Over the past 40 years, Carol Joy Holling Camp has grown to serve more than 1,600 children each summer. We continue to make improvements to meet the evolving needs of our campers.
TrailHead is the first experience many children have at Carol Joy Holling Camp. We want to make it the best experience, giving each camper a life-changing week and the desire to continue camping for years to come.
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A larger, more welcoming and inviting building will include bathrooms and showers that are accessible and ADA compliant.
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The kitchen and dining space will be able to provide for and accommodate our growing number of campers.
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Storm shelters will be updated and safety increased.
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The addition of bunk rooms will provide campers and counselors with a good night's rest, making active, busy days at camp more enjoyable for all.
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Our goal is to break ground in August of 2020 and complete construction before summer camp starts in 2021.
THE PLAN
In order to create a better experience for TrailHead campers, we will replace the platform tents and 4,500 sq. ft. Holling House with a new two-level 12,000 sq. ft. building. The upper level will feature a dining/meeting room, kitchen, storage rooms, bathrooms, and a large deck. The lower level will have 10 camper bedrooms each sleeping eight with its own bathroom and shower and three staff bedrooms. The building will include an elevator and one bedroom will be ADA compliant. The lower level fellowship area will serve as additional storm shelter space.
The new facility will allow campers to sleep in weather-safe and climate-controlled comfort, enabling daily activities to happen with well-rested leaders and participants. The new sleeping quarters with attached bathrooms eliminate the need to wake a counselor every time a child needs to use the bathroom during the night. This will also reduce injuries caused by walking across the uneven ground and will reduce bed wetting for children who are afraid to walk outside in the dark. Some of the TrailHead tents will be repurposed for activities and gathering areas. A few may be used for “traditional” outdoor camping experiences once each week.
CAMPERSHIP ENDOWMENT FUND
Amount: $1.5 Million
NLOM has a long-term policy of making camp available to any interested child regardless of their family’s ability to pay. In order to ensure that camp continues to be affordable for years into the future, NLOM seeks to establish a $1.5 million endowment fund. Earnings from the endowment fund will provide partial or full Camperships to individuals who need financial assistance in order to attend camp. This will enable NLOM to continue to partner with other non-profit organizations like Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Lutheran Family Services, Habitat for Humanity, and others to provide a camp experience for the children they serve.
ENDOWMENT FUNDS
Endowment funds support Carol Joy Holling Camp’s vibrant future. Gifts that are designated for endowment are invested in perpetuity and the earnings are used to sustain vital programs, such as Camperships for children and seminary scholarships for summer staff members who respond to God’s call to serve the church.
SEMINARY SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT FUND
Amount: $500,000
​One of NLOM’s priorities is to raise and empower faithful leaders for the church. While working on the Summer Ministry Team, many young people feel God's call to enter full-time ministry. In fact, at least 44 SMT members have gone on to become pastors over our 40 year history. In order to help people pursue their calling, NLOM desires to establish a $500,000 endowment fund. Earnings from the endowment fund will provide seminary scholarships to gifted young people. In this way, our work in shaping faithful leaders extends well beyond the boundaries of camp.
PLEASE JOIN US IN SHAPING FAITHFUL LEADERS!
Make your pledge or gift today!
IN PERSON
Call Jason Gerdes, Trish Haniszewski, or Dennis Remington at 402-944-2544 and we’ll come see you!
NLOM
27416 Ranch Road
Ashland, NE 68003
Please indicate that your gift is for the TrailHead Campaign.
BUDGET
New Building
Facility, Site Prep
and Contingency
Architectural Furnishings & Signage
Parking Lot
Lost Retreat Revenue (9 months)
Miscellaneous
Subtotal
New Endowment Funds
Campership Program
Seminary Scholarships
Subtotal
Campaign Total
Total
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$ 2,876,000
$ 212,000
$ 71,000
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$ 47,000
$ 35,000
$ 21,000
$ 3,262,000
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$ 1,500,000
$ 500,000
$ 2,000,000
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$ 5,262,000
AMOUNT PLEDGED
$2 Million Raised!
38% of Campaign Goal
Building: $1.9 Million
Campership Program: $44,000
Seminary Scholarships: $54,000
THE CHALLENGE
Since 1979, the TrailHead program site has been home to Carol Joy Holling Camp’s youngest campers. It hosts children in first to third grades, as well as fourth to sixth grades. Campers stay in large platform tents with other children their age and a camp counselor. Bathrooms and showers are located in separate facilities away from the tents. While thousands of campers have enjoyed TrailHead, the facilities are not up to the standards of today’s children and families.
While camp is a safe place, the current configuration of TrailHead does not promote a feeling of safety to campers or their parents. An American Camp Association study suggests that campers perceive safety differently than adults. While adults tend to understand safety through a lens of physical care, young people understand safety as a feeling of welcome, love, and comfort.
Carol Joy Holling Camp must address the safety concerns of children and adults—assuring them of a positive, caring, and comfortable camp experience. The same study reports that campers experience a higher level of safety when they:
• are with their counselors throughout the day and night;
• do not feel judgment from other campers or staff; and
• stay in a space that is like home.
Campers have been coming to TrailHead for faith-development,
friendship and fun since 1979. However, in recent years, it's become clear that a new facility is needed to provide a more safe and comfortable experience for our campers.
HOLLING HOUSE CHALLENGES:
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The building, bathrooms and showers are not accessible or ADA compliant.
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The kitchen is outdated and the dining hall is too small.
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The storm shelter isn’t as safe as it could be.
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The building is not welcoming or inviting.
TENT CHALLENGES:
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The tents are unbearable during hot weather causing campers to often sleep on the floor at Holling House or on the hill in open air.
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The tents harbor bugs, mosquitoes, and spiders, which create fear for campers.
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The tents make night-time access to bathrooms difficult and scary.
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The tents are not safe during storms and campers must move to Holling House for shelter.
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The bath houses are inconveniently located and run out of hot water often.