jumping off the Pier at Lake Michigan, enjoying local

tourist places, etc. An even bigger perk of working at

Little Eden is the College Scholarship Fund for our col-

lege students which allows

them to be

eligible for an

additional 50%-

125% of their

base pay!

(dependent on

length of ser-

vice).

More informa-

tion about

camp, including last year’s staff video,

information about pay and benefits as

well as application packets are avail-

able at www.littleeden.org/employment.aspx.

ach summer, Little Eden Camp hires around

twenty college staff to work at camp. Currently,

we are taking applications for these positions. Initial

signs look like we will have a nice core of returning staff

this summer, but we are still looking for

applicants to fill the other positions. If you

are college age (or know someone who is)

and are looking at options for a summer job,

we would encourage you/them to consider

Little Eden.

Little Eden is a

great place to

serve others dur-

ing the summer

while enjoying

the perks of liv-

ing at the beach -

making new friends, wake

boarding on Portage Lake,

Lit

tle

Ed

en

Ec

ho

es

February

2015 We are hiring: Help us find the right summer staff

E

hroughout the year, Little Eden is dependent on vol-

unteers. Here are ways you can help out at camp:

Maple Syrup Making - Each March, the camp staff tap the

maple trees on the camp property and, with the help of

volunteers, boil the sap to make maple syrup. Volunteers

help gather sap, boil, and bottle the finished syrup.

Spring Work Weekend - May 15-17 are the dates for our

Spring Work Weekend. Each spring, we finish getting camp

ready for the summer programs. Jobs include spring clean-

ing, painting or staining, outdoor spring clean up, one or

two construction projects as well as placing picnic tables

and benches around camp.

End of Summer Volunteers - As our summer staff leave to

go off to college, our summer programs continue, and we

use volunteers to help finish out the summer. Tasks for

T

Volunteers needed: Consider spending a day, a week, or a month at camp

these volunteers include cleaning lodge rooms and cabins,

outdoor yard maintenance, washing

dishes, watering flowers, helping in the

snack shop, etc. Dates needed include

August, September, and/or October

time frame. You could come for a

week, a month or even longer.

Saturday Cleaning - Sometimes

throughout the summer, staff mem-

bers need a Saturday off for a special

family event. When this happens, it is a blessing to have

volunteers that can stay at camp an extra day or even

come to family camp early to help the staff on a Saturday

turn over.

For more information on any of these opportunities,

please contact Wayne at 231-889-4294.

Working at camp is fun!

Lebanon Project: Progress continues...

Page 2 LIT TLE E DE N E CHOES

Little Eden welcomes...

We have a great group of women al-

ready signed up for the Scrapbooking

Retreat, but we still have room for you!

Download the scrapbooking brochure

from the Forms page at www.littleeden.org or call camp.

Scrapbooking Retreat: April 16-19

Permanent Holders Reminder:

Registration forms need to be returned by March 1 to let us know if you are coming or not.

Youth Campers:

It may be cold and snowy outside, but Youth Camp Registration forms are coming in. For more information and forms, visit www.littleeden.org Space is limited so register SOON!

Bret and Lynn Mathieu are delighted to join the Little Eden staff as Facilities Director and Guest Services Director. Bret comes to the camp with a wealth of experience. He grew up across the street from the camp and enjoyed some of the same childhood experiences

that the camp offers to our campers. He is a licensed builder in the state of Michigan with a successful construction business in One-kama. He is also the assistant chief of the Onekama Fire Department and has been involved with the fire service for 30 years.

Bret and Lynn went to high school together in Onekama and married the year following Lynn’s high school graduation in 1987. Together they moved to the Holland area. Once there, Lynn continued her college education while Bret began his career with Donnelly Corpora-tion. He worked at Donnelly from 1988 thru 2003 in several capaci-ties with the final eight years as a production supervisor. Lynn worked in a variety of fields with the common area being customer service.

Their first daughter, Jennica was born in 1994. In 2003, they moved back to the Onekama area and began Bret’s construction business with Lynn as the bookkeeper. In 2008, their second daughter, Haley completed their family. Currently, Jennica is helping her father run his construction business and evaluating her next step as she returns to Baker College. Haley is a 2nd grader at Onekama Consolidated Schools, her grandparents’, aunts’, uncles’, mother’s, father’s, and sister’s alma mater.

Both Bret and Lynn enjoy people and are well respected in the com-munity. Bret spends his free time hunting and fishing. Lynn enjoys reading, knitting, and attending athletic events at the school. They are overjoyed at this opportunity and look forward to being in-volved with Haley with all the camp has to offer.

Kathy Charette was hired as the part-

time Office Manager for Little Eden at the beginning of the year. A resident of Manistee for the last 29 years, Kathy has held various clerical positions.

Kathy is originally from New York. She met her husband, John, in high school in Michi-gan. After living downstate for a few years,

they moved up to the Manistee area when he took a job in the Cor-rectional Camp program. After 25 years of service, John retired from the Corrections Department and is currently working at West Shore Medical Center in the Physical Therapy Department.

