Birchwood Camp Volunteer Weekend: May 18-20, 2012

This all‐ages camp will give you the opportunity to play around the grounds and on the lake, enjoy the outdoors with your family & friends, and even introduce young children to the camping experience. On Saturday we will ask everyone to volunteer several hours around the camp—helping to “de‐winterize” the camp grounds and get the camp ready for the busy summer season. We’ll have a variety of jobs that are suitable for every age and skill level. Because you are helping us by volunteering around camp, the fee for the event just helps us cover the cost of providing you with delicious home cooked meals! When you are done volunteering your time with us, you are free to “play” and relax around camp with family and friends. This will be a very relaxed retreat, with very little planned programming and plenty of time to volunteer or relax as you see fit!

Details & Schedule

Check‐in begins at the Main Lodge on Friday, May 18 at 7:00 PM. Departure time on Sunday, May 20 is 9:00 AM. Muscular Dystrophy Association is beginning their week‐long camp later on Sunday, so it is very important that everyone is ready to go and cleaned up on Sunday morning.

Please eat before you arrive Friday night ; we’ll provide snacks on Friday night thru breakfast on Sunday. Our cook, Berneita, is great at working with a variety of food allergies and dietary needs if she know about them in advance.

What to Bring

The heated facilities include log cabins, a centralized bathroom & shower house, and the Main Lodge for eating & meeting. We provide mattresses on all the beds, you’ll need to bring the bedding (see below).

Please leave pets, alcohol, and weapons at home.

Please bring the following: Sleeping Bag • Pillow • Flashlight • Toiletries • Towels/Washcloths •Work Clothes and Sturdy Shoes for Saturday Volunteer Time• Warm Clothes for Outside • Puzzles and Board Games • Outdoor Recreation Equipment • Water bottle •Cameras • Musical Instruments • Comfy cotton clothing for use in our Sweat Lodge (this option will be available to adults & older teens if there is any interest).

Click here to register for this event (A $20 late fee per family applies after May 14). Please note: you need to fill out a registration form for each member of your family that is attending. Parents should select “I am legal guardian” when registering themselves for this event.

Only free on Saturday? We welcome your help during our volunteer time Saturday morning (approximately 9am-1pm). Email our camp manager if you can help on Saturday.

Join us for this great event on May 12! We had so much fun at our first 5k last year that we decided to do it again in 2012. We’ve added a 1 mile run/walk for those who want to have a more leisurely experience. We’ll also have an open house & campfire lunch afterwards– we hope you’ll join us for all or part of this Birchwood Camp event.

9am:  Registration & bib pick up in Fireweed Hall

Add $5 to the prices below for day of race registrations. You can preregister below and save yourself  a few bucks. 

10am: 5k Trail Race & 1 mile Fun Run/ Walk

5k entry fees: Adults $20, Children $10, Families $40

Register for the Birchwood 5k Race

Fun run entry fees: Adults $10, Children $5, Families $20

Register for the 1 mile Fun Run/ Walk

Military discounts available. Sorry, there will be no refunds if you preregister and can’t make it — consider it a donation!

TRAIL REPORT (5/5/12): Spring conditions exist on the trails, with slush, snow, mud and some standing water. We recommend wearing wool socks and bringing a change of shoes/socks for post race. We’re hoping for sunshine all week to help dry things up, but we’ll have fun either way!

11am: Race Award Ceremony

11am – 1pm: Open House

Join us for Hot dogs and S’mores around the campfire and tours of the cabins & grounds for those new to Birchwood.

12:15pm: “Floating on Faith” Duct Tape Boat Race!!

That’s right– boats made only of card board and duct tape, floating on Psalm Lake.

The Rules: Materials are limited to cardboard and duct tape only; you must provide the cardboard and duct tape for your team’s boat. You can use a real paddle and can have an unlimited number of paddlers. PFDs are required (Birchwood Camp has PFDs and paddles you can use). The course will be a short loop– 50-100 yards total. All the boat will start together from the shore by the fire circle.  A lifeguard will be present.

The winning team will get a  free night in Caribou Cabin and Cabin 6 for up to 20 guests. No food service is included, and of course it will be subject to availability.

