Camp FirwoodDavid GaylordRCLS 300-01 Publicity/Promotions

Camp Firwood 2014

History of Camp Firwood

The idea of Camp Firwood came about in 1954, when a small group of Middle School

campers spent several days camping within the heavily forested land on the shores of Lake

Whatcom. They felt so powerfully about this piece of land that they all started to pray that one

day this would be the location of a summer camp to minister to children. Their prayers were

heard by a man named Glen Corning, who then purchased the property which was 2600 feet of

Lake Whatcom shoreline bordering 80 acres of wooded acres. The Longhouse, the first

permanent structure at Camp Firwood, was built in 1957. The first two summers, they offered

only part-time camps, although they gradually were lengthened and had added programs. Camp

capacity has continued to grow throughout the years. While it initially was at maximum capacity

when they reached 98 campers during the 60’s, they added more cabins and renovated The

Longhouse in 1990 along with purchasing more land around the camp. After all the renovations

and additions, the camps maximum capacity has now reached 275 campers along with staffing

close to 100 people. These are the numbers Camp Firwood wishes to maintain from a capacity

standpoint, but they do wish to utilize the new surrounding properties by starting new camping

programs.

Camp Firwood Philosophy

The Firs and Camp Firwood serves the local church and community by drawing groups

and individuals to a camp and retreat setting where they will experience the Biblical message of

Jesus through instruction, creative activities and significant relationships, resulting in changed

lives.

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Camp Firwood 2014

Operational Structure

Camp Firwood employs five year-round staff, three interns, and just about 100 volunteer summer

staff. The reporting relationships of the staff are in order in the following:

Facilities, Programs, Products, and Services

Camp Firwood offers a number of fun programs and activities:

The Centerhouse: The Centerhouse is the food service area on the camp grounds or

“mess hall”. This feature was just built in 2010 and it is a great building to dine in.

Challenge Course: consisting of 11 high elements leading up to a thrilling zip-line and 10

low elements used for teamwork skills. They also offer the Giant Swing, which your

teammates pull you to a height off 45 feet then gravity takes over as your body hurls

towards the earth at the pull of a pin. Available for campers ages 13+ as an Activity

Class as well as to rent for your sports team, school group or youth group.

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Rob LeeDirector of Camp/Retreat

Ministries

Steve JagichAssistant Director

Angie BrionezRegistrar

Doug WalkerFacilities Manager

Sierra RiversStudent Ministries Intern

Megan ConnellStudent Ministries Intern

Jen RyanGuest Services Coordinator

Keith KranichStudent Ministries Intern

Volunteer Summer Staff

Camp Firwood 2014

Skate Park: They have 3 half pipes, each at a different skill level. Also, on site is a

skating staff member that will teach you how to drop in if you have never done it before.

They also offer a number of various boxes, kickers, rails, and ramps to work on your

street skating skills. Grab your board and head for the Skate Ramps. We have 3 half

pipes each at different slopes to meet your skill level. Never dropped in before? Our

trained staff will help guide you through the process. We also have a variety of ramps

and boxes to practice your street skills on. Available as an Activity Class or during Free

Time.

Climbing Wall: They offer a 30 foot climbing wall with 6 belay points, each with

different routes to match the skill level of the camper. They also have a trained staff

member on site to help the campers get going. The climbing wall is offered throughout

the campers week stay as an activity class or during their free time.

Firwood Paintball: Camp Firwood offers a paintball program for either a single session

or a week full of intense paintballing. On site will be a heavily trained staff to make sure

all safety precautions are met and held. They campers will be provided with Tippmann

98 markers, masks, neck guards, compressed air tanks and paintballs.

Adventure Camping: This activity will take you all around the 120 acre property to learn

the skills needed to survive in the outdoors. From building forts and shelters to learning

how to tie knots and other wilderness skills, they will teach you the wilderness survival

basics. This is an Activity Class.

Centerstage: Every night the campers meet at this centerstage to rock out to the camp

bands worshipping tunes along with a testimonial from a staff member each and every

night. This opportunity allows the campers to connect to God while amongst their peers.

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This times serves as the time allotted within the camp to reach out to the campers for the

mission of Camp Firwood.

Honey Hut: The Honey Hut allows campers to fulfill their sweet tooth with candy and

beverages. They also offer souvenirs like: T-Shirts, Hoodies, Water Bottles and Critters

to show off the Firwood love. To do this the camper must deposit money into their

account at registration and can be spent throughout the duration of camp.

Overnights: Foil dinners, sleeping under the stars and hanging out with friends is what

Overnights are all about. On Wednesday nights, all the boys in camp invade the Island

and South Cove to experience a true camping experience. The girls in turn, have the

entire camp to themselves that night. On Thursday night, roles are flipped as girls head

out for their overnights and boys take over camp.

Boat Beach: This is to provide the campers with an area to go out on kayaks and canoes

around the camp areas with their friends. The campers can also go around the island

across the channel with the company of one of the camp counselors. The Boat Beach

also offers a splash boat for campers to see who can last the longest amongst their

friends.

