Dear Wanakee Family,

Until last summer, if someone said Alleluia, I would hum “Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia” in my head, creating a mini moment of Easter. Because of Wanakee, when someone says it now, I now immediately hear “Praise ye the Lord!” which creates a mini moment of camp. Whether you are singing a Charles Wesley hymn or a camp classic today, we hope you are having a Happy Easter!

At Wanakee, we witness the spirit of resurrection every summer in the growth of young leaders, the deepening of faith, and the joy that fills this beautiful spiritual place in the hills. In sharing, learning, and praying together, our small group programs build relationships that last a lifetime. This is where lives are transformed and faith is made real. God continues to do new things here and we are filled with hope and anticipation for the camp season ahead of us. We can’t wait to welcome you back to this sacred place.

May the joy of Easter and the peace of the risen Christ be with you today and always!

Grace and Peace,

Evan

Hello, everyone! I am Evan McElreath, and I am beyond thrilled to introduce myself as the new Executive Director of Wanakee. Let me tell you a little bit about myself and why I am so excited to be joining this incredible community.

Evan McElreath

First and foremost, I am a Provisional Elder in the New England Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. I am looking forward to expanding the connection of our church through Camp and Retreat Ministries. My journey in faith and my love for serving others have led me to this amazing opportunity at Wanakee.

I had the privilege of attending Appalachian State University where I pursued my Bachelor of Arts in religious studies, with a minor in non-profit management. It was during my time there that I truly discovered my passion for making a positive impact on the lives of others. Continuing my education, I attended the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where I earned my Master of Divinity. This experience deepened my understanding of spirituality and further ignited my desire to create meaningful connections within communities.

My involvement with Camp and Retreat Ministries has had a profound impact on my life. I am proud to hold a camp director's certification from the American Camp Association, and I have had the privilege of working for, and attending camps, in North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Virginia. These experiences have shaped me into the person I am today, and I carry the transformative power of these environments with me wherever I go.

Currently, I am serving as the Pastor of Faith UMC in South Burlington, Vermont, and I have previously served in Connecticut and Massachusetts. These diverse communities have taught me invaluable lessons about leadership, compassion, and the importance of building inclusive and welcoming spaces.

Before relocating to New England, while living in Georgia, I had the honor of serving as the Director of Youth and Mission for Rome First UMC. Additionally, I had the privilege of serving as the Chaplain to the Atlanta Beltline. Through these roles, I have developed a deep commitment to adolescent development while creating communities that offer radical hospitality and acceptance.

On a more personal note, my wife Katie and I are originally from North Carolina. We come to camp with our adorable cat, June. Katie, having worked at a summer camp herself, is excited for this new adventure, while June is excited for us to have more boxes to explore as we pack.

Joining Wanakee as the Executive Director is a dream come true for me. I am bursting with enthusiasm and passion for the transformative experiences that await us! Together, we will embrace growth, foster connection, and create a future filled with unforgettable memories.

I cannot express how excited I am to embark on this journey with all of you at Wanakee! Let's create something truly extraordinary together!

Dear Friends,

You make summer camp at Wanakee possible, and summer camp at Wanakee changes lives.

Don’t take my word for it – here’s what parents are saying:

Campers sharing their talents in the Outdoor Chapel.

“Because of Wanakee, my camper learned what it means to be loved (that was his answer when I asked him).”

“Because of Wanakee, my camper found herself, her confidence, grew in her faith and kindness, felt loved and accepted…I could go on forever!”

“Because of Wanakee, my child has a deep sense of home and belonging. Because of Wanakee, my child feels accepted.”

It was not a given that Wanakee would bounce back from our 2020 closure. Many camps and retreat centers remained closed last summer, some permanently. In 2022, you and other donors, supporters, and volunteers like you empowered Wanakee to not only resume our programming at close to full scale, but to continue investing in our facility and our future. Our rebound is not complete, but your strength, dedication, and shared purpose lights our path forward.

For making all of that possible, and for continuing to demonstrate your belief in the power of the Wanakee mission and experience through your prayers, gifts of time, and financial support, I am deeply grateful. I know we can count on you today and for years to come, and invite you to start by making a year-end donation to launch us into 2023.

I wish you peace, health, and hope this Christmas season, and look forward to welcoming you home to camp soon.

Grace and Peace,

James B. Tresner

Executive Director

Carolyn Capern, "Mama Sue" Rudolf, and Katii Capern after a week of Footnotes

In 1997, our family moved from Nova Scotia, Canada, to Dover, NH. There was a LOT of newness to get used to, but we quickly found our church home at St. John’s United Methodist Church. It wasn’t long before we heard about Wanakee from fans and families!  So off went our young daughters, Carolyn and Katii, to their first camps - an awesome experience that kept on being awesome with each passing year. 

It was always a big day when the Wanakee summer camp schedule arrived — the girls would spend hours trying to decide which ones to attend. Junior High Ropes. Choose Your Own Adventure. And the absolute must for both of them – Footnotes!

Year after year, Wanakee was the highlight of our daughters’ summers. They made friends and memories, learned new skills, and soaked up the positive atmosphere, fresh air, and campfire recipes (from hearty stir fry to tin foil babies to s’mores). Every summer, going to Wanakee was going home.

The Footnotes crew from St. John’s UMC in Dover, NH

Girls grow older, and suddenly it was senior year, a bittersweet experience for each of them that marked the end of a wonderful era. But then Katii signed up for Leaders In Training, counseled for two summers, volunteered for Senior High Camp, and even directed a musical theater camp — with Dad providing the musical accompaniment. Carolyn, meanwhile, has stayed in touch with many special Wanakee friends, loves returning to walk around camp as often as she is in New Hampshire, and has become an annual donor herself.   

Carolyn, now 32, says, “My weeks at Wanakee kept me grounded throughout my most formative years – not just because of the fun times and the great people, but also because it was a place where I felt fully like myself. It has been many years since I’ve been a camper, but whenever I need to go to a peaceful place in my mind, it still looks like Wanakee.”

Mike Capern playing guitar at Wanakee

Katii, 29, says, “I will never forget the feeling I’d get when our car turned onto Upper New Hampton Road. It was the good kind of nervousness that I’m so grateful I experienced as a kid, because it shaped me into who I am. To this day, I cite Wanakee as an anchor and my favorite place in the world, full of grace and peace. The friends, memories, and lessons that came into my life as a camper, staff member, and volunteer stay with me.” 

Those years at Wanakee were precious years for our daughters, providing special memories and a strong foundation for two young women growing up.  It makes sense to us to continue to support Wanakee with monthly giving, both for the practical benefit that a fixed, known amount offers camp administrators, but also as an enduring thank you from our grateful family. We hope others will see fit to become regular donors as well, and  that many children will find their Wanakee experiences to be equally meaningful and memorable for decades to come. 

James Tresner (Executive Director), Carrie Way (2022 Award Recipient), Rev. Phil Polhemus, Regina Bowler (2022 Award Recipient), Kevin Drew (Chair, Wanakee Board of Directors)

To the Wanakee Community,

On behalf of the Wanakee Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce Regina Bowler and Carrie Way as the 2022 recipients of the Phil Polhemus Award for Volunteer Commitment and Impact. The honor and award were given at the Wanakee Wilderness 5K held this past Saturday, August 20th, 2022.

Periodically, Wanakee honors individuals for their commitment to Wanakee’s ministry. The Phil Polhemus Award was created in 2017 and it recognizes outstanding volunteers for their invaluable and selfless commitment to Wanakee’s programs and/or facilities by honoring individuals whose depth and/or length of commitment is truly exceptional.

Carrie and Regina have been involved with Wanakee’s ministries for more than three decades after being introduced to Wanakee in the 1980s through the Pastor of their local congregation, First United Methodist Church (Littleton NH). Regina served on summer staff for three summers, and Carrie and Regina have long been foundational members of our volunteer nursing team; Carrie since 1988 and Regina since 2000. 

Both Carrie and Regina have served on Wanakee’s Board of Directors and assisted in recruiting and coordinating volunteer nurses. They continue to help prepare and maintain the health office, train the summer staff on health office procedures, and assist during work days including cooking for the masses. Regina has served as an event director for Treasure Hunters, and Carrie directs our semi-annual women's retreat, Wild Wanakee Women.

