LUM Camp – Fun, Lively & Live-Giving
Message from Wes Tillett, LUM Executive Director
“Mr. Wessssss!!!” The 3rd Grader spotted me from across the room and ran to hug me. She was one of the LUM Campers from last summer. When she saw me, she saw a familiar face from her fun, lively, and life-giving week at LUM Camp. She saw me as someone safe, as someone fun, as someone who had gone down the zip line, led silly songs before and after meals, and been the unlucky “winner” of a shaving cream “award” (see photo on the next page). All the joyful memories of LUM Camp seemed to be rushing through her beaming face. “How long until LUM Camp? Will you be there?” she asked excitedly.
I smiled and replied, “It’s the last week of July. And, yes, I’ll be there. I can’t wait!”
I love LUM Camp. LUM Camp is a key component of the year-round LUM Youth Programs (which also include the After School Program and the 5th Quarter Summer Learning Program). LUM Campers get to swim, ride horses, enjoy arts and crafts, paddle canoes, attend morning chapel, climb walls, zip-line, eat delicious snacks and meals, participate in educational activities, and flourish in the care of diverse and nurturing counselors. It’s one of the premiere camp experiences available to our local children. And it’s only possible because of you.
The children at LUM Camp come from families served throughout the year by Lafayette Urban Ministry. We ask the campers’ parents to pay $5 per child (while the actual cost is more than $300 per camper), and ask our generous donors to cover the rest.
It gives me joy to know that LUM Camp provides 84 local boys and girls (ages 8, 9, and 10) with a top-notch, weeklong, overnight camp. And that joy only grows when I see the benefits of LUM Camp lasting far beyond that one week. For people such as Marlena Edmondson (the current LUM Camp director who attended LUM Camp as a child) and many others, LUM Camp enhances the trajectory of their entire lives. Scientific research demonstrates that a week of camp has remarkable benefits for campers in terms of intellectual curiosity, social skills, motor skills, positive values, spirituality, and overall positive identity. Plus there is the sheer fun and adventure of a week of camp. These are some of the many reasons why LUM has hosted a summer camp every year since the 1960’s.
LUM is eager to host LUM Camp once again this July 23-26 at the outstanding Hanging Rock Christian Camp in Warren County, Indiana. I can’t wait to see the joy on more faces and the transformation in the lives of more of our local children.
But we need your help to make LUM Camp a reality. Would you please consider a gift to support the LUM Youth Programs and send a child to LUM Camp? Your contribution will help pay for a child’s transportation, room and board, food, camp activities, educational programs, and supplies.
- $300 = sponsor 1 LUM camper
- $600 = sponsor 2 LUM campers
- $150 = ½ LUM Camp sponsorship
- Any amount will support LUM Youth Programs
I know of at least two people who are super excited for LUM Camp this July… that 3rd Grader and me. I know there are another 83 children who will jump at the chance to experience LUM Camp, and reap the benefits of that experience for the rest of their lives. With so many local children eagerly awaiting their chance to attend LUM Camp, would you please invest in both their short-term fun and their long-term life skills by offering them the gift of LUM Camp?
With gratitude,
Wes Tillett, LUM Executive Director
P.S. Because LUM asks parents to pay only $5/camper, we need supporters to help cover the rest. Please contribute online at LUMserve.org/donate.