We Need Our Camp Community
Dear GRP Campers, Families, Alumni, and Community
One of Green River Preserve’s defining qualities is its close-knit and supportive community thanks to each of you. Now, more than ever, we need connection and to make relationships and community a priority. Our founder, Sandy Schenck, had this vision over 30 years ago when he endeavored to create Green River Preserve. He envisioned a place where children and adults could slow down and learn together, side by side, in the outdoors. He created a place where time was not the driver but curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, and discovery set the boundaries. GRP quickly became a place where we could truly be “my best me” and we could all inspire the next generation of environmental stewards through a joyful connection to nature.
Like so many others, the last month for GRP has been rough to say the least. We cancelled two months of our spring SEE and K.A.L.E. school programs, retracted contracts on many seasonal employees, and combed through our budget to cut expenses. Last week, we applied for the Paycheck Protection Program loan (PPP) in hopes of being able to maintain our administrative staff salaries while we determine how best to proceed this summer. We received notice from our bank this morning that our application was denied as they had simply run out of funds.
As of today, we are still planning to run camp for 2020; many other camps in North Carolina are preparing to do the same. However, the health of our campers and staff remain our highest priority and we realize that many decisions affecting summer camp operations simply cannot be made at this time. In light of these rapidly evolving variables, I want to share what losing a season of camp would mean for GRP and our community.
To put it frankly, we are not in a financial place to withstand the revenue loss without serious consequences. In our decade as directors, we have worked incredibly hard to pay down debt and build GRP as a sustainable and resilient business. We were almost there. The potential loss of an entire year of income due to the pandemic is truly heartbreaking and difficult to digest.
In the face of this looming uncertainty, we hold on resolutely to our mission - to provide a challenging and nurturing learning experience and inspire a deep appreciation of interconnectedness, ecological respect, and the joy of living. We know our families share a belief in that mission. We are committed to delivering this mission to our campers with your support.
We know that GRP is not doing frontline work. We are not curing illnesses, housing the homeless, or mitigating food disparity; but, we bring hope, connection, and joy to the GRP community each summer. In 2019, we educated 2,855 campers and take seriously our responsibility as leaders in environmental education. Last fall, we began a strategic planning process to hone our purpose and establish goals for the next five years. The first step of this process was to ask our camper parents, “Why do you send your children to camp?” Parent after parent named our VALUES at the top of their list. Our families believe in what we believe in.
Coronavirus has changed nearly every facet of our lives, but our values are still at the heart of each decision we face during this difficult time. With your help, GRP can still be this amazing place of community, values, land, and legacy. Any donation from each of our 9,000+ alumni and camper families would keep our campfire roaring, our core administrative staff from being furloughed, and our basic operations flowing.
At GRP, we remain committed to creating joyful connections with nature and using those experiences as tools to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. We know this to be a partnership between family, campers, alumni and community. We are asking you for help in this critical time for Green River Preserve. We appreciate your time and consideration and look forward to your generous response.
Always Seek The Joy, Anne & Steve, Directors