Regina and Carrie bring a high level of professionalism to the health office, and they also bring humor and a warm spirit to campers, staff, and other volunteers. For both of them, Wanakee is a place for family - their children have grown deep Wanakee roots of their own, serving as staff, volunteers, and/or supporters. Carrie and Regina’s level of dedication to Wanakee’s ministry and their longevity of service make them ideal candidates for the Phil Polhemus Award for Volunteer Commitment and Impact.

Please join me in thanking Regina and Carrie for their years of service!

Grace and Peace,

Nicole M. Richards

Executive Committee, Wanakee Board of Directors

Dear Wanakee Friends,

Thanks to you and the rest of the Wanakee community, we were able to resume in-person overnight summer camp in 2021. We couldn’t be more grateful.

Our campers needed camp more than ever last summer. As one parent reflected:

“My daughter came back from her week at camp with her “bucket” full, soul grounded, song in her heart, and stories of her adventures. Sometimes I think that her week at Wanakee, especially as she approaches young adulthood, of disconnecting from everything and surrounded in an environment of peace and song and grace, carries her throughout the year. There is really no replacing Wanakee.”

This camper’s experience and thousands just like it are made possible through your support. 

As we turn to 2022 and begin our next 60 years, we continue to walk an unfamiliar road, but with new tools and new knowledge. We have big dreams for the future, but most important is our desire to continue changing the world, one camper at a time. 

You can help. I write today to ask you to support Wanakee’s ministry through an end-of-year gift. In particular, I invite you to learn about the matching incentives available for recurring donors. Every gift, no matter the size, means a great deal to a small organization like this one and the campers we serve.

Thank you for everything you do to sustain our “beautiful spiritual place in the hills,” and I look forward to welcoming you home to Wanakee again soon. 

I wish you peace, health, and hope in this Christmas season.

Grace and Peace,

James B. Tresner, Executive Director

PS - to make your end-of-year donation, visit www.wanakee.org/donate

2021 by the numbers

• 235: campers who joined us for overnight camp after 2 years away

• 60: years of operation (hoping to celebrate with you in 2022!)

• 17: staff employed this summer

• 24: volunteers who joined us for a day, a week, or more during summer 2021

• 3,742: volunteer hours given by those 24 individuals

• 2112: slices of pizza eaten on pizza night

• 7: sinks/faucets added by volunteers to support good hand hygiene

• 433: Covid-19 tests administered at camp last summer

• 0: Covid-19 cases at camp last summer

• 2: vehicles donated to Wanakee in 2021

• $27,880: value of camp scholarships distributed

• 73: volunteers who attended our 4 Work Days

• 282: unique donors in 2021 (so far!), 9% more than November 2020 and almost triple November 2018

Get Involved

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: Wanakee depends on our volunteers, and are always looking for help during the summer, school year, and on our Board and Committees. Your time makes a difference at Wanakee! Please contact James or any member of the Board to explore how you can help.

GIVING OPPORTUNITIES: A gift to Wanakee changes lives immediately. It also ensures that future generations will get to experience our “beautiful spiritual place in the hills.” 

• Annual Fund: Donations to the annual fund provide flexibility for use wherever there is the greatest need.

• Friends of Wanakee: Gifts to Friends of Wanakee support capital, facility, and programmatic improvements. In 2021, some of the projects that were partially or fully funded by Friends of Wanakee include our new sign, costs related to moving the health office from the Farmhouse to the Rec Hall, and road improvements for safety and ease of access. 

• Camperships: Donations to the Campership Fund ensure that finances never stop a child from having a camp experience, regardless of family situation. From 2016 to 2019, requests for Camperships almost tripled.

• Special projects: Would you like to connect with the Executive Director about supporting a capital project, including Wanakee in your estate plan, supporting our endowments, or other giving possibilities? Please reach out to James via james@wanakee.org or 603-279-7950.

We are grateful to the Berg family, who chose Wanakee as the recipient of donations in memory of longtime volunteer Richard Berg. These gifts are a blessing to future generations of Wanakee campers, and it is an honor to be a part of Mr. Berg’s legacy.

Matching for recurring gifts now available through a challenge gift. Thanks to a generous donor, your recurring gift goes 2x (or even 12x) further in 2022. New (or increased) recurring gifts given will be matched dollar for dollar (monthly), with $1,000 available each month of 2022.

In addition, if Wanakee reaches 15 recurring donors, we’ll unlock a $1,000 prize. At 25 donors, Wanakee receives $2,000, and if we reach 50 donors by the end of 2022, we’ll receive $5,000. All together, your recurring gift helps us unlock $20,000 of incentives. Visit wanakee.org/give for more information.

2022 Events

• Work Days: May 7, June 4, and Fall 2022

• First Day of Camp: July 3, 2022

• End of Summer Event (tentative): August 20, 2022

Leadership

Board of Directors: Kevin Drew [Chair], Matt Mansur [Vice Chair], Mara Bovee [Secretary], Dan Attorri, Courtney Choate, Debbie Choate, Jessica Greenlow, Rev. John Whitley

Communications: Katelyn Goodington, Jessica Greenlow, Abby Lavoie, Amelia Luke, Olivia Murphy

Finance: Taylor Goodington [Chair], Holly Darby, Terry Large, David Richards, Laura Towne, Rev. John Whitley

Program: Abby Lavoie [Chair], Meg Battersby, Mara Bovee, Courtney Choate, Hannah Cote, Leslie Drew, Kris Ellspermann, Jen Savoy

Wanakee Wilderness 5K Coordinators: Mike Polhemus, Rev. Phil Polhemus, Mara Bovee

Big Red Farmhouse Producers: Shannon Drew, Amelia Luke, Nicole Richards

Dear Wanakee Family,

Adirondack Chairs on Whale Rock at Sunset

Almost a year ago, I wrote a blog post as Wanakee’s outgoing Board chair having recently passed the baton to Kevin Drew, where I shared some of my thankfuls and hopefuls for this important ministry. This time last year, Wanakee’s Board really couldn’t be sure whether we’d be welcoming campers back on site in 2021 and what that would mean for Wanakee’s ministry. We danced a familiar dance from spring 2020 waiting for more information, waiting for guidance so we could determine whether we’d open for residential camp in 2021.

We made the decision in April to open this summer and James, Wanakee’s Executive Director, kicked it into high gear. We had no summer staff hired, none of our normal vendor arrangements in place, no nurses and no volunteers scheduled to come to camp. We didn’t even know if we’d be allowing volunteers to come and serve on a weekly basis. We didn’t know what level of social distancing, masking, bubbles/pods/cohorts or testing would be required to make in person camping a reality in 2021.

I could write a lot about overcoming the many challenges that were both anticipated and totally unanticipated, but as my time serving on the Board concludes after 10 years, my focus is instead on saying thank you.

Celebration in the Outdoor Chapel at Sunset

Thank you to those who played a part in bringing campers back to Wanakee this summer. Thank you to James and Hannah for running a safe summer season. Thank you to the entire summer staff for giving of yourselves to this ministry. Thank you to the 239 campers and their families who brought joy and life to 75 Upper New Hampton Road again. Thank you to the many volunteers who came to prepare our facility for the summer season and to close it down afterwards. Thank you to the Board and Committee members for your ongoing service. Thank you to our summer volunteers and to our Health Officers: Paula Forest, Carrie Way, Regina Bowler, Sam Shaw-Wilgoski, and Dr. Laura Fry. Thank you to Edith and Tim for literally saving our bacon in the kitchen. Thank you to our entire community for your thoughts and prayers for a safe and Spirit-filled summer. Thank you to our donors who have helped sustain our operations during this time.

We are indebted to each of you for your support in whichever form that may come. It is because of this community that Wanakee has been able to continue in ministry for 60+ years now, and we need your ongoing support as we rebuild the on-site ministry in the coming years.

Do you feel called to be involved in a new or different way? Please get in touch with us at mail@wanakee.org. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Grace and Peace,

Nicole Richards

Wanakee Board of Directors, 2011-2021

Job Title: Bookkeeper

Classification: Part-Time / Year-Round

Reports to: Executive Director

Position Summary:

The Bookkeeper is integral to Wanakee’s year-round operations, providing key support for the financial management of our summer camp, retreats and rentals, and fundraising. The position requires someone who is highly organized, detail oriented, experienced in financial management, and able to take initiative. This person must be resourceful, flexible, and able to work independently and as part of a team.

This position is part-time year-round, involving both remote work and on-site work at Wanakee. 

