The Lone Star Council of Camp Fire Boys and Girls has been
part of the North Texas community since its chartering in 1913, just three years
after the national organization itself was founded in New York in 1910. Then as
now, the leaders of Camp Fire were men and women committed to enhancing the
lives of children.
From the first campouts on Bachman Lake in 1914 to the
beginnings of the beloved Camp Ellowi in 1937, Camp Fire has provided a wide
variety of opportunities for children to learn and grow.
But Camp Fire knows that times change, and the organization
has responded to these changes and the complex needs of today’s children in many
ways: we were the first youth organization to become co-educational, and we
remain one of just two national youth organizations with co-ed programming for
children ages 6 to 18.
The organization was one of the first youth agencies to
conduct drug and alcohol prevention programs. Our locally originated gang
intervention program, is among the first of it’s kind. Camp Fire also assists
today’s youth with self-reliance courses for the different grade levels in the
public schools; free and low-cost after school child care programs based in more
than 15 local apartment complexes, churches and neighborhood recreation centers;
the nationally acclaimed KIDTALK telephone warmline for children home alone
after school; camps for low-income and inner-city children, as well as summer
day camps at our own Camp Ellowi.
The agency also offers alternative education
and counseling services for youth referred by the local juvenile authorities,
and in fact this program was named “the best program of its kind” for
1998 by the Dallas County Juvenile Department. A variety of student enrichment
programs, in conjunction with several other youth agencies, are also offered in
the Richardson Independent School District.
Although some of these programs may seem a long way from
clubs and camping, it is important to remember that the organization has
retained its traditional core values and that all our youth programs are based
on the traditional precepts of Camp Fire: small youth groups learning to
cooperate together to achieve a goal; the fundamental values of our society
which work just as well in 1999 as they did in 1913; conservation of natural
resources; respect for individuals as well as diversity; and of course, the joy
of camping.
Just as we remember important milestones from our past, the
year 1998 has become a new milestone in the history of the Lone Star Council of
Camp Fire. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in our more than 85 year
local history: it is the year we acquired and moved in to the first permanent
home the council has ever had.
What at first appeared to be a negative development–the
decision of the landlord to tear down the building where we had leased space for
more than ten years–became instead an exciting opportunity for institutional
growth. It offered us the opportunity for a permanent and professional home for
staff and volunteers, and a much-needed sense of belonging for club leaders and
youth members. The board and staff readily met the challenge to acquire the land
and building that will now house the Lone Star Council of Camp Fire far into the
foreseeable future.
To all those who made this possible: the foundations,
businesses, individuals, and most importantly the leadership of the agency, both
staff and volunteer, a debt of gratitude is owed which can never be repaid. Mrs.
Dee Collins Torbert must also be recognized, for without her our new home would
have remained but a dream. Through the James M. Collins Foundation, she helped
make it a reality.
With this annual report we are pleased to present snapshots
of the Lone Star Council of Camp Fire Boys and Girls–from our past to our
present.
And we look forward to our future, where with your help we
will continue our work to improve the future of those we serve–the children of
North Texas.
President�s
Message:
Give
service… pursue knowledge … The ten-year-old girl sat quietly reading a
book, hardly looking up as pictures were being taken to record the recent
donation of over 1,000 books by a young man as part of his Eagle Scout project.
This young man was delivering books he had collected to be used to improve the
reading skills of children. The girls is a member of one of the Camp Fire�s
after-school Kids Clubs that operate in over twenty sites throughout Dallas. At
Kids Clubs, children who would have little or no after-school supervision, get
help with their homework and participate in supervised activities that teach
leadership skills and the value of community service, a lesson that was
demonstrated by the young man. Located in the apartment communities where
children live, Kids Clubs allow children to interact positively with other
children and adult role models, learn new skills and have fun in a safe setting.
The
United Way of Metropolitian Dallas recently completed a community needs
assessment that identified after-school programs as a critical need for
children, not only to keep them safe, but also to keep them out of trouble. Camp
Fire is filling this need through Kids Clubs and other programs where children
and youth learn the skills and knowledge they need to be successful.
Kids
Clubs offer a unique opportunity for continued growth in the services Camp Fire
provides to the community. Since the founding in 1910, Camp Fire has brought
small groups of children together under the watchful eye of an adult
leader/mentor. In Kids Clubs, as in all Camp Fire programs, children learn
important lessons on how to live their lives, how to work together as a unit,
how to appreciate and protect the outdoors, how to interact with adults, how to
plan ahead and make decisions and how to give service to their communities.
