Send Us Your Sweet Treats!

Cookies! Cakes! Pies! Breads! Snack Mixes! The Sweet Shoppe at Fall Festival is still in need of donations. Each dollar raised in this area goes directly to scholarships – helping children and youth from families struggling financially to attend camp. This team is doing a great job, but they need YOUR help! So apron up and bake on!

For more information, check out and share this flyer. Items may be brought directly to DuBois Center on Saturday, Oct 5 or by 10 am on Oct 6. Need more info or assistance with delivery? Text/call Kristen at 618-567-6863 or Melissa at 314-440-6646, or connect with Angie at angiezapp1@gmail.com or 618-599-9277.

It’s Quilt Time!

The clock is ticking…the annual DuBois Center Fall Festival is just one month away and so is the much-anticipated Quilt Drawing!
This year, two beautiful and unique quilts have been donated. Both are queen-size. One is a stunning block pattern in steel blue and tan – elaborate machine stitching makes the back side nearly as beautiful as the front. The second quilt could have come right out of an elegant log cabin in the Southwest.
With these works of art, we hope to raise a minimum of $2,000. You can help by spreading the word!
A flyer with pictures is available to assist. You are also invited to sell tickets and display one or more of the quilts at your church on a Sunday morning or during a special event. Contact Carol Shanks at shanks@htc.net or 618-920-2904 to reserve a quilt.
Thank you for your support of DuBois Center! Join us at Fall Festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 6 to see who wins the quilts!
Quilt 2

Office & Event Coordinator Position Available

Enjoy connecting with people and the outdoors? Fluent in computer-speak? Looking for a position that is more than just a job? DuBois Center is seeking an Office & Event Coordinator.

This is a permanent, part-time position – the purpose of which is to organize, coordinate and implement office and event functions at DuBois Center. This includes camper family and guest relations, data management (financial, camper, guest group and employee), assistance with marketing efforts and occasional guest group hosting.

The person filling this position will be an integral part of the ISCUCC staff and the DuBois Center team. To apply, please submit a resume and cover letter to DuBois Center via email at dcinfo@DuBoisCenter.org. Click here for the full position description.

Thank You to our Volunteer Chaplains!

In June and July, we served over 400 young people in camps sponsored by the Illinois South Conference. It was an amazing summer and we are especially thankful for all the volunteer chaplains that helped make the PEACE WORKS theme come alive for our campers.
It was especially fun to see “Messy Church” techniques at play at camp this summer. Chaplains led BLAST (Bible Learning and Spirit Time), prepared vespers and provided an amazing ministry of presence – walking with our campers and staff throughout each week.
Our team was quite an eclectic bunch. Some are ordained ministers, one an in-care student. Some are school teachers, some are former campers and summer staff members. Some are retired, and some took time off work to serve with us.
Thanks so much to all the 2019 volunteer summer camp chaplains and the churches that supported their efforts. They truly had a significant impact on the faith lives of our campers and staff!:
Nicole Avise-Rouse – Epiphany UCC, St. Louis & St. Paul UCC, Waterloo
Craig Bielke – St. Paul UCC, Belleville
Rev. Katie Jo Bielke – St. John UCC, Collinsville
Joan Daab – St. Paul UCC, Columbia
Rev. Christy Eckert – St. John UCC, Trenton      
Audrey Hicks – St. Paul UCC, Waterloo
Rev. John Holst – Zion UCC, Marion
Rev. Todd Mushaney – Christ UCC, Dupo
Rev. Patrick Poole – St. John UCC, Maeystown & Zion UCC, St. Joe, Waterloo
Alaina Scherle – St. Paul UCC, Waterloo

Camp Lost & Found

Gone are the days when every mother meticulously sewed printed labels into her child’s camp gear and school clothes. Good for moms, not so good for lost and found!

Every summer, a mountain of towels, socks, shorts and water bottles accumulates at DuBois Center. This year was no different. Much of our 2019 collection has already been returned, but even more is waiting to go home. If you or your camper, or someone you know, lost something at camp – let us know. Send an email to dcinfo@DuBoisCenter.org with a detailed description and we’ll check the boxes and bags in the office. Give us a week or two to check and get back to you!

Unclaimed items will be held until September 10 and are then donated to charitable organizations.