Essential Functions:

1. Accounts Payable

• Review all outstanding accounts payable invoices to ensure accuracy and receipt of product where applicable and assign accurate account numbers

• Enter all invoices  into QuickBooks for accounting purposes

• E-mail requisition sheet and invoices to Conference staff for check issuance

• Research any payable issues

2. Accounts Receivable

• Review all outstanding accounts receivable items

• Call customers to inquire about outstanding invoices

• Review problem receivables with the Executive Director as needed

• Enter payments into QuickBooks for accounting purposes

3. Payroll

• Calculate staff work time, review time with appropriate staff and attain signatures

• Send staff hours to Payroll Management for processing every other week

4. Credit Cards

• Review expenses and create expense reports with accurate account numbers

• Submit a written request to Conference staff for check issuance

• Enter all items into QuickBooks for accounting purposes

5. Checking Account and Credit Card Income

• Review monthly bank statement

• Reconcile all checking line items to ensure accuracy

• Assign accurate account numbers

• Submit a written reconciliation to Conference staff

• Enter all items into QuickBooks for accounting purposes

• Request funds when account is low

6. Donation Tracking 

• Record donations using Campbrain (or similar) on-line software

• Report on donors and donations as requested by Executive Director

7. Other

• Meets with the Finance Committee to report on financial activities, status, and forecasts

• Maintains files for income and expenses

• Works with New England Conference staff to investigate and correct any discrepancies

• Provide support to the Executive Director and Assistant Director, when needed

• Answer phones and assist guests when needed

• Advise Executive Director on financial/legal questions and research as needed

Time and Work Expectations:

• Flexible schedule with a minimum of 8 hours per month, maximum of 24 hours in a month.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• HS Diploma and training and/or experience in the accounting field required

• Church, summer camp, non-profit, and/or small business experience preferred

• Experience in Bookkeeping (QuickBooks experience preferred)

• Self-motivated with the ability to meet deadlines, attentive to details

• Reliable access to the internet

• Ability to treat sensitive information with discretion

• Effective communicator, both orally and in writing

• Ability to pass a criminal background check

• Willingness to adhere to public health measures related to Covid-19 as needed, potentially including masking, physical distancing, and/or vaccination

Compensation:

• Salary depends on experience and starts at $20-$23/hour.

To Apply:

Email a letter of interest and resume briefly describing your qualifications and applicable work experience to Wanakee’s Executive Director, James Tresner, at mail@wanakee.org.

Interest letters are being accepted through October 20, 2021, though application review will begin when materials are received.

About Wanakee:

Wanakee is a traditional Christian summer camp and year-round retreat center, owned and operated by the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church. Our camp and retreat programming focuses on building loving relationships and communities of radical acceptance. Find us at www.wanakee.org or on most social media outlets @wanakeenh.

Overnight summer camp is back for summer 2021! We can’t wait to see you. Watch the video above or read on for details.

OVERVIEW

• The schedule will look a bit different [for this year only] to account for changes due to Covid-19

• We will be open at reduced capacity – 3-4 sites, 30 to 40 campers each week. We expect to fill up quickly.

• State guidance and science will guide our operations this summer. We will share our Covid-19 policies and practices in the coming weeks.

 SCHEDULE

• The schedule will be out and registration will be open by Friday, 4/23

• Week 1 will be for campers completing grades 4-8, plus LITs ages 16-18

• Week 1 will begin Sunday 6/27 and run until Friday July 2

FOR FAMILIES WHO DONATED OR ROLLED THEIR 2020 FEES 

• If you donated or rolled your 2020 camp fee, THANK YOU again for supporting us in this tough moment.

• Those who rolled or donated can expect to receive a link via email for priority registration before we open it to the everyone. This period will run 3-4 days.

CAMPER FEE UPDATE

• Due to the inspiring support of our community, and because we recognize that the last 13 months have caused personal and financial pain for so many families, our 2021 camper fees will be the same as summer 2020.

• However, we need to be transparent that camp is going to cost us significantly more to run in 2021. We will be inviting families who are able to do so to help us cover the many expenses unique to this year.

• We will also be counting on you, our community of friends and alumni for support. You’ve proven we can trust you, so we are. Your astounding support in 2020 got us this point, and we can’t wait to see what you do next. Stay tuned for some remarkable news on the generosity front!

SUMMER STAFF NEEDED 

• Our staff is coming together beautifully, but we have key openings for female counselors. A summer changing lives at Wanakee is surely the perfect antidote to the last 13 months. Apply now at wanakee.campbrainstaff.com

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE

Re-opening camp and completing all our typical preparations on a condensed timeframe while also plotting the course to maximize the safety of our community during a pandemic is a HUGE amount of work. Please bear with us as our year-round staff of 2 works overtime alongside our volunteers to make it happen. 

We CANNOT WAIT to get back to what we know and love in our 60th year!

2020: Year in Review

A snowy cross at the Outdoor Chapel

Dear Wanakee Friends,

Planning for summer 2020 started as usual - reflection and evaluation from staff and volunteers in late summer, kickstart of committee work in early autumn, program design, volunteer recruitment, budgeting, hiring summer staff, opening summer camp registration, scheduling church visits.

Wanakee’s Board of Directors held a retreat in November 2019, in part, to map out our preferred future for Wanakee. We chose to look five years ahead: to 2024 - a reasonable amount of time to make progress on things we felt were important. We started off by listing everything we could dream of from all areas of camp life (facilities, staffing, health and wellness, and many others). Here are a few of those items:

• 800 campers over an 8 week program (side note; we have only achieved more than 90 campers in a single week a handful of times in the past decade)

• A new retreat center to replace our Rec Hall

• Keeping family-style meals in the Dining Hall

• Serving more fruit (yes, we went down even to these details)

• Hiring a mental health worker for the summer

• Increasing summer staff salaries

• New truck and tractor (we got those this year!)

• Increased financial self-sustainability

We intended to circle back to this wish list of 53 items in the springtime and decide which ones would become actual goals, which things were 2020 priorities and which ones would be deferred or deleted. Then came the first wave of COVID-19. Instead of looking ahead to 2024, we focused on what we could do in the here and now to live out our mission - first by creating Wanakee From Home so we could connect with our community, then by creating Camp@Home so that our small summer staff could foster relationships and bring some of that magic of Wanakee’s love and acceptance to campers in summertime.

The 2020 summer staff preparing for a livestream of Celebration from the Outdoor Chapel.

Thanks to an overwhelming level of generosity from our volunteers and donors, we were able to run these programs and employ nine young adult leaders without worrying about whether or not we would be able to make it through to 2021. Our dreams of a new retreat center have been deferred and instead we’ve invested in making the Rec Hall more comfortable and safer. We don’t know if family-style meals will be possible or practical when we welcome campers back on site. We’ll have to assess the remaining 51 items on our 2024 wish list and add more, given what we know now.

We are now in our 60th year of ministry and although we are still living in a time when tomorrow very likely will bring different challenges than today, we will continue planning for Wanakee’s future.

We write to ask you to support our ministry with an end-of-year gift so we can continue to live out our mission in 2021, 2024, and our next 60 years. We hope you know how meaningful every donation is, no matter the size, for a small organization like this one. Thank you for everything you do to sustain this beautiful spiritual place in the hills, and we look forward to welcoming you home to Wanakee as soon as we can.

We wish you peace, health, and hope in this Christmas season.

Grace and Peace,

Nicole Richards, Board Chair, May 2017 - Nov. 2020 

Kevin Drew, Board Chair, elected Nov. 2020

James B. Tresner, Executive Director

The 2020 LITs, graduating on Zoom

2020 by the Numbers

• 277: number of “campers” who attended Wanakee From Home events during “Season 1,” our pop-up virtual programming which ran March-June 2020

• 21: volunteers who led Wanakee From Home programs during those same months

• 59: number of years of operation (celebrating 60 in 2021!)

• 33: years since we purchased our last tractor, and the Horsepower of Wanakee’s new (to us) Kubota tractor, purchased this fall

• 38: number of campers attending weeklong Camp @ Home virtual programs offered during summer 2020

• 4,171: minutes of Thursday Night worship livestreams viewed by the global Wanakee community during the summer

• 9: number of staff employed in-person at camp this summer

• 216: railing balusters installed by volunteers as part of improvements made to the Rec Hall, along with 5 new vinyl windows, 16 bundles of shingles, 11 gallons of paint, and more

• 873: unique listens to one of 12episodes of Big Red Farmhouse, Wanakee’s new storytelling podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.