This
past year, Camp Fire turned 90. The basic tenets have remained the same
throughout those ninety years and many of you recognized the themes of the Camp
Fire Law in the Kids Club program:
Worship God … Seek Beauty … Give Service … Pursue Knowledge
Be Trustworthy … Hold on to Health … Glorify Work … Be Happy
But
while the basic themes have remained constant, the programs we offer have
changed to meet the needs of the children and youth today. We are currently
engaged in a stategic planning process that will insure our growth and provide a
road map for the future of the Lone Star Council and a master plan for Camp
Ellowi, so that we will continue to meet the needs of children in the future. I
am honored to have had the opportunity to repay a small part of the debt that I
owe to Camp Fire, which was such an important part of my childhood. I hope that
each of you will support the work of Camp Fire as we continue to build caring,
confident youth and future leaders.
Lisa
Hyde
President,
Board of Directors, Camp Fire Boys and Girls Inc.
LONE
STAR COUNCIL
4411 Skillman Dallas,
TX 75206
Phone
(214) 824 – 1122 Fax (214) 824 – 1148
A
United Way Agency.
Lone Star Council of Camp Fire, Inc.
2000 Annual Report
(Internet edition)
Financial
Statements | President’s
Message
|
|
||
|
Assets: |
$14,936 |
$103,754 |
|
Cash |
||
|
Temporary cash investments: |
||
|
Endowment Funds |
101,826 | 96,093 |
|
Designated by Board for camping activities |
346,048 | 326,163 |
|
Capital campaign – Building Funds |
136,859 |
326,163 |
|
Camp Ellowi fund |
16,060 |
15,131 |
|
Accounts receivable |
85,839 | 64,924 |
|
Merchandise inventory |
9,302 | 7,928 |
|
Land, buildings and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation |
923,972 | 951,322 |
|
|
||
|
Total assets |
1,700,291 | 1,649,326 |
|
Liabilities: |
||
|
Accounts payable |
12,195 | 20,006 |
|
Accrued expenses |
22,714 | 17,390 |
|
Prepaid membership dues |
2,296 | 3,365 |
|
Total liabilities |
37,205 | 40,761 |
|
Net assets |
||
|
Permanently restricted |
91,693 | 91,693 |
|
Temporarily restricted |
189,677 | 167,358 |
|
Unrestricted |
1,327,222 | 1,400,559 |
|
Total net assets |
1,608,512 | 1,659,530 |
|
Total liabilities and net assets |
1,645,717 | 1,700,291 |
| 2000 |
1999 |
Unrestricted |
Temporarily Restricted |
Permanently Restricted |
2000 |
1999 |
|
| Revenues: | |||||
| Contributions | $68,089 | $42,785 | $110,874 | $172,200 | |
| Special events, net of direct costs |
|||||
| of $101,507 and $54,387 |
69,990 | 18,595 | 88,585 | 83,518 | |
| Federal awards |
44,034 | 44,034 | 45,854 | ||
| United Way Contributions |
605,371 | 605,371 | 588,271 | ||
| Membership dues |
3,684 | 3,684 | 4,895 | ||
| Program fees |
249,922 | 249,090 | 145,696 | ||
| Retail outlet sales, net |
(67) | (67) | 2,032 | ||
| Interest income |
19,938 | 13,975 | 33,913 | 28,339 | |
| Total revenue | 1,231,010 | 119,389 | 1,351,010 | 1,347,888 | |
| Net assets released from restrictions by satisfaction of program restrictions |
97,070 | (97,070) | |||
| Expenses | |||||
| Chi Omega Day Camp |
42,683 | 42,683 |
46,201 | ||
| Camping Activities | 204,090 | 204,090 | 145,696 | ||
| Alternative Education | 208,136 | 208,136 | 199,313 | ||
| Small Group Programs |
325,175 | 325,175 | 283,277 | ||
| Kids Clubs |
369,518 | 369,518 | 271,489 | ||
| School-Age Child Care | 70,747 | 70,747 | 64,306 | ||
| KIDTALK | 23,340 | 23,340 | 23,493 | ||
| Total Program Services | 1,243,689 | 143,689 | 1,033,775 | ||
| Management and general | 158,339 | 158,339 | 207,723 | ||
| Total Expenses | 1,402,028 | 1,402,028 | 1,241,498 | ||
| Loss on Caddo Camp Project |
64,370 |
||||
| Increase in net assets | (73,337) | 22,319 | (51,018) | 42,020 | |
| Net assets: | |||||
| Beginning of year | 1,400,559 | 167,358 | 91,613 | 1,659,530 | 1,617,510 |
| End of year | 1,327,222 | 189,677 | 91,613 | 1,608,512 | 1,659,530 |