Fall Newsletter 2021

 

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The word 'gratitude' barely feels sufficient, in light of the ongoing support our small non-profit has received since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and since the wildfire. These last two years have been trying for everyone, with no shortage of challenges, yet throughout it all, Camp Krem - Camping Unlimited has survived, thanks, in large part, to all of you in our community.

The future for Camp Krem now looks bright, with the purchase of a
new summer camp near Yosemite, and with tangible progress being made with our wildfire recovery and rebuilding efforts in Boulder Creek.

It brings me immense pleasure to announce that we are aiming to hold in-person summer camp next year (Summer 2022, here we come!) and we cannot wait to share more news and details with you, including session dates, staff vacancies (full-time and seasonal), and more! There is a lot that needs to be done to get our new property safe and ready for campers, and we are giving it our all.

I hope you will consider supporting our mission this holiday season, as we are kicking off our end of year fundraiser on Giving Tuesday, November 30th. Your support will be vital in order for us to get camp ready, while we continue to rebuild in Boulder Creek. We now have two extremely important fundraising needs, and hope we can count on your support!

 Please stay tuned for news to come, and join us, if you are able, for our upcoming virtual Town Hall meeting. We will have more details to share then.

While we are overjoyed to share the good news, we are also heartbroken to share with you that we have lost three dear friends this year -- Grace, Jeff, and Kayla.  Please read more, below, about these three wonderful campers, who will always be in our hearts.

On behalf of the staff and Board of Directors of Camping Unlimited - Camp Krem, we are thankful for your support and looking forward to the future.

Christina Krem
Camp Director

In Loving Memory of Grace Steinmetz
2003-2021

Grace's bright smile would light up a room. She loved to sing, dance, swim and perform in the Talent Show. Grace was friends with everyone, and was it was an absolute joy having her at Camp. Her Dad, Bill, told us that Gracie would drop anything quickly to be able to go to Camp, and that she absolutely loved her counselors. We feel so fortunate to have known her, and extend our deepest sympathies to her family and many friends. 
Read Grace's obituary here.
In Loving Memory of Zayla Nunez Boes
1998-2021

A true social butterfly, Zayla's counselors and fellow campers always loved having her in their cabin. Zayla was sweet, kind, friendly, and always helpful. While at Camp, she loved to read a book by the pool, do arts & crafts, dance, and hike. Zayla's Mom, Valerie, says Zayla loved community, enjoyed being busy and going to activities, and most of all loved Camp Krem. She adored her counselors and loved to help. Zayla was a friend to everyone, and will be so very missed.
In Loving Memory of Jeffery Rovella
1961-2021

Our dear friend Jeff was a long-time camper and was loved by all who had the privilege of knowing him. Jeff's sister, Susan, told us that the minute he knew that his Camp session was coming he would become extremely excited and repeat over and over, letting everyone know by saying "basketball basketball, swimming, swimming!" When he wasn't in the pool or playing basketball, Jeff could be found on the hunt for the perfect book. Susan told us Jeff loved camp more than Christmas. Session One will not be the same without him.

Read Jeff's obituary here.
We invite you to join us on Zoom for our Town Hall Meeting early next month. There are lots of exciting updates to share with you about our rebuilding progress, new property and more.

Email us to RSVPThe Zoom link will be emailed ahead of time. There will be a presentation followed by a Q&A, if time permits. We encourage you to email us your questions in advance, to ensure we have time to address them.
 

Volunteer Spotlight - Richard Faber


As you may know, we have been looking for someone to help us with our insurance.  We found the perfect person, and would like to publicly express our gratitude to Richard Faber of Underwriter's Resource
 
Richard has kindly volunteered his time to assist us as we put our post-fire insurance program together.  Richard has over 40 years of experience in the commercial insurance industry, and has generously shared his experience and perspective with us.  He is making an impact and helping us get back to our mission of helping folks.  Thank you, Richard!  You are terrific!
Thank you, Kimberly!

Huge thanks to Kimberly Keown, one of our amazing campers, who saved up to purchase some new costumes for Camp after all of our costumes were lost in the fire. We are so touched by her generosity, and so excited to have the start of a new costume closet for all of our campers!

We are proud to have had over 2300 enrollments for our Virtual Camp programs so far this year. Our 'Kremtastic Events' have allowed our campers to keep in touch with their camp friends, and enjoy a range of engaging activities, safely, from the comfort of their homes. We have a lot more exciting virtual events coming up! Take a look below to see what we have in store for the next few months and visit www.campkrem.org/enroll, or click on the button below, to register.
 
