Opportunities

When I was asked to call for the offering at this last October’s Alumni Weekend, I admittedly reluctantly said “yes.” In preparation for the call, I asked academy staff and alumni officers about the current needs of the school, and the list was pretty long.

Trying to isolate one particular need, I looked up at the ceiling of the aging gym, and once again saw those discolorations on the ceiling tiles, the signs of a leaking roof! Without having any other ideas for an area of focus, I directed the audience’s attention overhead. They were asked to “give deep,” and I figured my job was done!

When my class of ’71 gathered that afternoon, I was met at the
door by an alumnus and her roofing contractor husband. In brief, they offered to bring in their roofing crew to replace the gym roof as a “mission project.” I was pretty amazed by this offer and suggested someone would be in touch with them.

The subject of the roof came up again in our class meeting with other offers to help. I was once again amazed that offers like this were coming in, particularly from the class of ’71.

That evening as our class was enjoying our time together at our home, another alumnus and her husband stepped forward saying, “We love to do Maranatha projects and are willing to help bring in a group of volunteers to help with the gym roof. How about if we meet tomorrow morning up on the roof with the roofing contractor!”

Instead of sleeping in, this group insisted on being up on the roof at the crack of dawn! Amazingly, a humble plan was developed, and in less that 24 hours after the offering appeal, we seemed to have some interesting “coincidences” going on!

As the volunteers stepped forward during that first day, another idea begin to formulate regarding raising money for the academy. Another alumnus friend of mine approached me saying, “You know I think we should set up a Committee of 500, like what colleges have, to raise funds for the gym roof and other projects”. What we have since learned is that several of our schools like Southern, Walla Walla and others have had dedicated alumni and friends get together to setup separate non-profit corporations with the sole intent of assisting the schools with support. The “500” typically represents an unlimited number of people who have agreed as part of their participation to contribute at least $500 annually. These have been amazingly successful endeavors that over the years have been instrumental in supporting the schools with resources that might not have otherwise come about. While “bricks and mortar” have been the typical outcome, scholarships and other forms of student aid have also developed. What also surfaced in this discussion is the reality that many academies across the country are admittedly in trouble, facing decreasing enrollment and spiraling cost increases. Over the weekend several alumni suggested is that with some kind of support of this type, Campion Academy could just be in a position to begin to be seen as more of a regional school and hopefully able to take up the slack in the unfortunate and perhaps likely event that some of these schools will decline and ultimately close. We may, in fact, have an obligation as some type of consolidation in our educational system begins to occur. However, without some upgrade to its infrastructure, the academy may not be able to step up to this need.

In conclusion, an informal group of “Campion friends” have begun formulation plans for two exciting ventures as summarized below:

1) A Committee of 500 type of organization consisting of “Friends of Campion” to
benefit the school is in its formative stages, with next steps to put together bylaws and
articles of incorporation for a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.

This non-profit organization would be designed to support the academy, but would not be a part of the school or board. It is envisioned to have its own separate board that will work to support
the school, and have its own accounts for collecting donations and ultimate distribution to
the school as needs occur.

2) Maranatha has agreed to come to the academy next summer, with an initial targeted date
of June 21st, for work to begin, and with actual work likely to go on for a week or two.

Another “coincidence” is that the academy girls’ dorm has been in need of painting and an
application had already been accepted by Maranatha for that task alone.

Now with the need to remove the gym roof as well as other projects across the campus, Maranatha has agreed to expand their support, allowing for many other projects, including the removal of
the gym roof so that the roofing contractor can do his work.

As alumni, we now have an opportunity to help. You can be part of contributing to the academy through the “committee” that is being developed, and/or you can come back on campus and spend a couple of weeks next summer to volunteer. The academy has agreed to open the dorms where volunteers can stay, and, of course, there are also motor home hook-ups available. The cafeteria will also be open with food services also provided for volunteers.

This could provide that chance to go back to your roots, to experiences of the past! Admittedly, the water tower is no longer there to go up and paint; however, with the class of 1971 expecting to take the lead in this venture, I’m sure some other opportunities for excitement will likely
surface!

Campion’s Extreme Makeover is about to begin!

Daryl Bohlender ’71