help we can -

• Tend the garden,

• Repair boats,

• Feed the animals,

• Paint,

• Deal with fallen trees,

• Fix buildings,

• Replace mattresses,

• Change batteries in dozens of smoke detectors,

• Maintain and widen trails,

• Water seal decks and stoops,

• Keep our year-round staff employed,

• Fill potholes,

• Pay dues,

• Print brochures,

• Replace equipment,

• and perform countless tasks required to keep Sound View the amazing place that it is.

So please - consider the SOUND VIEW FUND into your annual giving. This ministry means so much to so many and can really use your help.

The Sound View Armada

The Sound View Waterfront looks across Drayton Passage towards Anderson Island.

One of my favorite times during a Sound View Camp summer day is “camper’s choice”. In the late afternoon, most of the camp is drawn to our amazing waterfront to explore beautiful Drayton Passage and the camp sand spit by boat.

As a not-so-young lifeguard, (and the boss), I take the cushy job of patrolling the perimeter in the speed boat so I can shepherd wayward craft back into the fold, or talk with and congratulate campers as they venture out to me, or occasionally rescue and right kayakers who forgot to negotiate waves head on.

“Corcls” are little, round, unsinkable boats

We have a lot of boats at camp and it is wonderful to see them all out at once. I always wonder what the passing boats are thinking when they see the splash of colorful canoes, kayaks, corcls, paddle boards, and safety boats swarming about. Maybe they hear the kids’ laughter first as sound carries very well over water. Most of the boats operating near camp are considerate enough to slow down and we appreciate that. We also enjoy the big boats operating far off - the ones who have no need to slow down - because their wake ends up as big waves for the fleet to practice surfing.

Our older kayaks will be replaced in 2020

Maintaining this large fleet is always a joy and a challenge but well worth it. The fact that camps such as ours integrate water safety with responsible, recreational boating surely helps prevent drowning accidents. Sound View serves as an excellent classroom for seamanship, small boat handling, and a paddling culture. We have a waterfront fund to keep this program up to date - to refresh paddles and PFDs especially.

Camperships

About this time of year, Sound View starts receiving numerous requests for financial aid. We call these awards “camperships” - mainly because the word “scholarship” implies “school” - which we work very hard to be most unlike.

Applying for a campership is easy. It is an online form.

For Sound View to fund a campership is a wee-bit more tricky. We strive really hard to keep summer camp affordable for all. So, when we create the camp budget, there is very little wiggle room as to fees. With this in mind, our goal is to ensure that each campership award has backing funds to ensure that we are being good stewards of the camp finances. We do this in four ways:

1. We raise money for camperships with our annual mud run.

2. We encourage direct giving towards the campership fund.

3. We help churches and youth organizations set up “sponsorship codes” to help fund their area families.

4. We insist that families have a “buy in” - at the minimum of 25% - to the experience. We also have opportunities for teens to partially earn their way to camp by helping out with the mud run and spring programs.

We really want to serve each and every family regardless of their ability to pay. Please, keep referring potential campers to us, but also, please consider helping fund those who could truly benefit from the experience.

Let’s fill up camp this summer!