Global Camps Africa - Report following the December 2005 and January 2006 Camp Sessions

Report following the December 2005 and January 2006 Camp Sessions

The staff at WorldCamps continues to be one of our greatest gifts and assets. So far, 53 international volunteers have joined us at WorldCamps, seven of whom have returned for a second (and in one case, a third) camp. Staff members are something of local celebrities in the Soweto community. International staff members who visit Soweto after camp tell of being recognized by their staff shirts by kids who were at earlier camps and want to know if this staff member knows the international staff counselor that child had.

We have increased our camp counselor staff's confidence and capabilities. Our first South African counselor was in the U.S. last year getting experience at four different camps. He is now working full-time for us in South Africa. We are planning on having two more staff go to the U.S. for the summer this year to gain experience

Our second year has brought us more recognition at the international level. We received grants for camp in 2005 from such well-known and respected organizations as the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the MAC AIDS Fund, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Gilead Sciences, Inc. We have also been supported generously by smaller organizations such as the Jackson Foundation, Red Ribbon Foundation, and Wall Street Cares.

WorldCamps has also been recognized in several media publications. John Donnelly wrote a wonderful article about WorldCamps and its mission in The Boston Globe,. I encourage you to read this article which is posted on our website along with several others.

Our recognition does not stop with the media. Recently, WorldCamps received the American Camp Association's highest award for program excellence, the Eleanor Eells Award. As a Camp Director for over 30 years I can tell you that this is really quite a feather in our cap!

This year promises to be another filled with program growth and exciting partnerships. During the first two years WorldCamps hosted camps at three different sites. This year we hope to build a permanent site . Such a step not only reinforces our commitment to our work in South Africa, it also allows us to host more children at our camps by keeping the administrative costs of rentals low. To find out more about our progress with this initiative and how you can contribute, please visit our website or contact me personally at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Over the past two years WorldCamps has been supported by a number of generous and committed individuals. To each of you who support and continue to believe in the mission of our work, I thank you. For those who are just learning about WorldCamps I hope that you will consider supporting us.

Again, many thanks to all for what you have helped us achieve this past year. I know that you, as I, believe that the time and money we have invested in the youth of South Africa is worth it. I hope we will continue to have the honor of partnering with you. Please continue to give generously and recommend us to your friends.

The Requests:

1) There is one win/win way of contributing. Maybe you know of others. This one doesn't cost you an extra penny. iGive.com is an organization that has enlisted some 640 on-line vendors, such as Land's End and Orbitz, who make contributions to the organization of your choice each time you purchase from them.

Please, if you do nothing else in response to this e-mail, please register with iGive.com and designate "WorldCamps" (one word, two capital letters--they're fussy) as the beneficiary of your purchasing. The one minute registration is at http://www.iGive.com/worldcamps.

2) You, our supporters, are our greatest strength. In order to continue our good work, we would like to ask you not only for your continued support, but to send this e-mail to 10 of your friends and family with a request that they consider joining you in supporting us.

The power of numbers is enormous. With the numbers of children we have to serve, we need to increase our numbers of supporters as well. Your friends should be attracted in much the same way you were ; children, Africa, camp, HIV/AIDS, and an organization that doesn't yet have a full-time paid employee.

Thanks for your willingness to go two more steps.

Warm regards,

Phil

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