UPDATE: WE DID IT! We raised the first $500,000 of our Capital CAMPaign to be able to close on the property purchase! We now own the property we have called home for the past 77 years! Even as we celebrate this milestone together, please remember that we’re never “done” raising funds for Camp Millhouse. We still rely on your financial support to help make repairs to our buildings, to rebuild our healthcare center, to add to our programs and facilities and to continue to support our campers and their families. This very special place is here for our campers, year after year, because of the generosity of our donors. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!
$1M Capital CAMPaign: Building for the Future While Honoring the Past – Serving Generations to Come. What better way to Honor the Past than to Invest in the Future of Camp Millhouse to ensure Camp will continue to thrive for the next 80 years and beyond!
Camp Millhouse is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, residential summer camp for children and adults with varying disabilities. We offer spring and fall camp weekends, multiple one-week-long residential and day camp sessions and additional opportunities throughout the year. Our campers come from all across the country for the unique opportunities that Camp Millhouse provides.
On December 22, 2017, thanks to a lot of community support, Camp Millhouse was able to purchase the property they have called home since 1940. We met the goal of raising the first half of our $1M Capital CAMPaign and we closed on the property.
It's been a little over a year since we launched our campaign on August 12, 2017. This first year of ownership has been great. Now that camp is ours, we have begun making improvements to the property and buildings. The ropes course trail has been completely paved making ropes course day much more enjoyable for our campers with mobility challenges. We've had boy scouts working on updating different areas of camp - the bathrooms in the rec hall and music, the arts & crafts space and the entire poolhouse (inside & out!). It's going to take time, but we have upgrade plans for every building at camp and dreams of new structures.
With all the improvements that need to be made, and the list of new things we want to add for our campers, it's time to RELAUNCH OUR CAMPaign to raise the other $500,000 to meet our overall goal of $1M. These funds will be used for repairs, upgrades and new structures along with meeting our budget each year.
We need your help to make this happen! While the first $500,000 was raised in just over four months, we have a lot more time to raise our second $500,000. We know not everyone can donate cash themselves but there are many ways to help! Please see the below list for some suggestions of how to help. What we are asking of you is to reach out to your family, friends and local businesses. Talk to them about Camp Millhouse and why it is important to you and your family. Ask for a donation. Asking can be hard to do, but we have to do it. We know the number is big so remember that every single penny counts! It gets us that much closer to our goal!
Some of the improvements we want to accomplish: insulate all cabins and move toward central air conditioning, new roofs on many buildings, sidewalk repairs, lots of painting, upgrade all cabin bathrooms, kitchen improvements including a new sanitizer, ice machine, and replace dishes. This list is not all inclusive and we are working with some local organizations to help us meet some of these goals.
What else are we dreaming of? A new healthcare center located in the middle of camp, a new cabin for campers and staff, a picnic pavillion, a fully-accessible tree house with a zip line, and a splash pad by the pool!
Donations can be made via cash, check or charge and can be mailed to Camp Millhouse, 25600 Kelly Rd., South Bend, IN 46614. Credit/debit cards can be called in to the office directly or used through our website www.campmillhouse.org. Please call the office if you have any questions 574-233-2202. Thank you to each and every one of you! With all of us working together, Camp Millhouse will continue to serve generations to come!
With Warm Regards,
Diana Breden
Executive Director
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There are numerous ways you can be a part of this CAMPaign:
- Donations can be made directly to Camp Millhouse via cash, check or charge by contacting the office directly at 574-233-2202, the donation page of our website at www.campmillhouse.org /donate-now.html, mail or bring your donation to the office at 25600 Kelly Road, South Bend, IN 46614. If you come to the office, we can also give you a tour! - Naming Opportunities: for a specific donation amount, you will have the naming rights for the building you choose to fund. Please see below for more information or call the office at 574-233-2202.
as a way to help Camp Millhouse. Consider spreading your pledge across a three year period with a 50% gift in 2018 and 25% for the next two years. - Stock Donation: The most tax-efficient method of making this type of gift is to donate the stock shares directly to Camp Millhouse through their Edward Jones investor who will immediately initiate a sale of the stock shares and forward the proceeds directly to Camp Millhouse. The donor then receives documentation from Camp Millhouse regarding the stock sale transaction as well as official notification from Camp of a charitable gift once the funds are received. For instructions to provide to your broker about how to initiate your gift of stock for Camp Millhouse, please contact the office 574-233-2202 or campmillhouse@gmail.com. - Purchase property: Camp Millhouse owns two lots in a residential neighborhood near the corner of Kern and Locust Roads. We would like to sell these lots to help us with the upgrades to the Camp Millhouse property. Please contact the office for more information. - Matching gifts: Did you know that many employers will match your donations to a non-profit charity? Ask your employer if they participate in a matching gift program. Ask your family and friends to match your gift to Camp Millhouse. - Encourage others to donate: Talk to friends and family about why Camp is important to you and ask them to help. Or you can host an information night with people from your work, church, community group or club, gym, etc. If you want us to attend, bring promotional materials, our video, and answer questions, please call the office. We’ll travel anywhere! Share our social media posts and our videos and ask family and friends to do the same. Consider your connections and introduce us – radio hosts, newspapers, t.v., influential friends, business owners. - Memorials and bequests: For the future success of Camp Millhouse, please consider including Camp Millhouse in your Will, IRA Gift, Charitable Gift Annuities or Legacy Trusts. Although they did not choose to use their donation to sponsor a building, we want to thank Nancy Wilson Saunders and Roger & Joyce Foley for their generous support of our Capital CAMPaign. |
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This activity made possible, in part, with support from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County |
These campers are what this capital CAMPaign is all about!!
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