Survive to Thrive Campaign Kickoff

Greetings from Camp Restore Detroit!

It is with great excitement and thankfulness that we come to you today. Like so many others, suspending the summer volunteer season transitioned 2020 from our biggest year of service booked to a year of survival for Camp Restore Detroit.

We were amazed by the ways God blessed us with incredible supporters like you who came alongside us, chose to pray for us and to give what you could, despite the uncertainty of all that was going on around us. For that we want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts! God is a great God who can do far greater things than we could ever imagine. The outpouring of love and support over the last year has given us the confidence to trust that we can shift our financial focus. While 2020 was a year of survival, over the course of the next 12-18 months, we believe that our God is going to move us from simply surviving to thriving!

With God’s blessing and supporters like you, we pray that dreams will come true in our community and on our campus. In order to accomplish the goals of building relationships and share the gospel, we hope to finish these three projects (see the full 2021/2022 goals below this letter):

• A Completed Campus – when finished, will include opportunities for tutoring, learning and growing, building relationships and sharing the Gospel.
• Fully staffed Camp – Campers are coming year-round so we need more staff!
• Finished dorm rooms for volunteers from across the country to come serve!!

To accomplish this, we have set a lofty goal of raising $300,000 in the next 18 months. This will set us up for a solid financial future to continue serving and sharing God’s love for years to come.

Donations can be made:

• On our website at www.camprestore.org/donate/ or by scanning the QR code
• By sending checks to 17100 Chalmers St. Detroit, MI 48205
• By signing up for Amazon Smile, Kroger Community Rewards, and/or Thrivent Choice and choosing Camp Restore Detroit as your charity

If you would like to keep up with our campaign and how much we have raised, you can sign up for our newsletter at www.camprestore.org/sign-up-for-our-newsletter/ or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @camprestoredetroit

As we move into a summer full of campers, we move forward with the theme “Let Love Lead”, from Eph. 5:2. “Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Navigating so many new realities in 2021, we want Christ to lead our thoughts, words, actions, and service this summer as He has done in the past. Following the example of Christ’s love and letting that love lead, we will focus on sharing and restoring hope in our community! Together, with your help and by the grace of God, we can move from simply surviving to thriving.

In His Grip,

Amy Fanta & The Camp Restore Detroit Ministry Team

#survivetothrive

 

2021-2022 Goals

Community Engagement: Further develop connections with leaders, organizations, and community members within the 9th Precinct.

• Support Block Club leaders
• Develop new and existing community partnerships
• Involve community members in planning, implementing, and leading new programs
• Provide volunteers & tools for projects when our community asks for extra hands.

Church Engagement: Further develop connections with our partner churches and universities.

• Big Week: A week designed for local volunteers to support Detroit LCMS ministries.
• Educate & Communicate our ministry and ways to engage to our partner churches.
• Further develop relationships with new and existing suburban supporters.
• Offer Resources and classes for greater church body:
  • Virtual Learning Program teaching about Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) & the 9th precinct.
  • Chapel packets for schools.
  • ABCD training for those that wish to use it in their ministry.
  • Offer college credit for students learning while serving at CRD.
  • Retreats for College & high school students from across the nation.

Education: Support both children’s and adult educational opportunities within the 9th precinct while building authentic relationships.

• Finish and open CRD’s Adult Outreach & Educational Center 
• Finish and open CRD’s Children’s Outreach & Educational Center 

Gardens and Greenspace: Develop and maintain space that can be used by our community for leisure, exercise, healthy food, and more gathering space.

• Blight Removal throughout the 9th precinct in partnership with the community.
• Develop space on our CRD campus for authentic relationship building, community involvement, and healthy living through community Gardens & Orchards, Farmer’s Market, Fitness Trail,  Reflection Gardens & Walking Path.

Housing: Support home ownership and community stability.

• Repair community members’ homes.
• skills training initiative through home repairs.
• renovation for rent-to-own opportunities for our community.

Organizational: Maintain and build a healthy foundation for CRD.

• Finished all construction on dorm rooms! This includes A/C and the bathrooms.
• Fully Staffed camp – We are growing and need to add staff to handle the influx of volunteers!