Praise for Our Summer Staff’s Efforts

Posted on July 8, 2021 by DuBois Office — No Comments ↓

When you become a part of a new organization, it is often difficult to determine what the “backbone” of support for that organization is. Often, the backbone shifts depending on the situation. In an unprecedented time, a small but mighty team of 13 individuals said, “I’m in!” to making summer camp happen for our campers this year. Faced with the challenge of being about 7 staff members too short, and many other challenges that come with reopening a facility after almost two years, they have maintained incredible attitudes, displayed remarkable flexibility, and perhaps most importantly, displayed God’s Kindness, Love, and Inclusion to the youth of our churches and area.

Joined by many volunteers, they have served over 200 youth at our camps, helped secure new business by extending welcome and kindness to guest groups on site, and even done many manual labor tasks around the property as needed. They have done this all while following our guidelines to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread at our facility and helping keep our campers and their families safe. If you know someone who is on our 2021 summer staff or has given a week of their time to volunteer and assist us in pulling off this unprecedented summer, please send them your gratitude! They have taught me many lessons this summer in having grace under pressure and living into our most flexible natures. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Photo shows counselors from left to right Kermit (aka Leah Hill), SharkBait (aka Ryan Goetter), and Minnow (aka Bailey Avise-Rouse). They are shoveling sawdust to replace dirty sawdust which had been removed from the barn stalls.

Blessings,

Hayley Elliott, Acting Director of Outdoor Ministries

Volunteers needed – July 11 – 16

Posted on July 6, 2021 by DuBois Office — 4 Comments ↓

We are still in need of a few more volunteers to make our summer at camp complete! For July 11 – 16, we need six female volunteers and three male volunteers to counsel. We are expecting an overly full house of campers next week, which is exciting but cannot happen without these additional volunteers. Volunteer counselors must be 18 or older!

If you or someone you know is interested in giving back to the youth of our churches and our region, please fill out our volunteer application, found here, and email it directly to Hayley at director@duboiscenter.org.

We appreciate your support in our summer like no other!

An Excellent Start – Volunteers Still Needed

Posted on June 30, 2021 by DuBois Office — 1 Comment ↓

Already it has been a fabulous summer at DuBois Center. After a complete shutdown last summer, we all pulled together to be able to give over 200 children and youth the “DuBois experience” through summer camps. This would not have been possible without the extra networking support we received from you in regards to staffing for the summer season. While we have had enough staff to cover all of the responsibilities thus far, as we look to the remaining camps and retreats we will offer in the weeks ahead, we are still in need of additional volunteers to enhance the experience of our campers and guests.

Specifically, we would like to have some more volunteer counselors (both male and female) for July 11th through July 17th. We would also like to have a few more lifeguards for July 23rd through July 31st. Extra volunteers would allow certain staff and counselors to get more breaks than they have had. It would also alleviate the incredible workload of our new Director, Hayley Elliott, who has jumped in and moved mountains to make sure we were able to open the camp this summer and offer the life-changing camp experience to so many. Please help us share the word that these volunteers are still needed. All persons must be at least 18 years old for these positions.

For all who are interested in helping DuBois Center continue to be a place of extravagant welcome for all of God’s children, please reach out directly to Hayley Elliot at director@duboiscenter.org or call or text Hayley on her direct line at 828-707-4022.

Again thank you for your continued support of DuBois Center.
Rev. Shana Johnson, ISC Conference Minister

What Pride Month and Camp Have in Common

Posted on June 15, 2021 by DuBois Office — No Comments ↓

Every year in June, we celebrate Pride month, a special time to recognize the lives, achievements, and history of the LGBTQIA+ community. I first attended a pride event in 2014, when I was not quite “out of the closet” and was longing for a place to be included – a theme we explore in our summer camp curriculum “This is Our Prayer”. What I found at this event was shocking to me – I learned that I was part of a community that was celebrating their wholeness, accepting people wherever they were on their journeys, and telling the world that they would no longer be treated as second class citizens simply for being who they were created to be. For many years, I had struggled with a cognitive misperception of Pride, believing fully that “pride goes before the fall”. What I have learned in my continued journey as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community is that the Pride we celebrate has nothing to do with arrogance, but instead is about rejecting the shame that many of us were taught to feel about the people that we are. Pride is about celebrating our stories, and the immovability of our community.

At my first pride event, I realized that feeling of acceptance for being exactly who I am had been rare in my life up until that point, but that the first place I had ever felt it was summer camp. Camp allows kids the space to bring their goofy, whole selves to every activity, conversation, and cabin. In a world that can sometimes shame kids for their curiosity and behavior that does not conform to a societal “norm”, camp is a place where we celebrate each other’s quirkiness.