The BLOB: They offer a BLOB. Great for entertaining people with the love of high

flying ways of entering the water to cool off. This is a great way to have fun and its

perfect for an entertaining scene.

Big Field Games: They are a staple of Firwood’s Team Competition. Each of the 6 teams

is assigned a position around the circle and participates in a wacky combination of games

and relays. The event is capped off by any number of events include tubes, giant

inflatable balls and of course fun.

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Fishing: Fishing is a new addition to Camp Firwood. Campers will be fishing from

several docks around camp, known for their schools of fish. Fishing is catch and release

and they provide all the equipment and instruction needed to have a great time.

Sailing: Best Activity Class at Firwood, hands down. Camp Firwood offers 8 Hobie-cat

catamarans to learn the arts of sailing with an on-site instructor.

Target Sports: They offer a number of great bow shooting activities the campers can

participate in during their free time or they can also participate in the Target Sports

Activity Class.

Water Olympics: This is a great team building event that is held at every single session at

Camp Firwood. Every team has to compete in synchronized swimming, relays, and

numerous games/competitions based around the water.

Boating Activities: Camp Firwood has 3 boats designated for the use of wakeboarding,

tubing, knee boarding, and water skiing. All of these activities have people that can help

out the campers become more comfortable on the water, also providing training for

newbies.

Financial Status

Camp Firwood, since its existence, has been run and operated based on the generous gifts

from friends whose lives have been affected by the camp. They also generate operating funds

from the price to attend the camp. The summer staff is made up entirely of volunteers. This is a

not for profit ministry camp and is ran purely on cost of attendance and generous donations. The

remaining money is used to improve the camp with renovations and new attractions. They are a

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Camp Firwood 2014

member in good standing of the ECFA (Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability) and

go through a full audit every year.

Strategic Goals and Objectives

Camp Firwood has focused on developing and maintaining a ministry to God’s glory.

Primarily through offering Christ-centered camps, conferences and retreats, they have sought to

lead people to salvation in Jesus Christ, nurture Christian character, train individuals for

worldwide Christian service, and strengthen family life.

Current Marketing Materials

They mostly use social media as the main form for marketing. The following links are their sites;

https://www.facebook.com/campfirwood

https://twitter.com/CampFirwood

http://instagram.com/campfirwood#

http://www.pinterest.com/campfirwood/

http://www.youtube.com/user/campfirwood (Promotional Videos)

Summary

After thoroughly researching and observing the outlay of Camp Firwood I absolutely love

what they do, and who they are about, the kids. They do whatever they can to make sure the kids

that attend their camp and are under their supervision, are getting exactly what is advertised, a

strong ministry camp full of fun individuals that will have a prolonged impact in these children’s

lives.

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Although I loved the impact the camp tried to make on these children, and the overall

mission they have, I feel like they could keep on expanding their capacity to touch even more

lives than the limited to 275 they have set. Based purely on the land that they own and the money

they use on other things to attract the children, they could completely add on to the camp to

touch more lives. They own Reveille Island, a 12 acre island, just off the shoreline of Camp

Firwood which I personally think is underused and could be beneficial in expanding the property

along with building cabins near the south cove. By bringing in more children the cost to attend

would reduce in time due to the running costs mostly being the equipment used and food. After

learning how generous the donors are, I am sure they could easily generate the funds to add cabin

space and to renovate to fit the new capacity.

Understanding that they are mostly targeting local populations, I get why their marketing

methods are rather passive. The only advertisement I could get a hold of was from their social

media accounts, which is a bit off because I would like to see them promote their camps more on

their home website. The website was nice and easy to follow, but they could have put their

incredible promotional video as soon as you arrive at campfirwood.org and the “wow” factor

will leave you speechless and directly towards the paypal system they have set up to register for

camps.

This camp is an incredible place to kids to go and gain lifelong knowledge and friends

with a great spiritual insert. I love what they have to offer and it truly is a life changing

experience. I hope that they continue to pour the message into the youths of Whatcom County’s

hearts.

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Camp Firwood 2014

Business Logo

Existing Logo:

Revised Logo:

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Business Card

Press Release

Contact: David GaylordDavid GaylordPhone: 360-733-6840Fax: 360-555-0123dsgaylord@hotmail.com

4605 Cable StreetBellingham, WA 98229

David Gaylord

Intern OpportunityNeed a summer internship or volunteer hours?

Have the best summer of your life servicing others!

Cheney, WA May 27, 2014: Next week, Camp Firwood out of Bellingham, WA will be visiting the Eastern

Washington University campus to promote their camps internship and volunteer opportunities for this upcoming

summer. They will be presenting on June 3rd, 2014 starting at 9 A.M in the P.E. building room 108. You can stop

by anytime during the hour. David Gaylord will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about this

summer’s opportunities in beautiful Bellingham, WA. Camp Firwood is a beautiful ministry summer camp

located on the shoreline of Lake Whatcom. Come join the fun!

David Gaylord, Phone: (360) 733-6840, Fax: (360) 555-0123, dsgaylord@hotmail.com

*Put in release week of May 26-30. Thank You!

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Brochure

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