June, 1999
Dear Oljato Staff Alum:
It is hard to believe that the 1977-83 Camp Oljato Staff Reunion was almost a year ago. The memories of the event are still strong -- the rekindled friendships, the re-telling of old war stories, the raid on Camp, the logging road party, those omelets-in-a-bag, and even staying up past 11 PM! One of the highlights was the dinner at Lakeshore Lodge. You may remember that Bruce Brugler spoke about the establishment of a charitable fund to further the goals and experiences of Camp Oljato. The idea was to create a tax-deductible fund to carry out much needed Camp projects; provide camperships for needy scouts; and overall enrich the Oljato experience for present and future staff and campers.
It has taken a little while, but the wheels of motion have moved forward! The Oljato Fund, as it is officially known, was established a few weeks ago. The Fund is a non-profit organization that is overseen by an advisory board composed only of former camp staffers. On a day-to-day basis, The Fund is managed by Peninsula Community Foundation, which is not affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America (however, the Pacific Skyline Council -- formerly Stanford Area Council -- is fully aware of the intent of The Fund). Each year, the advisory board will coordinate with the Council to direct moneys to specific camp needs not normally funded by the Council budget. That means the dollars donated to The Fund will be used not for program or maintenance needs, but for things like restoration of Stern Lodge or purchase of medical equipment or addition of bear-proof lockers or similar worthy projects. The nitty gritty details of The Oljato Fund are included on the attached pages for your review, and further information is on the Fundís web site at www.moo.com/oljatofund/.
To get The Fund going, a core group of camp staff alumni were approached for starter pledges. In only two weeks, those individuals have committed over $4,600 to The Oljato Fund! In a tremendous development, the Fund also received a commitment from the Bernard A. Newcomb Foundation to match all contributions to the Fund, dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000! Thus, your gift of $100 means $200 to the Fund, or $500 means $1,000. Bernie Newcomb, the co-founder of E-Trade, has challenged us to raise our $10,000 for him to match, and you are cordially invited to make that happen! Donations of any size are welcome -- the core group has put in about $500 each, and we would hope that the majority of camp staffers would be willing to pledge at least $100. As we have projects starting in mid-June, we ask that contributions be made by July 1.
While the purpose of this letter is to get your financial support for the Fund, the real purpose of the Oljato Fund is to get former staff members re-involved in the Camp. We urge you to think of what else you and we can do for Oljato - be it gifting camping gear or an old boat, attending a work party, volunteering as a Camp Commissioner, or thinking of other ways to raise funds. The impact of Oljato has been profound in our lives and your support of Oljato and the Oljato Fund can extend the experience to the next generation and beyond. Thank you in advance for your efforts to make The Oljato Fund an integral part of the Camp Oljato legacy.
Yours in brotherhood,
Doug Aitken, Bruce Brugler, Phil Scoles, Pip Ziman
Advisory Board Pro-Tempore