I am forever grateful that I stumbled into that first pride event in 2014, and that I found open and affirming churches shortly thereafter with whom to attend Pride events every year since. I am also grateful to spend Pride month in 2021 at DuBois Center, celebrating every camper that comes through our gate.

At DuBois Center, we are working each day to build a more comprehensively inclusive environment. From frank conversations including subjects from the way things have been named in the past that may create exclusion to planning for a busy Rainbow Camp on August 7, we are looking forward to leveling up our inclusive practices.

I am looking forward to joining you all in the journey toward celebrating the wholeness of God’s human creations!

Hayley Elliott, Acting Director.

Camp Names

Posted on June 10, 2021 by DuBois Office — No Comments ↓

When we are born, our parents give us the name that they see for us. Sometimes, those names are passed down through a family. Sometimes, it is the gut feeling they have. For my family, my parents workshopped the name “Hannah” for me throughout my parents’ pregnancy, and when I was born, they decided to go with “Hayley” instead, thinking that it fit a little better of who I was becoming before their eyes.

For some of us, the name and identity we were assigned at birth do not sit well as we begin to develop, so we choose a different name. For some of us, we choose to take or hyphenate our spouses’ name upon marriage. All in all, it is not very often that we engage in the practice of choosing our own names.

At camp, our staff go through a renaming process, where each gets to live into a chosen name. Some of them come from legends and jokes; some of them come from hobbies and interests; and some of them choose us. For example, I became “StingRey” as I was first stung by a bee at an open house event at DuBois Center. I think stingrays are cool animals, and Rey from Star Wars is one of my favorite movie characters of all time.

We welcome Fog, Nala, Kermit, Bubbles, Ringo, Thunder, Gizmo, and Lemon to our counselor team this summer, and welcome Sharkbait, Simba, Mango, and Kiwi to our leadership team!

Campers are here!

Posted on June 8, 2021 by DuBois Office — No Comments ↓

This week, we welcome Just You and Me, Horsin’ Around, and Quest to DuBois Center! Campers will engage in horse activities, Blast, fun on the water, archery, creek walks, and more while they spend their week here. We are actively working to make sure our campers enjoy a safe, fun summer!

We still have some slots available for campers to enjoy DuBois Center this summer, so register online today!

Reflections on New Things

Posted on June 4, 2021 by DuBois Office — No Comments ↓

If you had told me a few months ago that in the span of about seven weeks I would begin a new job and jump through what felt like one million hoops to re-open a camp that had been closed due to our global pandemic, I am quite certain I would not have believed you.

It is not that I shy away from hard work or that I do not see its value. It is that I am not often one to sacrifice what is safe and familiar for what is risky and difficult. In my life, I have been an example of what to do, and what not to do, when God calls you to a new thing. What I have learned in the last seven weeks, as I sprinted toward the “finish line” of being legally allowed to open camp this summer, has been that sometimes what we are called to do and be in our world does not come easily.

As we successfully transition into our new summer dynamic, I encourage all to ask what it is that God has called you out of your state of familiarity to do. I have personally always found the end goal to be worth the risk.

I hope to see you this summer at DuBois Center, and that you and your family enjoy God’s abundant love this summer! – Hayley Elliott, Acting Director of Outdoor Ministry

Summer staff has arrived!

Posted on June 2, 2021 by DuBois Office — No Comments ↓

On May 26, our summer staff began staff training at DuBois Center. We have been diligently cleaning the property, team building, readying the waterfront, and training on diversity, group development, and first aid scenarios. We can’t wait to welcome you back to DuBois Center starting Sunday, June 6! Camp names have been chosen, cabins assigned, and mattresses cleaned. We will see you this summer at DuBois Center!

Registration is open!

Posted on June 1, 2021 by DuBois Office — No Comments ↓

We still have room in many of our early camps for your campers of many ages to join us! While many of our camps are now full, we still have room for your campers in Settler, X-Plore, Splash, Trail Mix, Nature’s Lab, Saddle ‘Em Up, and other camps!

Scholarships are available on a first come, first served basis through our registrar’s office at 618-357-1809 or jriechmann@iscucc.org.

We hope to see you this summer at DuBois Center!

The Amazing People of Illinois South Conference…

Posted on May 28, 2021 by DuBois Office — No Comments ↓

On Friday, May 20th, a group of amazing Illinois South Conference people answered the call to install new ridge vents on 10 cabins on the rustic side of camp. These roof vents will improve the air circulation and air quality in the cabins for campers coming for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to Roger Harris, Belleville St. Paul UCC; David Shanks, Cahokia Bethel UCC; and Judy Doerr, Marvin Doerr, Cliff Goodfellow, Larry Godare, Rusty Portell, Dupo Christ UCC. DuBois Center appreciates your quick efforts prior to opening the camp to visitors.

summer camp