• 360: gallons of free hand sanitizer distributed by Wanakee to New Hampshire churches, non-profits, and schools to help keep our communities safe

• 260: unique donors in 2020 (so far), 35% more than November 2019

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: Wanakee could not exist without our volunteers, and are always looking for help with day-to-day needs during all seasons, as well as summer camp counselors & event directors, or year-round committee members. Your time makes a difference at Wanakee! Please contact James or any member of the Board if you are interested in helping for the first time or in a new way.

GIVING OPPORTUNITIES: A gift to Wanakee changes lives immediately. It also ensures that future generations will get to experience our “beautiful spiritual place in the hills.” 

The tractor purchased in 2020 thanks to Friends of Wanakee.

• Annual Fund: Donations to the annual fund provide flexibility for use wherever there is the greatest need.

• Memorial Funds: We are grateful to the Darling family for establishing the new Wes and Edie Darling Memorial Fund at the United Methodist Foundation of New England. If you are interested in learning more about contributing to one or more of our funds, please contact us: mail@wanakee.org

• Friends of Wanakee: Gifts to Friends of Wanakee support capital, facility, and programmatic improvements. In 2020, some of the projects that were partially or fully funded by Friends of Wanakee include materials for the Rec Hall improvements for safety and comfort, replacement of our tractor and truck, and proactive tree removal for safety and to reduce the risks of building damage.

• Camperships: Donations to the Campership Fund ensure that finances never stop a child from having a camp experience, regardless of family situation. Since 2016, requests for Camperships have almost tripled.

• Special projects: Would you like to connect with the Executive Director about supporting a capital project, including Wanakee in your estate plan, supporting our endowments, or other giving possibilities? Please be in touch!

EVENTS: Please keep an eye on this website and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/wanakeenh)

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” — Proverbs 16:9

S

Dear Wanakee Family,

One of my favorite ways to close out an evening campfire at Wanakee is by sharing “thankfuls” and “hopefuls” where we go around the circle and each person gets to share something they are grateful for from that day and something they hope will come during the rest of the week. As we approach Thanksgiving, I wanted to take the opportunity to share a few things at Wanakee that I am thankful and hopeful for. Before we get too far in, I should say that this is note is written by Nicole Richards, a member of Wanakee’s Board of Directors.

My first thankful is to my fellow Board members, including those who came before me, for their guidance, wisdom, partnership and trust. I have had the pleasure of serving as Chair for the past three and a half years, and at our most recent Board meeting, I passed the baton to Kevin Drew, who has been serving alongside me for the past three years. Kevin works as a Chief Estimator for a mechanical contractor in Manchester, and has also served on his local school board in Milford, NH. I am hopeful that the Wanakee family will join me in congratulating Kevin and supporting him and the entire Board as they continue to discern how we will live out our mission in 2021 and beyond.

My second thankful is to highlight our partnership with UMCOR and our local churches. Wanakee served as a hub for distributing 385 gallons of hand sanitizer to various local churches, schools, and community organizations over the past few months, at no cost to the recipients. This is a small but meaningful way that Wanakee has helped serve the local community. I am hopeful that we can continue to strengthen our partnerships with local churches and our community more broadly.

My third thankful is to lift up Wanakee’s volunteers for their dedication to Wanakee’s mission through year-round service and performing many labors of love at our facility. I am particularly grateful to the crews that have worked to replace the Rec Hall porch roof, fire escape, windows and siding as well as those who have come up to help close up camp for the winter months. I am hopeful that these dedicated volunteers will inspire others to share their time and talents at Wanakee.

In addition, I would like to raise up our committee and staff members who joined a 2021 virtual planning party last week to offer direction and guidance to Wanakee’s Board and plan next steps. 20 of Wanakee’s year-round leaders met to discuss the opportunities and challenges we face as we consider how we will live out our mission over the next twelve months. At the end of the summer, our Board and Committees reflected on lessons learned from earlier this year and we are carrying those forward to our preparations for 2021. We don’t yet know what summer 2021 will look like, but you can expect to hear more from us as we develop our program plans. I am hopeful that we will welcome campers to 75 Upper New Hampton Road in 7 ½ months, and until then, I hope you will support us and pray for us to find ways to live out our mission and navigate this uncertain time.

I am also thankful to have been part of Season One of Wanakee’s podcast: Big Red Farmhouse. Shannon, Amelia, and I are so grateful to our first roster of guests who have shared stories of how they first came to Wanakee and what has kept them coming back. In a time when you may be missing the love and supportive community at camp, perhaps listening in to hear some Wanakee stories will brighten your day. You can find us on most major podcasting platforms or go to https://anchor.fm/wanakeenh. We are currently working on Season Two and hope to have some new episodes out in early 2021 with guests who share stories from Wanakee’s early days.

My last thankful is to our donors who have shown overwhelming generosity this year. James highlighted many of the examples of the generosity of spirit in our midst in his series A Hard Year, Full of Light and I would like to echo my thanks to all of you who have shared some of your treasure with Wanakee in this unusual year.

We will again be raising funds on #GivingTuesday, December 1st, which will go into our campership fund. When we do welcome campers back to our site, we expect there will be an even greater need for financial assistance, and our campership fund exists to help make camp affordable for all families. I am hopeful that you will consider making a donation on #GivingTuesday. You can also support us year-round by becoming a recurring donor. Find out more by visiting our website: https://www.wanakee.org/donate. 

Finally, I’d like to invite you to share your own thankfuls and hopefuls with your loved ones. Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Grace and Peace,

Nicole Richards

Wanakee Board of Directors

2020 will be remembered in many ways, and many of those memories will be less than positive. Maybe you’ve found moments where you’ve enjoyed this different pace of life, time with family, or pursuit of a new hobby. In general, though, what we’ve been doing since March has been really hard, and really stressful. Everyone has been forced to navigate a fundamental re-ordering of daily life, and many have been faced with far worse. The changes and challenges wrought by Covid-19 create constant pressure.

And, at some point, we’ll start to be able to gather again. And I don’t mean the cautious re-gathering happening at schools and restaurants right now – I mean something that feels more like how we gathered before any of us had ever heard of Covid-19.

Happy campers from summer 2019

Whenever that happens, I know something to be true. When we are able to be together, places like Wanakee –places that hold dis-proportionally large space in our hearts because of the people who are there and how it feels to be there– those places will matter more than ever. Talking about life and faith around a campfire, singing in the dining hall, hugging a friend – these sacred moments of connection will be back, and we will seek them out. I might even argue we will need them in order to feel whole again.

My last story (for now) of the generosity that has provided clarity, direction, and (dare-I-say) confidence for Wanakee in 2020 is a story of a gift grand in scale yet eminently practical in nature – a large donation to support maintenance at Wanakee, intended to ensure that we are prepared to re-open, that we don’t fall behind, and that we take advantage of this unique (and sad) opportunity when campers and guests are not on site using our buildings and grounds like we want them to be.

I’ve already shared about a couple remarkable things that have happened over the last nine months. As 2019 came to a close, the Darling family created a new fund in memory of Wes and Edie Darling and their legacy at camp. At a low point in the early days of our altered reality, a family reached out and pledged $50,000 to keep our momentum strong. And in early June, 225 individuals and families raised their hands and made Wanakee the most supported organization in the state. How much more gratitude could we possibly feel for the commitment and strength of our community?

Between the day of the $50,000 pledge and the magic of NH Gives, another incredible conversation occurred – Wanakee received a pledge of $60,000, specifically for maintenance and capital improvements.

I ended that paragraph and started a new one because the combination of all these gifts still takes my breath away – it literally gives me pause. Wanakee is a small organization with a lot of heart. While the soul of our community and the loyalty of those who call this place home have never been in doubt, this combination of financial support is unique in our history, and could not have arrived at a moment where we have faced stronger headwinds. We did not run summer camp this year because of a global pandemic. Can you imagine if I went back to last summer and tried to tell people we wouldn’t be open in 2020? In spite of that, our community has said loudly, clearly, and proudly: We love this community. We want this place to not just survive, but thrive. We will be back.

The Dining Hall, many moons ago.