Kathy and John have been married for 35 years and have 4 sons - two sets of twins. Andrew and his wife, Anne, live in Kalamazoo as does Andrew’s twin, Adam. Andrew works at Bell’s, and Anne works at Aerotech. Adam is the area manager for several Jimmy John’s stores. His girlfriend, Allison, is a third grade teacher. Jacob is married to Ja-mie, and they live in Manistee. He is a third grade teacher in the Ma-nistee Area Public Schools, and Jamie works in physician billing for West Shore Medical Center. Joseph is an electrical engineer working for Leidos, a consulting firm near Detroit.

Kathy enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, garden-ing, sewing and crafting. She has designed and made several wedding invitations for family members and friends. She has also been a mem-ber of a women’s trio, A Chord of Three Strands, for the last several years, singing special music in some of the area churches. She serves on the Worship and Music Committee as well as on the Women’s Ministry Team at her church and also works in the nursery.

When attending a retreat with her husband at Little Eden several years ago, Kathy became aware of the beauty of the camp and is very glad to have the opportunity to join the team.

Scrapbooking Retreat: April 16-19 We still have room for you! Download a brochure at

www.littleeden.org/forms.aspx

Work Weekend: May 15 - 17 Help with spring cleaning, building projects and repairs

as we prepare for the summer.

Summer Staff Orientation: June 7 - 12 Interested in working at camp this summer? Download an

application from the Little Eden website!

Youth Camp Orientation: June 12 - 13

Youth Camps: This summer, we will be studying Simon Peter. As we

look at his experiences with Jesus, we will look at what

he learned about following, faith, loyalty, courage and

acceptance.

Junior Youth Camp: June 14 - 19

(completed 6th, 7th & 8th graders)

Boys & Girls Camp: June 21 - 26

(completed 3rd, 4th & 5th graders)

High School Camp: June 21 - 26

(completed 9th, 10th & 11th graders)

For registration forms for Youth Camps, download them

at www.littleeden.org or contact the camp.

Genesis Week: June 27 - July 4

Bill Holsopple of Archbold, OH

First Family Week: July 4 - July 11

Justin Graves of Tulsa, OK

Christian Fellowship Week: July 11 - 18

Justin Maust of Granger, IN

Home Builders Week: July 18 - 25

Paul Flores of Wauseon, OH

Christian Business/Professional Week:

July 25 - August 1

John Schmid of Berlin, OH

Second Family Week: August 1 - 8

Tim Miller of Naubinway, MI

Farmers Week: August 8 - 15

Levi Stuckey of Wauseon, OH

Rest & Relaxation Week 1: August 15 - 22

Jeff Polen of Apple Creek, OH

Rest & Relaxation II/Home School Week:

August 22 - 29

Cal Emerson of Owosso, MI

Lifetime Activities:

August 29 - September 5

- Biking, Hiking, Relaxing, Fishing, Beaches - No food service, resource person or camp program.

Enjoy any of the above activities or just come to enjoy Little

Eden during a quieter week of the year.

Golf and Fellowship Week: September 5 - 12

Steve Slagel of Goshen, IN

Quilting Weeks:

Week 1 - September 13 - 18

Week 2 - September 20 - 25 Carolyn Snyder of Archbold, OH

Enjoy quilting either quilt weeks or just come

to enjoy Little Eden in the beautiful fall.

Fall Work Weekend: October 16 - 18

Annual Member’s Meeting on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.

Page 3 LIT TLE E DE N E CHOES

Little Eden Family Camps, Summer Programs & More

LITTLE EDEN CAMP 3721 Portage Point Dr Onekama, MI 49675

Non Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Onekama, MI

Permit No. 35

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Schedule of events: Mark your calendars today!

Like us on FACEBOOK and keep up on the latest at Little Eden Camp

ittle Eden Camp has hundreds of families who have

grown up coming to the family camps during their

summers and love this place. These same families want to

make sure that Little Eden, as they have enjoyed it, is able

to continue for many more generations to come. Years

ago, the Board of Directors had that same vision for the

camp and established an Endowment Fund. This fund was

established to help ensure that Little Eden would have the

long term support and financial underwriting needed to

support the camp for years to come.

At the end of our last fiscal year, the Endowment Fund’s

balance was $169,928, as reported to our members in the

2014 Annual Report. The fund is not large as endowment

funds go but continues to grow. The fund is designated

money given by individuals and companies. Some of the

funds have come from individuals including Little Eden’s

Endowment Fund in their will. This fund, like most endow-

ment funds, has the restriction that only the interest can

be used. To date, the interest has remained in the fund,

allowing the endowment to continue to grow for future usage.

As more people support Little Eden’s Endowment Fund, the

camp will be in a better place to ensure that the camp will

remain strong for our children, grandchildren, great grandchil-

dren and beyond. As you look at your annual giving, long term

giving or even review your will, please consider Little Eden’s

Endowment Fund as one of your options.

In the next few newsletters, we will be highlighting additional

ways to support Little Eden Camp and its future.

Ways to support Little Eden: Part 1 - The Endowment Fund

L

Inside this issue

Help us find summer staff 1

Volunteers needed 1

Introducing new staff 2

Lebanon Project 2

Scrapbooking Retreat 2

Camp Calendar 3