Camp Daniel’s 20/20 Vision is name for the capital campaign launched to raise the funds to finish building the Little Newton Lake Campus. God’s vision is 20/20 and we believe He is calling us to have the new Little Newton Lake Campus finished by the year 2020. With your help we believe we can accomplish this vision and give our Campers with disabilities a new, beautiful, all accessible campground that they deserve.

There has been a growing demand for a facility that better fits the needs of people with disabilities. Camp Daniel has reached a pivotal point where the uncompleted campground restricts us from meeting the growing demand of the disabled community. Approximately 10% of applicants each summer are turned away due to facility limitations at the campground that Camp Daniel rents. These limitations include lack of wheelchair accessibility to the lakefront, cabins, bathrooms, and recreational areas. There are recurring maintenance problems every summer that affect the campers directly. Time is of the essence, as the rented campground is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the requirements of Camp Daniel’s campers.

Some of the journey at Camp Daniel has been difficult, and during those times of walking blindly through the dark
ness of struggle, we have learned that God’s vision is always 20/20. He will bring someone along to fulfill His purpose and lead us towards Him. But it is only in looking back that our vision becomes, as the old saying goes: 20/20 in hindsight! Camp Daniel is what it is because God has a plan and has imparted a vision for His work.

We ask that you pray and work with us for the fulfillment of this phase of the vision God has given us. We believe with all of our hearts that He is directing us to complete the campus here in Athelstane, by the year 2020. We ask you, on behalf of the counselors, volunteers and most importantly our campers with disabilities, to join us making this vision a reality by the year 2020.

The staff at Camp Daniel hasn’t dedicated their lives to reaching out to the lesser, damaged, unworthy people with disabilities.  That’s because they don’t exist.  We believe that each person with an intellectual and/or physical disability has value to those around him.  No matter the severity of a disability, each person has the power to affect those around him in a positive way.  At Camp Daniel, each person is dependent on the others, with a disability or not.  With the help of God, we hope to spread this mindset to every camper and counselor that attends Camp Daniel.

There are other summer camps in Wisconsin that focus on the disability community, but none can offer the combination of 1) 1:1 or 1:2 camper to counselor ratio 2)basic Christian lessons 3) programming that is second to none 4)low cost  5)and when the campus is complete, it will be the only campus designed specifically for people with disabilities.

The focus of Camp Daniel has always been serving people with disabilities through summer camps and other programs; it has not been all about building a campus.  We are a simple organization that has accomplished much more that should be possible.  And yet, we can only do so much at once, while maintaining debt-free and volunteer driven.  We have built the campus as money is available, all the while keeping construction and overhead costs as low as possible.  As excited as we are to be able to have camp in a creatively designed space specially made for our campers, what good would we have been to the hundreds of people we have hosted at camp if we spent all of our time and energies on capital campaigns and construction?  Instead, Camp Daniel has chosen to offer as many camp sessions as possible, with the best programing around for the past 20 years.  We are now reaching the end of the construction journey with the goal of the Camp Daniel campus being fully complete by 2020.  The goals to complete during this last phase are the construction of the dining hall, outdoor amphitheater, ball field, sidewalks and roadways.   At that point, Camp Daniel will no longer be forced to rent a local youth camp that is in disrepair, but will have camp on a fully accessible campground where campers and counselors will be able to focus their energies on having fun.

Because our camps can get loud with music and cheering, those with auditory sensitivity (common with autism) often are forced to go outdoors or away from the group activity.  The Camp Daniel dining hall, chapel, and recreation areas will all have specially designed spaces to accommodate sensory sensitivity, while still allowing the campers to participate and be a part of the activity.

When Camp Daniel is not hosting a camp, the grounds will be available for rent for weddings, meetings, church family camps, and camps hosted by other organizations.  One benefit will be financial, and will be substantial enough to cover overhead costs throughout the year.  Another benefit revolves around disability awareness.  Camp Daniel currently has 5 people with disabilities renting rooms.  Those people, along with staff and volunteers will be working on the grounds and serving whatever group is renting.  We have worked alongside people with disabilities throughout the past 15 years, and that won’t stop when construction is done.