“At the Thanksgiving table, we sat around talking about camp and we were wondering if Camp Siloam was still around. My brother bet me it wasn’t,” said Nancy, in a phone call to camp. This call came several years ago, just after Thanksgiving. Nancy was a woman from Las Vegas who asked if this was the camp with the tree in the dining hall. I chuckled and then replied, “Yes ma’am.”
She went on to tell me that she was retired and that she had attended camp years ago as a child, even though her family couldn’t afford camp. She attended the children’s program of a local church who offered a week at summer camp to any child who would memorize several verses. She and her brother memorized all the verses. Someone from the church gave her and her brother a scholarship for a week at Camp Siloam. With an air of both sadness and fondness she said, “It was the only vacation my brother and I had throughout our childhood.”
Hundreds of campers come to Camp Siloam because someone makes a financial way for them to come. One problem facing families and churches currently is that the price of camp is increasing each year. It is getting expensive for families to afford to send one, two, three or more children to camp. This fall I have had three or four conversations with people expressing concern about the price of camp for 2022. While at the same time, the problem facing camp ministries is that the cost of hosting camp is increasing each year.
At Camp Siloam, we are realizing that people don’t know about the scholarships that are available for any and/or all of our events, summer camp and retreats. Our heart here is that not a single camper would be turned away because of price. At the same time, we desire to steward well Jesus’ ministry at Camp Siloam for these nearly 100 years. The challenge is to balance both desires of our heart. Scholarships are the solution. Scholarships help more campers attend camp. More campers attending camp helps keep the cost of camp affordable while at the same time helping us beautify the grounds, maintain facilities, and keep programming relevant.
The Cooperative Program (CP) plays a significant part in defraying the cost of camp to families. In 2022, your church’s CP gift is essentially a $40 scholarship for every camper. CP funds go into the general operations of Camp Siloam and defray the overall cost of camp. In many churches, generous senior adults eliminate the financial barriers for a youth to go to summer camp. We are grateful to all of you who provide an opportunity for a camper to attend summer camp.
Camp Siloam offers easy-to-apply-for scholarships. Our goal for 2022 is to have $130,000 to give away in scholarship funds. A typical scholarship award is about $144.50, half the camper rate. For any of our events, churches can apply for a Camp Siloam scholarship on behalf of the kids and youth in their church, then the church distributes the scholarships as they see the need.
Camp Siloam’s vision is that we see our campers and staff make an eternal, global impact for the Kingdom of God. Scholarships have a significant impact. Last year, we studied the rate of salvations among campers with scholarships vs campers without scholarships. Campers who received a scholarship made professions of faith at a rate of 5% more than those campers who did not apply for a scholarship.
Don’t let our fees be the reason you don’t bring kids to Siloam next summer. Our rate for an individual camper will be $289. Let our scholarships help you provide for families who can’t afford a week of camp. It is our hope that you feel Camp Siloam is still a great value. Our desire is that your campers experience the presence of our Heavenly Father, feel a touch from Him and are afforded a better camp experience than they could ever have imagined.