Camp Counselor – So Much More than ‘Just a Summer Job’

They’re off – some to school, some on family vacations or traveling with friends, some back home to another country. Most barely had time to eat, sleep and do laundry before heading off on their next adventure. In their wake, DuBois Center is now a much quieter place. We will miss all the energy and enthusiasm, but mostly we will miss their hearts and spirit.
It’s always hard to explain the ethos, or “magic,” of camp to those who have not experienced it, but Georgia, better known as Croc, does a nice job of describing it in a recent Facebook post:
“Earlier this year I applied for a job at a summer camp… and while I was nervous about spending my summer away from home and having almost no free time, I’m so glad I made the decision to work here. The amount of love that this small camp has to offer is incredible. The people I worked with are some of the most loving and caring people I’ve ever met. I am so grateful that God guided me in this direction and I will always be thankful for the experience this summer offered me. DuBois Center: you will always hold a special place in my heart.️ Also, I’d like to give an individual shoutout to my OCD, V8 loving, horse crazy, barn chore fanatic friend, Catie Goetter. Working in the barn with you this summer was so much fun and I’m so glad I had you by my side the whole time. Even though we’re polar opposites and definitely tested each other’s patience a few times, I appreciate you and love you lots.”
May God bless them all on their journeys!

Help Us Spread the Word about Fall Festival

Mark your calendar and start spreading the word! Fall Festival is more than just a fundraising event: it’s a FRIEND-RAISING event. DuBois Center should not be southern Illinois’ best kept secret, but many tell us it is. Your help is needed to introduce the Center and our programs to your church family and community. We hear over and over again that people first encounter DuBois Center at a Fall Festival. With the music and crafters, great food and fun family and kid-friendly activities – it’s a great introduction.

There are lots of ways to help. Download the logo and share it on your website and Facebook page; use it in your bulletins and newsletters. Like us on Facebook and share our posts. Print, post, insert and share Fall Festival flyers; print this one in color or this one in black & white. And consider… who can I introduce to DuBois Center this October?

New Life and Firm Foundation

St. Paul’s UCC in Freeburg has a unique approach to mission work, one aspect of which is a rotating two-year commitment to study, prayer and service in partnership with DuBois Center, Hoyleton Youth & Family Services and Kindercottage. In 2019 and 2020, DuBois Center is again blessed to be the focus of their energy.
Six years ago, the congregation designed and built the new chapel in main camp and made a significant donation towards the new docks. This time around, they have taken on a variety of projects – including the renovation of the three Deer Run cabins.
Over the coming months, in collaboration with Green DuBois, these buildings will be transformed into an environmental education library and resource center, a nature blind for observing and photographing wildlife, and a day-use retreat space. First on the list – shore up the building foundations, then double the size of the decks, next upgrade the electric.
The last two Saturdays, teams from St. Paul’s have been hard at work – despite the heat. Most of the foundation work is complete and the decks are taking shape. Everything looks amazing! THANKS so much to St. Paul’s for all their hard work and support. They are truly breathing new life into the Deer Run cabins!

Rainbow Camp Registration Deadline is July 26!

The 5th Annual Rainbow Camp will be held at DuBois Center on Saturday, Aug 10.  It’s a full day of fun in community, where everyone is recognized as a whole child of God. Anyone can attend, regardless of denomination, and all ages are welcome. Rainbow Camp is for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer singles, couples and families. Straight allies are welcome, too!

See the informational flyer for more details. To register online, click here.

Volunteer Spotlight – Week 3

We have been blessed all summer with wonderful volunteer chaplains and nurses. Week #3 was no exception!

Donna Asbridge, RN from St. Paul’s UCC in Freeburg spends most of her summer at DuBois Center caring for the health of our campers, as well as sharing her musical and pastoral skills. Rev. Katie Jo Bielke is Associate Pastor for St. John UCC in Collinsville. Nothing slows her down… even being pregnant! She returned from a youth mission trip and a day or two later headed to camp. She has a wonderful way of engaging with campers and sharing God’s message in relevant ways. For the second summer, Katie Jo shared chaplain duties with Craig, her husband who has a long history in church camping. He loves fishing and had an especially good time mentoring the little guys attending “Boy Meets Camp.” And baby? Well, baby is now well-versed in camp life and will hopefully be attending “Just You & Me Camp” in about five years!