Camp Echo Alumni E-News March 16, 2010 Welcome to all our new subscribers! Our last email newsletter was dated December 2, 2009 Recently, we added campers from the 1990s and early 2000s to our database. Most records included a parent's email address. We would love to email your former camper directly, so please reply with their name and email address; otherwise you will continue to receive our news. If you don't want to receive these emails, reply and let us know, and we'll take you off the email distribution list. Can't get enough? Follow us on Twitter: @YMCACampEcho Contents -------- - The "A Brenner Runs Through It" Scholarship Endowment - Second Annual Alumni/Staff Auction @ Justin's - Camp Echo 2010 Registration - Projects at Camp - Wastewater Treatment, Kybo North - McGaw YMCA Celebrates 125th Anniversary The "A Brenner Runs Through It" Scholarship Endowment ----------------------------------------------------- We're honoring the memory of Jon Brenner and his stewardship of the Camp Echo Adventure Tripping program by creating an endowment fund that will generate scholarship money for at least one boy and one girl to participate in our Trailblazer Trip each year in perpetuity. We are close to raising our initial goal of $50,000 for this endowment and a very generous anonymous donor has agreed to match your donation dollar for dollar up to $10,000, which will get us over the top. To make a donation, please contact Katie Trippi, katiet@mcgawymca.org, to receive the paperwork needed for the matching fund documentation. Click here for more information on how to contribute to this endowment: http://www.ymcacampecho.org/LaCrosse/index.html#ABRTI Second Annual Alumni/Staff Auction @ Justin's --------------------------------------------- Save The Date: Thursday, April 22, 2010 Second Annual Camp Echo Staff/Alumni Auction to benefit the Camp Echo Send-A-Teen-To-Camp Fund 7:00 pm at Justin's Bar, 3358 N. Southport, Chicago $25 admission; open bar with beer, wine, and soda 773-929-4844 http://www.justinsbar.com/ Last year's event was a huge success and a great deal of fun, despite the freezing weather. Please come mingle with other alums and benefit the best cause we know of. Because the event will be hosted at a bar, no one under 21 years of age will be granted entry. Like the "Staff Auctions" at camp, we will be auctioning off various services that alums have donated. For example, a group of former trip leaders is donating a canoe trip for up to ten people; another alum is donating yoga lessons; and a third has sent a gift certificate for their bed and breakfast. We are currently seeking additional donations from alums. If you are interested in donating, please contact Katie Trippi at katiet@mcgawymca.org Expect to receive an invitation, with the details, soon! Camp Echo 2010 Registration --------------------------- Some sessions and programs are filled, but there are still spaces in many of the more popular programs and sessions, so get the word out to your friends and family! Registration is running ahead of last year. A list of the summer programs for youth that are open/closed is here: http://www.ymcacampecho.org/summercamp.html As you can see there are still lots of spaces in July and August for grade school campers, and a number of Adventure Trips have openings. For Family Camp, there are 7 cabins available for Memorial Day Weekend; Week One in August is full with a waitlist; Week Two in late August (but still before Evanston schools start) has 23 openings; and Labor Day Weekend has 23 openings. Don't be left out! Register now! New this year: Adult Getaway Weekend, September 9-12. Projects at Camp - Wastewater Treatment, Kybo North --------------------------------------------------- We're moving ahead with our connection to the sewer system that services the homes across the lake; our wastewater will then be treated at the White Cloud Sherman Utilities. Phase 1 (laying pipes) is contracted and will begin as soon as the weather breaks. Phase 2 (actual connection) will occur in the fall after camp is over. We are currently seeking a leadership gift for the replacement of Kybo North. Please contact Katie Trippi or Rob Grierson if you can help. McGaw YMCA Celebrates 125th Anniversary --------------------------------------- 2010 is a year filled with events commemorating the 125th year of the McGaw YMCA in Evanston. We hope that Echo alums will make a special effort to any or all of these events and help us celebrate this milestone in our history. We've already kicked off the year with a gala event in January (400 attendees!) and a Brillianteen Alumni Revue last weekend featuring performers from Brillianteen shows 1960-1990. Here's a list of upcoming events: Saturday, May 22: Celebration of the legacy of the Emerson Street Branch YMCA -- Unforgettable -- dinner and dancing at the McGaw YMCA. Friday, July 2: All-time Y Club reunion event 7p-10p at the McGaw YMCA. Join us for an evening of food, music and memories we will be serving heavy hors d'oeuvres and an open bar with beer, wine, and soda. Ticket price is $30.00 per person. Sunday, July 4: Join your favorite folks from the Y and march in the Evanston Annual 4th of July Parade. McGaw will have an anniversary float and representatives from all our programs participating in the parade. August, Date TBA: Adventure Guides (Indian Guides and Princesses) Reunion Golf and Tennis Outing at Winnetka Golf Club and AC Nielson Tennis Center for all past program participants. Sunday, December 26: All Time Camp Echo Alumni Reunion, 8:00 pm at the Prairie Moon Restaurant, 1702 Sherman, Evanston. Make your plans now to meet up with your former cabin mates and counselors. We are planning to organize reunions in different cities around the country on this same evening and teleport everyone to Evanston via Skype or iChat. Let us know if you would like to organize an Echo reunion in your city. Saturday, January 22, 2011: McGaw YMCA Youth Programs Gala Culmination Celebration of the 125th Anniversary. Details to follow. Check out the McGaw YMCA 125th Anniversary Celebration website, http://www.kintera.org/site/c.rvI1IcNWJwE/b.5566299/k.BFDE/Home.htm for detailed information on the upcoming events. -- Foster the Spirit, Rob Grierson, Director McGaw YMCA Camp Echo