Specific to this last gift that I am sharing about today, you might be wondering, why did the donors choose to give to Wanakee? One of the donors grew up as an active participant of a Methodist Church in New Hampshire, and in a family that camped and hiked and swam and loved the outdoors. Wanakee was a natural fit for them. Dating back to our earliest days, members of their extended family went to camp, spent weekends in Family Camp, volunteered in the summer and on maintenance, worked here, and sent the family’s children and youth to Wanakee for a week (or more) each summer. Family members have met important friends and even spouses at camp.

In their words, “three generations have participated actively in the fun and faith that has grown [at Wanakee] over the years. Wanakee has been a part of our lives for fifty years and we have all spent wonderful, energizing, and enriching times there. It is an honor and privilege to be able to help Wanakee grow and thrive so that it can be a positive force in the lives of many other young people and their families.”

Senior High campfire at Family Camp, 2016

And why now? I can’t say it any better than the donors articulated it. “With the spread of Covid 19, this is a very challenging year for Wanakee and for all of us. For the safety of all it has been necessary to limit Wanakee’s on site programs and for all of us to practice social distancing from one another. This is difficult for everyone, but it also gives us an opportunity to reflect on how we can best support and care for one another. We are used to showing our love by being together in close proximity, by hugging each other, by singing out around a campfire in loud voices. But now we must remain apart, not touching, wearing masks, and learning new ways to be together in spirit if not in person.

The staff and leadership at Wanakee are working hard to find new ways to be community and to bring the values of hope and faith into changing times. We especially want to support that. We also want to help Wanakee use this hiatus from physically-present camp to be able to do maintenance and development projects that will help the camp be the best that it can be when it is time to open the doors once again. This is a time for re-imagining the future, for building, for using what we have learned from this time apart to make our eventual time together all the better, and all the sweeter. For this, resources are needed, and we are glad to be able to provide some. We hope that others may be able to add to our gift in order to carry out projects that are needed in this time.”

Suffice to say, others have already added to this gift in 2020, though our list of projects is far from exhausted, whether small or large. We have a dream of a new retreat center, a small lodge for our health office, infirmary, and health officer, and a new kitchen addition on the Dining Hall, among other things. Because of people like you, it doesn’t seem crazy to still be dreaming about these larger, grander projects in spite of the challenges of 2020. Wanakee is profoundly blessed by your generosity and commitment.

Back in early May, as the dominoes were starting to fall, our Board of Directors had not yet made a final decision on whether we could (or should) open this summer. We were considering reducing our capacity and delaying the start of camp. Like many camps, we continued to hold out hope. We set May 15 as a deadline to decide about whether we would be opening on-time and scheduled a meeting for May 14.

In the days before that meeting, our lack of understanding of how the virus spread, a lack of clarity from state and local health authorities, and the uncertainty of whether we could keep our community safe started to paint a clearer picture. When I think about those conversations, like the first time the notion that we might not open camp was said out loud, or the first time I saw a camp I viewed as a peer institution with a similar high standard for safety announce their summer cancellation, my heart hurts all over again.

And then I think back to that meeting over Zoom on Thursday, May 14, 2020, when our Board of Directors came to seemingly impossible unanimous conclusion that there was no other choice to make – since we could not be certain we could keep our campers safe, we could not open. Has a more consequential decision ever been made by leaders of Wanakee, beyond the choice to purchase the property and create this beloved community?

We hung up from the call, and I was confident in the outcome, but shell-shocked. It had been a cloudy day, and the light through the office window had faded during our conversation. Bleary-eyed, I stepped out onto the porch to collect myself, literally grabbing onto the railing. I looked down. I looked heavenward. I closed my eyes. I looked out.

A grainy iPhone photo of the light through the trees.

Through the trees, I saw a strip of orange. I couldn’t understand it at first, the difference between the colors of the clouds above and the ground below – what was there, so bright out in those woods? What were our neighbors on Lake Pemigewasset driving or doing?

Then the obvious hit me – I was seeing a strip of sunlight. The sun was popping out through an impossibly thin gap, shockingly bright. Knowing that our perfect site is so often a source of peace for me (and for many), and that moving my body would do me good, I grabbed my camera, hopped on my bike, tires still soft from winter storage, and raced down Upper New Hampton Road. I turned right on our service road and headed towards Lake Pemigewasset.

The view from the waterfront

I was greeted with one of the classic sights that we all look forward to. One of the ways we know we are home when we are at camp. I saw a sunset, the ever-present sign of endless love, eternal hope, and sacred peace that is somehow at its most beautiful when we sit together on the eastern shore of our lake here at Wanakee.

I sat on the docks, tucked up on the beach, waiting for a summer that was not to come. My emotions were complex and overwhelming. It can be really lonely living at camp 12 months a year. The summer is what I chase and work for – ten months of hard work reward me with two months of noise and chaos and constant movement and changed lives. Year-round camp pros live and work “10 for 2,” and now the “2” was not to be. The incredible team of 28 staff, the creative schedule, and the nearly 400 campers who had signed up by mid-March – it was not to be.

It got darker, and realizing I had no light, I turned on my phone flashlight, hopped back on my bike and started the ride back up the path. Lost in thought, I moved slowly, trying to miss the roots that I know by feel as much as by sight after hundreds (thousands?) of trips to the waterfront. It was a struggle to keep the phone pointed ahead of me.

As I turned onto Upper New Hampton Road, 30 minutes after sunset, I realized I had no need of the light. It was one of those strange cloudy nights where the light somehow lingers. There’s no clear source, yet you can see what’s around you. The world looks familiar and altogether different.

The unique sunset, bursting forth from a total daylong cover of clouds, was a clear reminder that there was light and hope for a bright future. More mysteriously, on this dark day, both literally and in my professional and personal life, the sun had set, but somehow the world around me was still visible, residual light clinging to the surrounding dense clouds. I’m sure the phenomenon is not that complex, but I’m not a meteorologist, and I was moved by the mystery of it. I continued to think about that lonely, quiet bike ride in the days and months that came after.

And now, I’ve figured out what the light was. It was you – it was all of you.

It was the hundreds of people who prayed for Wanakee and supported Wanakee and kept the Wanakee spirit alive. Whether you gave $5 or $60,000, or told stories about camp among friends and family, or bought a sweatshirt from the online store, or attended an online worship, or sent your child to Camp @ Home, or looked up at the stars from wherever you are in the world and peacefully remembered how it feels to look at those same stars alongside Wanakee friends, with the extra sparkle they have when viewed from Lookout, through the reaching pines of the Site 2 campfire circle, or on a dew-covered tarp in the middle of the field.

You have been the light this year. And I can’t thank you enough.

I’ll see you back at camp. I can’t wait.

Grace and Peace,

James B. Tresner, Executive Director

Whether you’ve been to Wanakee one time or 100 times, we all have stories to share about our beautiful spiritual place in the hills. During each episode of Wanakee’s new podcast, Big Red Farmhouse, your hosts Shannon Drew, Amelia Luke, and Nicole Richards, will talk with members of Wanakee’s global community. Listen in for memories, lessons, and tales from our 59-year history. We have 12 episodes (plus or minus) already recorded, and they will be released weekly on Tuesdays from now until early November. Join us for “Season 1” as you drive to the store, go for a walk, lay in the hammock, or tidy up around the house.

Do you think you know a great potential guest? Drop us an email: mail@wanakee.org to let us know. We would also love to hear your feedback! You can listen on Anchor at https://anchor.fm/wanakeenh or on Spotify via the link below. We expect that Big Red Farmhouse will be available on all major podcast platforms (including Apple Podcasts and Overcast) within a week or two - keep an eye out.

Many thanks to Shannon Drew and Amelia Luke, both of whom served as summer staff for a 4th year in 2020, as well as to Nicole Richards, Wanakee’s Board Chair, for pushing this longtime dream to reality. We are especially excited for this new form of storytelling as we prepare to celebrate 60 years of ministry in 2021.

For so many, the Wanakee experience reaches into your heart, takes hold, and never lets go. After 21 years of my own connection to Wanakee and four and a half years in the director’s seat, I am completely certain that those who experience this place carry seeds of Wanakee with them, no matter where life goes.

I see those seeds in comments on social media when we post old pictures or sing beloved songs, I hear about them when individuals and families stop by and wistfully recall joyful moments from decades past, I notice them when campers from 15 years ago make a gift to support this place during a pandemic, and tag their friends to remind them of their shared connection and memories.

