By Adam Kaplan
Camp Nebagamon has many traditions that are worthy of recognition and pride: spaghetti on the first night of camp, Paul Bunyan Day, Wednesday afternoon trips to the Dairy Queen, our always moving and poignant Keylog Ceremony every Sunday night at Council Fire, and many more. We Nebagamites (not sure that is the appropriate term!) are creatures of habit.
An often overlooked yet absolutely defining tradition within the Nebagamon community is the tradition of giving that the camp family has nurtured for many years. Nebagamon and the camp family have a remarkable track record for generosity. The most obvious example of this is the fact that we actually pay our staff a salary to get to come up to camp and play with kids for an entire summer! What could possibly be more generous than to actually give someone money to spend a summer in paradise!?!? (Ok….a bit of a stretch I know….but, after all, this is the summer staff recruiting season!).
This tradition of giving also manifests itself in the two charitable organizations most prominent in our community, The Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund and Camperships for Nebagamon. Occasionally, there is some confusion about the two organizations so I thought I would take some time this month to talk about both of them.
In 1948, Muggs and Janet Lorber founded the Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund (CNSF). The fund is intended to provide money and scholarships to agency camps around the country. Whether it be a camp for families in financial need, a camp for children with emotional struggles, or a camp for kids with physical challenges, the Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund has been doing this great work for over nearly three quarters of a century! Historically speaking, one of the more special facets of CNSF is the focus that has been placed on inviting current campers to participate. Every summer, just outside the Big House, we erect and tarp a big board that explains not only what CNSF does, but different ways in which our campers can contribute to make a difference in the lives of other children. Whether by earning money raking leaves, contributing some of their allowance, or creating their own fund drives, campers are shown that THEY can participate in Nebagamon’s culture of giving.
The second charitable organization that is important to the camp family is called Camperships for Nebagamon (CFN). Founded in 1995, CFN has raised well a tremendous amount of money with the sole purpose of sending kids to Nebagamon, and other independent camps like Nebagamon, who would not otherwise be able to attend. To date, over two hundred kids have received some sort of scholarship from CFN. There are several great aspects of this scholarship fund. Most obviously, the boys that come to camp on a scholarship benefit tremendously from their experience. Children who normally would never have gotten a chance to experience the growth and magic of Nebagamon (or Nebagamon-esque) summers are given that opportunity. Secondly, the first-year scholarship comes with an assurance that, if everything goes well, the scholarship dollars will follow the boy through the entirety of his years at camp. It allows for a complete experience. Third, this continued support of a camper also makes it more likely that he will then return and share more of himself as a staff member in the future. This completes the giving cycle.
Finally, let us not overlook the positive impact the CFN scholarship program has on the rest of the camp community. The scholarship is not intended simply to improve the life of the individual recipient of the scholarship. The scholarship is intended to improve the camp experience for everyone at camp. I cannot tell you how much I believe camp as a whole has benefited from the addition of scholarship campers throughout the years. These campers enrich, broaden, and add to our family in so many ways. There can be little doubt that Camp Nebagamon is a better place because of Camperships for Nebagamon and the kids that CFN has helped send to us since 1995.
Oftentimes folks don’t give camps enough credit for the lessons they teach and the gifts that they deliver. In this month of giving, I think it is appropriate to acknowledge, appreciate, and even consider giving to one (or both!) of these truly special organizations that are genuinely making a difference in the lives of children through camping….
Happy Holidays all…