The open house is a free event and a great way to introduce friends & young children to Birchwood Camp!

We are extremely grateful for all those who made a gift Birchwood Camp through this great program during our first year. The unofficial figures show that Alaskans donated $3550 to Birchwood Camp through Pick Click Give… WOW!!! The State of Alaska will release the official information to us in October, and we’ll have the opportunity to recognize all of you who gave so generously! Thank you in advance for supporting Birchwood Camp’s mission of building community through summer camps, retreat space, nature exposure and experiential learning. 

April 3, 2012

Contact:  Cassandra Stalzer, Rasmuson Foundation, 907-334-0520 or 907-223-9908 cell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alaskans Pledge $2.2 Million through Pick Click Give in 2012

Campaign Raises 110 percent of goal

ANCHORAGE – Alaskans gave charitable gifts to their favorite nonprofit causes through Pick Click Give in record numbers this year, according to data provided by the Permanent Fund Dividend Division of the Alaska State Department of Revenue. As of April 1, 2012, the close of the regular three-month filing period for the annual Permanent Fund Dividend, over 23,000 individuals had pledge over 37,000 gifts to over 400 nonprofit organizations totaling $2,200,800.

These figures represent 110 percent of this year’s campaign goal of $2 million, and an increase of nearly 50 percent over last year’s total.

“These cash donations represent true acts of kindness,” said Cassandra Stalzer, communications manager at Rasmuson Foundation. “Alaskans’ unique quality of life is directly linked to the health of our nonprofit sector, and Pick. Click. Give. provides a safe and easy way to support the causes we care about.”

“Our participation rate of 4.2 percent makes Pick Click Give one of the most successful fundraising campaigns in the United States of America,” added Stalzer.

Last year, 19,000 Alaskans raised $1.5 million for nonprofits, community foundations and the University of Alaska campuses through Pick. Click. Give. In 2010, 9,500 Alaskans donated a total of $927,000 and in 2009, the program’s first year, 5,500 people gave $545,000.

More information on Pick. Click. Give. can be found at www.PickClickGive.org.

The Pick. Click. Give. statewide outreach campaign is made possible through financial support from the Alaska Children’s Trust, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Atwood Foundation, BP Alaska, ConocoPhillips Alaska, ExxonMobil, Mat-Su Health Foundation, Northrim Bank, Providence Health + Services Alaska and Rasmuson Foundation. Also providing generous amounts of in-kind support are the Alaska Public Radio Network, Regal Entertainment Group/CIRI, The Alaska Club, Alaska Aces, Nerland Agency and Wells Fargo Bank Alaska. Pick. Click. Give. is coordinated through a partnership including the Permanent Fund Dividend Division of the Alaska Department of Revenue, Rasmuson Foundation, The Foraker Group, United Way of Anchorage and Alaska Community Foundation.

]]> http://birchwoodcamp.org/2012/04/pick-click-give-a-success/feed/ 0 http://birchwoodcamp.org/2012/03/pick-click-give-to-birchwood-camp-deadline-to-file-for-your-pfd-approaching/ http://birchwoodcamp.org/2012/03/pick-click-give-to-birchwood-camp-deadline-to-file-for-your-pfd-approaching/#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:02:05 +0000 director http://birchwoodcamp.org/?p=1990

March 31 marks the deadline to file for your PFD for all you procrastinators that also happen to be Alaska residents. Please remember to Pick Click and Give to Birchwood Camp when you file for your PFD — it’s very easy — just search “Birchwood Camp” when you get to that part of the [...]]]>

March 31 marks the deadline to file for your PFD for all you procrastinators that also happen to be Alaska residents. Please remember to Pick Click and Give to Birchwood Camp when you file for your PFD — it’s very easy — just search “Birchwood Camp” when you get to that part of the application.

If you’ve already made a contribution or didn’t make a gift when you originally applied, you can add or change your gifts through August. Simply go to the state PFD division website and select “Add or Change Charitable pledges.”

A big thank you to all the people who have given to Birchwood Camp during our first year as part of the program! Our goal was to have contributions of at least $1000 this year and we are already have gifts totaling $1350! Lets make it to $1500!!