The second story in this year of sustaining generosity is a story of a Wanakee tree with infinite branches, where seeds that were sown in our early years have grown and grown. From our ingrained culture of gentle acceptance, to our rustic program rooted in a closeness to nature and accessible faith exploration, to our physical plant, Wes and Edie Darling are two of the individuals most responsible for the things that make Wanakee, Wanakee. Their leadership at a critical juncture in Wanakee’s history was hugely consequential. The story I’m about to tell is one more branch in their tree.

Edie Darling checking in campers in front of the Wanakee Farmhouse

Wes and Edie’s tenure as Wanakee’s Administrators occurred before I was born, from 1968 to 1977. In order to appreciate their impact, I’ve reached out to others who knew them well. Here’s a bit of what they shared:

“The first word which comes to my mind [when I think of Wes and Edie] is team. They were a very unique team. While it seemed they were working separately, somehow they always knew what the other was doing. The two were always separate yet one.

Wes’s responsibility was the physical property and the administrative work. You could find him in the little red trailer making sure the finances were in order and the bills vouchered to give to Maurice Simonds, the treasurer. After supper he might fire up the fogger and walk through the campsite to cut down the mosquito population. He designed the dining hall and kitchen additions and then guided youth work camps to construct them. He knew the property better than anyone.

Edie’s area was program. She would work with the committee to determine what the program themes would be for the various age levels, find the weekly directors, and listen to their goals while quietly giving insight and guidance for the week so it would go smoothly. She could always make ideas and plans better. In the evening she might talk with a weekly director to help them solve a problem, or offer guidance on how a counselor might answer a deep faith question asked by a camper.

Wes Darling working in the old administrative office, which used to be in a trailer parked on the South side of the Farmhouse.

Their true lasting legacy was firmly establishing Wanakee as a place of love and acceptance where one could grow in faith: “a beautiful spiritual place in the hills.” One could not walk on to the property and not be greeted, welcomed, and made to feel special and loved. They clearly lived their faith in word and deed. This atmosphere was the goal when Wanakee was founded, and the Darlings brought it to completion.” –The Rev. Phil Polhemus

“Edie and Wes were role models, mentors, and friends. Warm and compassionate, kind and generous, they welcomed people in and drew the circle wider. They encouraged activities that focused on teamwork and cooperation and looked for ways to help everyone succeed. Their presence is missed and their love lives on through the Wanakee spirit.”—Cam Howard

“I remember interviewing for a job at Wanakee in the balcony at Main Street UMC, and I was so nervous because I'd never been interviewed before. I thought I'd never get the job, but a letter arrived saying I'd been hired and offering $240 for the whole summer.

It was the first time I'd been away from home for that long, and I got pretty homesick on the first night. Edie noticed it right away, and that was when I realized how much of a nurturer she was. She really looked out for me, and got other people to do the same.”—David Quimby

“Wes and Edie could pull a rabbit out of a hat. Edie was so intuitive and insightful as to what was going on with people. If something was not going to happen that needed to happen, they could go to work and make it happen. They knew people and their strengths – they knew how to call in resources. One summer, my 1 year old son got hold of my glasses and broke them, so I couldn’t see. That very day they connected me with Carl Quimby and I had glasses within a few days, brought right to Wanakee.”—Sharon Foss

“Throughout their time at Wanakee Wes (aka Dad) & Edie (aka Mom and affectionately by some of the more daring staff “Mother Edie”) demonstrated their version of family first by being devoted to each other, to their faith, and to Mary, Lou Ann & I. Yet they were able to serve and lead through faith & love all of the different Wanakee Family Units in a truly inclusive manner.”—Ed Darling

The Wanakee waterfront in the 1970s

Wes and Edie moved to Meredith in 2000, spending their retirement down the road from camp near the shores of Lake Waukewan. When a story ran in the local paper about the Farmhouse restoration in spring 2017, Wes enjoyed driving out to follow along. He appreciated that the builders were committed to their craft and to an authentic restoration of the Farmhouse. He was tickled that the owner of Caledonian Carpentry, Roy Darling, shared his last name (no relation).

After their father’s passing in fall 2018, Ed and Mary Darling (Wes and Edie’s son and daughter) and Ed’s wife Lou Ann started considering how their parents’ legacy might live on at camp in another way, through a donation in celebration of lives well-lived. This led them to establish the Wes and Edie Memorial Fund through an incredible donation of $10,000. The fund is invested at the United Methodist Foundation of New England to benefit Wanakee. In Mary’s words:

“Dad took his roles as husband, father, and breadwinner very seriously. He worked hard and was fiscally responsible. He could not be considered monetarily rich – there were times he was eligible for financial assistance, but felt there were probably folks who needed it more than he did. However, at the end of his life in 2018, he had enough to cover final expenses and some to spare.

Ed suggested that we think about a gift to perpetuate the connection that Dad and Mum had with Wanakee. Lou Ann and I felt that it made perfect sense. (By the way, Ed and Lou met at Wanakee.)

There were 3 things in their lives that Wes and Edie were both completely vested in and committed to:

1. Their marriage

2. Raising their family

3. The 10 years they spent as the administrators of Wanakee

Even after they left Wanakee, our parents talked fondly of the many people they met there and worked with. They both had a commitment to improve Wanakee’s programming and infrastructure. When they retired, they bought a home in Meredith and continued to visit Wanakee.

We feel that they would both be very pleased with this decision. Our goal is to have the funds used in a way that will help to perpetuate both the programs and the very existence of Wanakee for many years to come. We have talked with James about possibly using the funds as a seed for a future capital campaign, for example.” —Mary Darling

It has been a personal joy to get to know Wes and Edie through Ed, Lou Ann, and Mary; their depth of commitment, skill, impact, and tenure are distinctive and inspiring. It is clear to me that Wes and Edie’s legacy lives on in so many ways, including the way that it feels to be at Wanakee, our physical site, and now through this incredible donation. Most importantly, their light shines at Wanakee and around the world through the people whose lives they positively influenced.

While my goal of this post is to help you get to know Wes and Edie and share about this gift, Ed, Mary, and Lou Ann chose to create a fund in memory of their parents rather than provide a one-time gift because they hoped others might join them and honor Wes and Edie’s ministry through a donation to support this place they loved so deeply. All are invited to remember and celebrate Wes and Edie through a gift to the Wes and Edie Memorial Fund. Feel free to contact me to learn more, or you can reach out to the United Methodist Foundation of New England and make your gift directly.

Thank you again, Ed, Mary, and Lou Ann, for your trust, support, and dedication – it means so much, especially in this time of new challenges.

Grace and Peace,

James B. Tresner, Executive Director

Dear Wanakee Community,

Out of an abundance of caution, the Wanakee Wilderness 5K team and the Board of Directors have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 WW5K. While we are saddened that we won’t be welcoming runners and supporters on August 15th, we believe this to be the appropriate decision for our extended Wanakee family.

The conditions around COVID-19 are changing so quickly, in our communities, our state and our country. While we have been doing our very best to keep up with the changing guidelines and remain flexible, it is clear to us that cancelling this race is the only decision we can make right now. Bringing the WW5K to Meredith would add unnecessary stress to already strained resources in our community including essential workers, as well as our own staff and volunteers.

At this time, our primary goal is public safety while maintaining our commitment to supporting those most in need. We are closing registration for this event, however fundraising will remain open.

If you are in the position to do so, we hope you will continue to support our sponsors and partners, who also face challenges during this uncertain time.

We recognize your eagerness to get to the Farmhouse starting line of the Wanakee Wilderness 5K. Whether you were just starting your training, helping our team find sponsors and donors, or planning a trip to our beautiful spiritual place in the hills, know that we are thinking of you and eagerly awaiting the moment we can welcome you back to Wanakee.

In the meantime, we are working on ways to keep our community connected in the virtual world. Keep your eyes on your inbox, and through social media over the next few weeks as we share our possible action plan for Homecoming and fundraising efforts including the WW5K silent auction.

Grace and Peace,

Nicole Richards

Chairperson, Wanakee Board of Directors

2019 Sponsors and Partners:

Anyelectron LLC, Beans & Greens Farm, Caledonian Carpentry, Cantin Chevrolet, Chadwick & Trefethen, Inc., Erickson Foundation Supportworks, Penny Maurer Graphic Design, Moultonboro United Methodist Church, Hannaford, Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant, Moulton Farm, US Foods, Wayfarer Coffee Roasters, our numerous individual Wanakee sponsors and supporters.

