It’s never too early, to start planning for DuBois Center’s annual Fall Festival! Save the date for Sunday, October 6, 2019 and consider how you and your church might be involved.
Sharing this logo is a great way to start. Save it now and use it on your website, in PowerPoints, newsletters and bulletins.
If you or your church is interested in volunteering at the event, please contact the office at dcinfo@DuBoisCenter.org or 618-787-2202.
Fall is just around the corner! School, sports, band, clubs and church programs are all picking up steam, making family time even more difficult to find.
You are invited to breathe, slow down and spend quality time with the girls and women in your life at DuBois Center’s annual Mother-Daughter Retreat, which will take place on Oct. 13 – 15 this year. Engaging activities, inspiring God time, great fellowship, meals without cooking – all are part of this weekend escape. Participate in everything or choose a more relaxed weekend with board games, knitting and leisurely strolls. Either way, the focus of this retreat is on building relationships and making memories with loved ones.
All generations and groupings are welcome: mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters, aunts and nieces. Save the date – more information will be available soon!
Three Summer Camp Sundays down – three to go. A special thanks to the 16 volunteers who have already stepped up to greet and welcome campers and parents on the opening days of camp sessions – Bre Beisiegel, Norma Borgmann, Aaron Fuchs, Becky Harrison, Angie Hausman, Audrey Hicks, Leah Juenger, Wendy Juenger, Sandy & Scott Kuether, Arline Magee, Cara Magee Johnston, Todd Mushaney, Jason Petry and Joe & Kara Schmid. Many hail from local Illinois South Conference congregations; others are “friends” of DuBois Center. UCC churches represented include Christ – Dupo, St. Paul – Columbia, St. Paul’s – Freeburg, St. Paul – Lebanon, St. Paul – Waterloo, St. Peter’s – Centralia.
We still need volunteers for the remaining Camp Sundays – July 9, 16 and 23. On these Sundays, scores of campers will arrive at DuBois Center eager and excited to begin their time at camp. A minimum of 12 volunteers each of these Sundays, plus summer staff, are needed to make the check-in process run smoothly! Volunteers assist with greeting, parking, the camp store, registration, health screenings, dock duty and people-moving. They arrive by 1:15 pm and are done by 4 pm. Please consider joining our Sunday Welcome Team on one or more check-in days. You are invited to wear a church t-shirt and show your spirit. Even consider bringing a team from your church! Let us know in advance when you can help; contact the DuBois Center office at dcinfo@DuBoisCenter.org or 618-787-2202
Beautiful quilts are an integral part of DuBois Center’s annual Fall Festival. Each year, lovingly crafted treasures are donated for the quilt drawing. Our first quilt of the season has been donated and it’s beautiful! This charming star pattern quilt is twin-sized (66″ x 86″), hand-pieced and quilted. It was created and donated by Sarah Moore, a member at Bethel UCC in Cahokia. This is Sarah’s second Fall Festival quilt.
If you or your group would like to donate a quilt for this year’s drawing, contact Shirley at dcinfo@DuBoisCenter.org or 618-787-2202. Ideally, the second quilt would be queen-sized. Thanks for your support!
After traveling hundreds of miles, members of the DuBois Center equestrian team found a horse that seems to be a perfect fit for our program. They are excited to introduce the newest member of the DuBois Center herd – Lexi! She is a seven year-old Haflinger who stands 14 hands tall. She is shorter than many of our horses, but very sturdy, which makes her an ideal ride for a variety of campers and guests.
Volunteers spent the last two weekends working with her in preparation for summer – introducing her to the herd, riding the trails and getting her settled in the Deer Run pasture for a week with her new friends. By all accounts, Lexi is a gentle, easy-going horse who is quick to make new friends. She already seems like “just one of the herd” – which is often not the case initially for new horses.
NOTE: After recent retirements, the equestrian team is still looking for one more “perfect fit” to round out the herd. If you have any recommendations, contact Scott Kuether at sekuether21@gmail.com.
Welcome Laura Renken to the 2017 summer staff team! Laura hails from Hamel, Illinois and is a member of Salem UCC in Alhambra, where she sings in the praise team choir. She has also served as a Vacation Bible School volunteer for at least the last 5 years. Laura attended summer camp at DuBois Center for a number of years. She completed our Counselors in Training (CIT) Program in 2014 and last summer volunteered as a cabin counselor.
When not at camp, Laura is student at Eastern Illinois University where she is studying elementary education. She also works at the front desk of her dorm. Her favorites include: smell – spearmint, color – sky blue, food – tacos, and she loves to sing.
Her favorite childhood memories include summers swimming at her grandparents’ and coming to camp. “I loved coming to Camp DuBois growing up, and it was always a dream of mine to work here when I got older. I always felt that this was a place of love and acceptance where I could really be myself. I wanted to have the opportunity to make Camp DuBois that place for other people as well. I am excited to make memories with everyone and to be a part of such a loving community. I am excited to get to know my campers and to play games and sing songs. I am excited that God has granted me the opportunity to work in a place that means so much to me.”
April 22 is Earth Day! What better way to celebrate than with a Service Saturday at DuBois Center? Get outside with family and friends and help prepare this sacred space to welcome hundreds of campers and guests this spring and summer. Paint, prune, build, rake, clean, stack; there will be projects for volunteers of varied ages and abilities. If you or your group has a special skill, let us know ahead of time and we can plan a project for you!
We’ll gather between 8:30 am and 8:45 am, and finish up around 4 p.m. Lunch is provided. Because we try to plan projects based on the specialized skills our volunteers bring, please RSVP by Monday, April 17. To register, please use this form, call 618-787-2202, or email us at dcinfo@DuBoisCenter.org. Supplies for general projects will be provided, but if you have specialized or professional tools/ equipment, please bring them along! See the Service Saturday flyer for more information.
Remember – if this date doesn’t work for you or your group, call the office to schedule your own work day (or even a work week or part-week!). Work days can also be scheduled as part of a larger retreat.