Heartland Newsletter

December 2024

Welcome to Heartland’s newsletter, highlighting all things Heartland!

- Recaps - Highlights - Future Plans - And More!

Dear Heartland Community

In our last newsletter of the year, you will learn about some new faces at the Heartland Corral, our latest remodeling project, the Cornerstone Gap Year program, and an update on the start of our year-end giving campaign “Heartland’s Annual Day of Caring.”  You are receiving this newsletter because God has brought you into our family, and we want to help you stay connected!

Holiday Wishes & Holy Days

Whether at summer camp or on a church retreat, every day is a “holy” day when we intentionally draw near to God.  The mission at Heartland boils down to…creating an environment where children and adults alike are encouraged to acknowledge the Lord’s presence, sovereignty, and invitation into a deeper relationship with the author of life.  A day at Heartland’s wooded, rolling hills—filled with outdoor adventures, thoughtful scripture reading, and ending with worship songs around a campfire beneath a star-filled sky—feels pretty sacred to me. Don’t get me wrong, in terms of “holiness” camp doesn’t hold an advent candle to Christmas or Easter, but third place isn’t bad.  

Happy Holidays! From all of us at the land of “holy days,” Heartland Camps and Retreat Center.

Dan Scheneman
Executive Director

Cornerstone Program

We are close to halfway through our Gap Year program, the Cornerstone program, and there are many things to be thankful for as we approach the halfway point. We have five Cornerstone participants this year - four of them from outside the United States. We also have a new position in the program this year: an RA (“Resident Assistant”) position.

RJ Wheeler, a 2023 graduate of the Cornerstone program and now a full-time Heartland team member, is serving as our RA for this year’s program. He lives in Adventure House with the rest of the participants and assists with facilitating and leading community and spiritual development elements of the program, as well as serving as a peer-leader for the participants. This position has been a great addition to the Cornerstone Program!

Overall, the most exciting part of this program is getting to see the deep community that is built throughout the year. All five of the participants are motivated by the desire to grow deeper in their relationships with God, to serve the ministries of camp, and to learn to act as the Body of Christ as a unified community. Every week, the five interns, RJ, and I gather in Adventure House for a Community Night evening, where we eat together, play games together, and worship and pray together to close the night.

A recent highlight of the program was a Friendsgiving that many of our full-time staff attended as well, and for our four international interns, it was their first opportunity to experience an American Thanksgiving meal! It was a great evening of fellowship and full stomachs.

We are excited to have this group for the remainder of the year as we finish this program. We are so grateful for their service here at Heartland.

Anna Mitchell
Traveling Day Camp & Cornerstone Internship Director

Looking Forward!

We are thrilled about next year’s camp season—and Heartland’s camper families are just as excited! Early registrations indicate that both onsite camps are set to grow for the fourth consecutive summer. Our Traveling Day Camp is also expanding; due to high interest from churches this fall, we’ve added an extra week to our schedule! Thank you to all the camper families and church partners who trust us to deliver unforgettable summer camp experiences!

Exciting updates are coming next summer! Two of our most popular overnight camps are expanding to include new age groups. For years, Middle School Horse Camp and Highlander Hydro Camp have been camper favorites. Starting next summer, we’ll introduce Highlander Horse Camp and Middle School Hydro Camp to provide even more opportunities for adventure!

We’re also welcoming two new horses, Charm and Sugar, to our herd! With this larger herd, we’ll now be able to accommodate a full family group ride at once, eliminating the need for split shifts. This will make our horse program more efficient and reduce downtime for everyone.

Lastly, we’re thrilled to announce that Nick, our Overnight Program Director, will be returning for another summer! Last year, he brought joy, creativity, dedication, and a lot of hard work to the role. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome him back!

All Summer Adventure

In summer 2025, Parkville Day Camp is expanding to its largest capacity yet, with 740 spots available across 11 weeks! With 60% of spots already filled, be sure to register your child soon. But that’s not all—our All Summer Child Care program, All Summer Adventure, is also growing and will now serve children from Kindergarten through 4th grade.

All Summer Adventure is a program where Day Campers join us every day for an entire summer of learning and fun. Campers enjoy weekly field trips and special classes, making each week unique and exciting. This past summer, field trips included petting cows at Shatto Milk, exploring pollinators at Powell Gardens, and learning to fish at the Clay County Nature Center. Special classes ranged from dancing and Latina culture to scrapbooking and tree identification/planting. Through these activities, our All Summer Adventurers discover more about God and the world around them in a fun, outdoor environment. We can’t wait to embark on even more new adventures next summer!

With all of this growth, we are building a new check-in spot to welcome these additional campers. We look forward to picking out a new and intentional area for campers to meet their counselors and new friends. This season is all about dreaming big and exploring new ideas to make the program even better! Stay tuned for more updates on all that we will be adding!

We are Thankful!

2024 has provided opportunities for our ministry partners to come alongside our ministry to impact the faith lives of our campers and guests.

Here are a few highlights from this fall:

• We celebrated our second annual Day of Caring, which raised funds that directly benefit our overnight campers by reducing their fees by 50%. Over $31,000 generously donated by 45 incredible individuals! 

• Thanks to a generous grant, we replaced the doors on Cray Lodge with new, energy-efficient, and safer options.

• We purchased “Sugar” with donations from “Neigh Days” and were blessed with a donation of “Charm” as well! This brings our herd total to 15.

• All new mattresses have been added to the House of Faith!

As the year comes to a close, we express our gratitude for the generosity of our ministry partners. We invite you to consider making an end-of-year gift to support our mission.

Your Donations Make a Difference!

Heartland Wish List

Heartland Camps and Retreat Center's ministry is supported in many ways, from cash donations to in-kind contributions. We're always looking for items that can help improve our facilities, programs, and maintenance needs.

• Reliable Car or SUV*

• Gator, Golf Cart, or Side by Side

• Reliable small pickup truck*

• Commercial Oven/Skillet

• Couches/Sofas in New or Gently-Used Condition

• Pool Vacuum (Robotic Cleaner)

• Chainsaw*

• Commercial Grade Cambro Food Storage Containers

• Washing Machines (top loading) and Dryers

• Table Lamps

• Basketballs, Volleyballs, Frisbees, Gator Balls*

• Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course

• Western Equestrian Tack (in good working condition): Saddles, Bridles, and Horse Blankets*

• Water Hoses

• Extension Cords and Powerstrips

*These priority items would greatly support and enhance our ministry operations.

We gladly welcome contributions toward facility upgrades. This plan includes the renovation of the Aquatic Center for 2025, new doors for Nunemaker Lodges, and the renovation of the walkway roofs and deck on Nunemaker and Cray Lodges, along with other improvements to our facilities.

For further details, please check out https://www.heartlandcenter.org/donate.

Employment

Interested in joining the Heartland family? Check out some of our open positions!

Activities Facilitator, social media team, and more!

Did you know?

To help our friends of Heartland with estate planning, our website now features:

• a gift intention form

• a qualified charitable distribution tool

• a will creator

• tools for donating stocks

While including Heartland Camps and Retreat Center in your will is optional, legacy gifts to Heartland can leave a lasting impact on our mission and provide financial and tax benefits for you and your family.