You know how every blog post starts in 2020, right? “In these unprecedented times…”?

Those words and words like them – they’re exhausting because they’re true. Our communities and world as it exists today – a world full of opportunity and loss, of joy and injustice, of constant Zoom calls and feelings of disconnection – we have never navigated something like this. Today’s children and youth have never been forced so far from their routines and rituals. Living through Covid-19 is hard. This virus is omnipresent.

This is all true at Wanakee. It’s mid-July, yet the noise, energy, and organized chaos of camp is a memory. While 10 of us spend our days working together, doing our best to do what we can to live out our mission now and for the future, the stark difference between what we are doing and what we want to be doing is always on our minds. Not front-of-mind, but a longing, just below the surface, when a song or smell or feeling grabs at the heart and tugs on a memory.

This has been a hard year. This will continue to be a hard year. And yet, as we think about the Wanakee community and the present and future of our organization and mission, there is so much to be thankful for. I have three inspiring stories to tell, and they won’t be in order. One is NH Gives, another is a celebration of legacy and lifelong passion, and the last is a tale of foresight and intentionality. Combined, they paint a picture of hope, shared purpose, and a bright future to look forward to.

SO – we’ll start with NH Gives. 231 donors and $90,038, which earned Wanakee the Power of Many Award for a second straight year. How did that happen?

First, let me say something loudly and unequivocally – ours is a community of astounding dedication, generosity, and leadership. THANK YOU.

Wanakee’s 2020 program revenue is going to be close to $0 – we anticipate at least an 85% decline in (non-fundraising) income, yet fixed costs (things that can’t be avoided even if we don’t run summer camp, such as property insurance, maintenance, administration, etc.) make up roughly 35% of our annual expenses. This means that, in the best case scenario, our 2020 expenses will be more than double what our income will be. It will likely be a much wider gap than that.

I offer that granular financial perspective now because it underscores how much we need you this year. It is awe-inspiring that we didn’t have to explain the extent of the challenge ahead in order for people like you to know that. This spring, you made it abundantly clear that Wanakee’s mission, community, and place are deeply cherished, and that ensuring we come through this time of financial pain, ready to serve, is a shared priority. Through NH Gives, 231 people (231 people!!!) raised their hands and built a foundation, strong enough even in the sand dunes of this time for Wanakee’s leadership to confidently make decisions by asking:

• “How can we realize our mission most effectively in 2020?”

• “What can we do today to ensure we are positioned to bounce back stronger than ever, once it is safe to do so?”

• “How can we invest in ourselves in a way that anticipates a changed ‘normal’ for the foreseeable future?”

While we are carefully managing all aspects of our finances, we never had to ask ourselves questions rooted in doubt about whether we could “keep the lights on.” We never had to wonder IF we should try new, untested ways to keep the Wanakee spirit alive -- we only wondered HOW we should do that.

Months before NH Gives and a month into the radical new reality of life in a pandemic, Nicole (our Board Chair) and I were deep in conversation over Facetime, gaming out scenarios, crunching numbers, and discussing the overwhelming unknowns. At that point, summer camp still seemed like a possibility, but it was becoming clear that it would look very different, if it happened at all. The first realizations that “this is going to be awhile…” were coming into focus. We ended our call at a bit of a low point, realizing that we weren’t going to solve any problems that day, but needed to continue learning and listening.

I shut off my iPad and opened my email to see if I’d missed anything. Indeed I had – something profoundly powerful – a brief note indicating a desire to make the largest single donation Wanakee has received in many moons - $50,000 (that is not a typo). I yelped. I re-read. I got teary. I still get a little teary when I think about that moment (like I did when I wrote this). I frantically pressed “call back.”

After a shared moment of astonishment and gratitude with Nicole, the conversation with the donors about “why now?” and “why us?” began.

I’ll never forget the words shared in our first chat – “In moments like this one, it’s important that people play the role they’re able to play. Right now, God has given us the opportunity to play this role.”

They shared how much Wanakee means to their family, the ways in which this place has helped their kids grow personally and in faith, how much their campers talk about their experiences here, and how important it was to all of them to see Wanakee’s positive momentum continue.

As an organization interwoven with the mission of the United Methodist Church in New England, it was uplifting and connective to learn that, in this moment in their lives when the donors were able to provide such strong support for organizations they cared about, they thought first of their local church, and then immediately of us here at Wanakee, an arm and extension of (and for) the local church.

After these conversations, we started talking about when the gift might be given, and ways that we might maximize the impact of this radical generosity. Given the timing and enormous success of NH Gives during our first year of participation in 2019, the conversation quickly shifted to that event. We agreed that offering funds up as a 1:1 match would be valuable and powerful. What we didn’t know was just how ready the global Wanakee family was to give. I had been preparing for the understandable possibility that we would see a decrease in giving this year – times are tough. While a $20,000 matching goal would have seemed attainable and exciting in February based on how generous this community was in 2019, the landscape looked very different in April.

Instead, the inverse happened – we couldn’t roll out the dollar-for-dollar,1:1 opportunities fast enough. Not including matches through the NH Charitable Foundation, prizes from NH Gives, and other matching funds, we received $30,488 during NH Gives – over 50% more than in 2019. When it became clear that between those donations, the matching funds and prizes (just under $10,000), and this major gift, we were once again positioned to raise the most in the state, we reached out to the donor and they initiated the transfer, saving a trip to the post office on one end and a trip to the bank on the other. On a day when hundreds of sets of eyes were invested in the (already mind-boggling) generosity of Wanakee people everywhere, this gift offered a mountaintop moment of clarity and direction.

To you, our 231 donors during NH Gives, and to all who have supported us in years prior and the weeks since, thank you for being leaders, for believing in Wanakee, for trusting our leadership, and for doing what you can to build a bright future, where the campers of our next 5 years and the imagined grandchildren of those young people can look forward to moments of deep meaning, radical acceptance, and unrivaled joy among our perfect, beautiful, spiritual hills. You are all playing the role you are called to play, and Wanakee is brighter for it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Stories 2 and 3 of radical generosity – coming soon. Stay tuned!

Grace and Peace,

James B. Tresner, Executive Director

Dear Wanakee Family –

I write today with news that I never expected to write. After two months of learning, prayer, and contingency planning, Wanakee’s Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to suspend our 2020 summer camp program.  

Senior High 2019 gathered at the campfire

Every summer since 1962, Wanakee has provided life-changing opportunities for personal, social, and spiritual growth. While our community is a global one, and our mission is realized beyond our in-person summer camp program, gathering on Lake Pemigewasset is at the core of who we are. Losing that for this summer is painful.

An incredible amount of research, thought, and care went into this decision. In the Board’s unanimous vote, three core rationales stood out:

1. Safety – if we opened for summer 2020, could we meet the high standard of safety we hold ourselves to? While summer camp as we know it involves some risks, our industry knows how to manage those risks. Rigorous training for lifeguards, bug spray and daily checks for ticks, for example. We cannot confidently mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19 in the next 3 months – too much is still unknown.

2. Experience – even if we could open, and if group gatherings are permitted, would the experience resemble the summer camp you know and love? Could we sing together? Could we play carpet ball? 9-square? Gaga? What about holding hands in prayer at the end of a joy-filled day? Sharing a canoe, or a rope on the climbing wall?

3. Inclusion – the available guidance from public health authorities calls for camps to exclude campers who are immunocompromised, campers who are cared for by grandparents or live in a home with older individuals, and campers outside your local community (to name a few examples). Wanakee’s mission calls us to serve “all God’s people.” Excluding certain campers so that others might join together is counter to who we are called to be.

This outcome is sure to raise many questions for campers, families, and community members. One of the most concrete concerns is about refunds. The short answer is that all payments made for summer 2020 may be refunded in full, rolled over to summer 2021, or offered as a donation to Wanakee (partially or in full). We will reach out to registered campers about these options. This is a new process for us, and will take a few weeks to work through – thank you in advance for your patience.

Other common questions are answered in our FAQ available at www.wanakee.org/FAQ. I also invite you to view the video about this announcement on our Facebook or YouTube pages.

Jumping silhouettes at Inspiration Point

The decision to suspend summer camp programs was made in collaboration with our partners in ministry across the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, and with the support of the Bishop and Conference leadership. The Camp and Retreat Ministry Executive Board, comprised of equal members from all CRM sites, has worked diligently and collaboratively to resource and support each other as we considered changing guidelines in our unique contexts. While the decision to suspend summer programming was made by each site, the CRM Board and Conference leadership support this very difficult decision, made to ensure the safety of campers, staff, volunteers, and communities across the Conference.

