As preparations are underway for the upcoming Summer Camp season, and as Camp looks ahead to future seasons, the idea of constructing a pool has been of particular interest. Many people have approached board members about their interest in constructing a pool and the board has decided to officially kickstart the efforts by establishing a swimming pool fund. The Lord, through the generosity of His saints, is what has kept Camp Iroquoina going for over half a century, and when there is widespread interest to give toward an area or project at Camp, we don’t want to hold back the Lord’s people from exercising stewardship. Currently, the only place to cool off at camp is the swimming pond located near the soccer fields. Last spring, a team of volunteers did some critical work on the swimming pond over the span of multiple spring work days. The team repaired a leak at the back of the pond, drained it, and installed a new pipe and valve between the boating pond and the swimming pond to enable a continual flow of fresh water into the swimming pond. In addition, the team installed an aeration system that continually oxygenates the water.
Together, these two fixes helped stabilize the water quality in the pond by reducing algae and the growth of “bad” bacteria. Finally, new sand was delivered and a team of volunteers constructed a beautiful new beach. Unfortunately, a severe storm during the second week of Girls Camp destroyed the beach and rendered the pond unsuitable for swimming for the remainder of that week and for all of Family Camp. However, we thank the Lord that we passed every pond water quality test this past summer!
As Camp seeks to simplify the upkeep of our swimming area, the feeling is that a pool would help in that effort greatly. In addition to this, the swimming pond has not been of interest to many campers during some of the program sessions. Adding a pool will offer an opportunity for more kids to have a place to swim and gather together and will be easier to maintain and protect from the elements.
The initial plan is to construct the pool close to the bathhouse and A-Frame once funding makes beginning the project possible. This would allow for a close location to showers and to our Camp Facilitator’s living quarters, so proper monitoring of the pool will be ensured.
For those interested in helping fund the swimming pool fund, you can give online and select the “Swimming Pool Fund” under “Please direct my support.” Checks mailed to Camp can also go toward the fund with “Swimming Pool Fund” in the memo.
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