Click Here to Enroll for Virtual Camp
We are kicking off our end of year fundraiser with Giving Tuesday, on November 30th. Make a donation online on Giving Tuesday and help us get back to serving our campers as soon as possible!

With your support, we can get our new property ready for our campers next summer, and continue to rebuild our beloved Camp in Boulder Creek. We need your support more than ever!

This holiday season fundraiser is the perfect opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation. We hope you will consider making a donation to support our mission of making a difference in the lives children, teens and adults with disabilities in 2022, and for many years to come. Thank you for your consideration.
NB: We have been declared eligible for FEMA funding to assist in our recovery and rebuild effort, which will make an enormous difference if we are able to use it. However, FEMA funds only certain parts of the rebuild, as well as requiring us to pay a percentage of the full rebuild cost (matching FEMA funds). There will be numerous areas of Camp which will be deemed 'ineligible' and will be our sole responsibility to fund. In order to restore Camp completely, and to be able to serve our campers as soon as possible, we still need to raise a lot of money. Therefore, our donations are restricted to FEMA ineligible costs, to provide the 25% match to FEMA eligible costs, or to get our new facility safe and ready to host campers.

Work Party Volunteers



Heartfelt thanks to the hardworking volunteers who came to our last work party on October 30th! It was hugely productive. The gutters are cleared so we are prepared for winter, burnt brush was cleaned up, and wood chips were spread for erosion control.
Thanks to the following wonderful people for giving their time to help:

 
Becky Crill
Danielle Crill
Sergio Gonzalez
Gabe Goulart
Tracy Goyette
Brenda Hawley
Joe Linehan
Pastor Adam Miller and the Boulder Creek Community Church
Jessica Smith
Colleen Smith

 

Upcoming Work Days


With winter on its way, and the weather being unpredictable, we have not scheduled any official work days. That being said, somebody from Camp Krem will be on-site virtually every sunny Saturday and Sunday throughout the winter, and we would welcome the help. We still have much to do!

If you find yourself available and willing to pitch in, please
contact Alex. We require volunteers to have filled out our online volunteer release form, so please be sure to complete this from your computer or smartphone prior to coming along to help. 
 

Facebook Fundraisers


Did you know you can set up a fundraiser for Camp through your Facebook page? Unlike all other online platforms, there is no processing fee for donations through Facebook, which means that we receive 100% of the donations!

If you use Facebook, and would like to help us raise much needed funds this holiday season, you can make a huge difference by setting up a fundraiser, where everything you raise will be sent directly to Camp.


Click here for instructions on how to set up a Facebook fundraiser.

Our deepest thanks to our many generous supporters who have done this recently: 

Bryen Alperin
Geri Baskind
Bea Bastino
Arlilla Bueno
Michele Bultman Tracey
Pati Carrera
Matt Cherry
Shannon Cherry
Autumn Christenson
Candace Cichuniec
Coleen Conway
Tania Curtin
Kelly Franklin
Jamie Gadbaugh
Katie Giampa
Mary Hansen
Kelley Howard
Lucy G. Huang
John Iwaszewicz
Meg Jackson-Reinhardt
Jeanne-Marie Jasko
Brittany Kabacinski
Rafferty Keegan-Sharief
Kimberly Keown
Kimberly Kidd
Freedom Kreutzer

Mercedes Larson
Miftah Leath

Edgar Abreu Lobel
Jennifer March
Khephra Molloy
Patricia Olney

Jakeel Patnode
Suzette Pendergras
Shenoa Payne
Oneil Patrick
Andrea Rea
Beth Rosenstein Silver
Frances Caslin Rothstein
Barbara Streett
Jennifer Thomas
Sarina Tom
Chloe West
Vicki Vaughan

Thanks, also, to their kind and generous friends who all contributed to their fundraising efforts.

Basketball Ticket Giveaway!
 

Santa Cruz Warriors vs. Birmingham Squadron
Saturday, February 26th, 2022 at 7pm
Kaiser Permanente Arena, Santa Cruz


We have 25 tickets to giveaway free to our campers and their families! Each year, Kaiser Permanente purchases 25 season tickets (the KP Zone) to benefit local non-profits making an impact in Santa Cruz County. Many thanks to Kaiser Permanente for their generosity.

Please
email us to claim tickets. First come, first serve. Limit 4 per family/group. A Camp Krem Camper must be in each group.

Please review Ticketmaster's 
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON EVENT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & HEALTH CHECKS before contacting us to reserve tickets.

Log Splitter Needed


We are in need of a log splitter! If you, or anyone you know, has one to lend or donate, please contact Alex. We would be immensely grateful!