Suspending camp will have serious financial consequences for Wanakee. We are so grateful for those who have already donated to Wanakee and helped to ensure that our mission will live on through and beyond this time. You can give now, or learn about NH Gives 2020 and matching opportunities at www.wanakee.org/give.

Whatever your relationship to Wanakee, there is a feeling of loss. We feel it too - Wanakee is a vital part of all our lives, and we never imagined we would see a summer without camp. We hope you will join us again for summer 2021. Our confidence that we will rise and thrive together remains strong. We will stay in touch, and are already planning new ways to realize our mission, virtually, through this summer and beyond.  Stay tuned for more information by mid-June.

We love this community, and cannot wait to welcome you home to Wanakee again soon.

Grace and Peace,

James B. Tresner, Executive Director, on behalf of Wanakee’s Board of Directors

Dear Wanakee Family -

Over 58 years, you’ve created and sustained something special at our beautiful spiritual place in the hills. From the tangible; campfires at Family camp, joyful meals in the Dining Hall, contemplative moments at Inspiration Point, peace-filled services in the Outdoor Chapel; to the intangible; enduring friendships, vivid memories, and lifelong inspiration. I love sharing it all with you.

Right now, we’re living through an unprecedented moment, filled with uncertainty. It’s easy to feel scared, helpless, or overwhelmed. How are you holding up? I’ll be honest - I’ve struggled with how to be a good family member, friend, and executive director when so many things feel upside down. Then, after a long walk, deep breath, or Zoom call with family or friends or camp staff, I remember that this pandemic does not define who we are, and it is not the end of our story.

You might be wondering - what is Wanakee doing? What’s the plan? The short answer is the same as it is in most areas of life right now: we’re figuring it out. Here’s a bit more detail—

For Now:

Staff from 2020 and years prior, as well as year-round leaders on our Board and committees, are hard at work bringing camp to you (virtually) through Wanakee From Home. Our social media is more active than ever with opportunities to engage and connect (Facebook/Instagram).

As Wanakee’s on-site caretaker, I’ll do my best to post photos and videos of our transcendent grounds - spring is a beautiful season in the Lakes Region. You’ll see summer pictures and videos to ground us back to the excitement, unbridled joy, and peace of past and future camping seasons at Wanakee.

For Later:

We are closely monitoring the local, regional, and global implications of COVID-19, and following advice from public health authorities as it pertains to Wanakee’s operations. We are examining our policies and practices related to cleaning, hygiene, camper screening, and more. We will communicate any changes with you, which may include extra health screening when you arrive at camp. All Wanakee events are cancelled until at least 5/4, and we will consult public health authorities and industry leaders before we resume Wanakee programming.

While we are planning for a wide range of contingencies, we are also continuing to marshal resources and prepare for opening day on 6/28. Staff training is scheduled to begin on 6/14, a full three months from when things took a sharp turn. Life has changed so rapidly in our country in just the past month - it is impossible to know where we will be in 74 days. The best we can do is prepare for different possibilities, and that’s what we’re doing. For the most up-to-date information, visit Wanakee’s "Camp and COVID19 FAQ”

Two things I know:

First: community is what Wanakee does best. We create bonds that sustain and connections that provide meaning, no matter who you are or where you come from.

Second: whenever this passes, and it will pass, we will need tangible, in-person community and connection more than ever.

We will need to gather and revel in the simple joys of singing and laughing and praying and listening. We will crave new memories with old friends. We will seek the magical thrill of connecting deeply with someone new, the chance to share in belly laughs around the campfire, and the opportunity to give and receive support and love in times of joy and times of sorrow with a hug, a squeezed hand, or a high five. We will be yearning for opportunities to explore our place in the world, to question and experience the sacred and the divine in ways that are authentic, personal, and connective. Wanakee is where all of that happens, and so much more.

We will continue to do our best to offer connection while physical distance sets us apart. More importantly, Wanakee will be here, ready to welcome you home, when we once again have the opportunity to revel in the simple joy of time spent in physical community. I cannot wait to share that day with you.

Grace and peace,

James B. Tresner, Executive Director

Over the weekend, two of our 2020 programs officially started running a wait list, and another event is near capacity! Here are the details:

You n' Me 1 - WAITLIST
Toddlers in Tow - space for 2 more pairs
Water, Wind, and Waves - WAITLIST for girls
Vacation Camp - one more spot for girls

If you discover an event is at capacity when you go to sign-up, please register for the Waitlist in Campbrain, and feel free to contact the office via mail@wanakee.org, 603-279-7950, or the contact form on the website. Once a camp fills, we look at our staff:camper ratio, and work to figure out whether we can move the event to a larger cabin with more beds and open up 1-2 more spots. By registering for the Waitlist online, you will have first priority if someone drops out or if we are able to add a space or two.

As of this writing, we have two times the campers signed-up today compared to this date in 2019, and four times more campers signed up compared to 2018 - incredible! Thank you for making it easier for us to plan for the summer, and we are just as excited as you are for June 28th and the first day of camp.

Learn more about a day at camp

See the 2020 summer schedule

Register for camp

Leadership and Failure – Gifts from Camp

When I reflect on the ways that Wanakee has helped shape who I am, I think about two periods – before I was an LIT and after. Why that split instead of, say, when I became a camper, staffer, or volunteer? Well, because of Leader in Training, my perspective changed. I got my first taste of being a staff member, and couldn’t wait to move to the next phase of what camp would mean to me as a young adult and beyond.

LIT 2002, Nicole seated second from the right.

Being an LIT and later serving on summer staff gave me an opportunity to truly be a leader. I was that kid at camp who got her voice taken away during team-building activities because she always had an idea for how the group could complete the task, and I was that kid who would always try to organize her classmates when working on a group project at school.

I call these things leadership, but others, when referring to a girl, might call it being bossy. I don’t think I ever earned the moniker ‘the bossy one’ at camp or at school, but if I had, I might not have developed the leadership skills I have today. I might not have become Wanakee’s summer Program Director at 21, or a Manager at a large software company at 24, or one of Wanakee’s Board Members at 25, or a Senior Manager of 30 employees in 3 countries at 29.

The 2004 Wanakee staff, Nicole’s first year

If I hadn’t had the chance to transition from being a camper to staff member, I would have missed out on having a safe place to fail – a space where an error in judgement lead not to firing, but where my supervisors gave me the chance to learn (and demonstrate) responsibility and accountability. I would have missed out on an opportunity to manage crises and to learn what not to do in the future. And yes, I would have missed the opportunity to be hurt by friends (and to hurt some) and to practice forgiveness in supportive community.

According to Jedi Master Yoda, “The greatest teacher, failure is.” At Wanakee, I have failed many times – failed to pass a swimming level, failed to complete the high ropes course, failed to get the job I wanted (twice), failed to engage enough with the staff when I was Program Director. But I’ve also had the chance to learn from those failures and reach different outcomes. Before my last summer as I camper, I had passed every swimming level and completed every element on the high ropes course; after two summers on staff, I earned a job I preferred; and although I learned my lesson about staff engagement only after I was Program Director, I have made an impact on staff as a volunteer counselor and director and Program Committee and Board member, as a leader, some might say.

Wanakee’s 2005 LITs, lead by counselor Nicole

The lessons to try new things, to embrace failure for growth, to not be afraid to be a leader are all things I got from working at Wanakee. I could not have transitioned into leadership roles in my professional career without developing those skills at camp. I am so grateful for my time on summer staff and even more so for the opportunity to serve as a volunteer at Wanakee, where I continue to grow in my leadership skills in an encouraging community.

I look forward to seeing you at camp!

Grace and Peace,

Nicole Richards, Chair, Wanakee Board of Directors

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Nicole joined Wanakee’s Board of Directors in 2011, and has served as chair since 2017. Since her last year on staff in 2008, Nicole has volunteered at Wanakee’s Survival, Ultimate Survival, and Family Camp programs, and spent time as a guest trainer for the summer staff. She has also served on the Program Committee, including as committee chair.

We hope to share a wider range of blog-style posts from different voices in the Wanakee community. If you have a story or perspective related to camp that you’d like to share, drop us an email! mail@wanakee.org