Employee Handbook - Overlooked?

When you were hired on to work for Manito-wish, chances are you were sent a link to our Employee Handbook, asked to read it, and asked to sign a form saying you've read and understand the entire thing.

Now I don't know about you, but when I update my iTunes, or sign up for some online service, a Terms of Service thing pops up. It's usually about a billion pages long, and lets face it, I don't read a word of it. I scroll to the bottom and click "I have read and acknowledge the terms of this service". I then proceed to posting clips of the Daily Show on You Tube and violate everything I just agreed to.

I'm hoping that is not what happened when you were asked to read the employee handbook. When it comes down to it, this lays out the expectations in which keeps our campers safe. It's things you can get fired for, what you're liable for, and the expectations you're held to for your employment here.

The biggest surprises, and granted, the ones I really don't like dealing with, are the situations that pop up where people say, "Wait, that's not fair, I never knew that was an expectation!" Then I proceed to pull out the one page receipt you signed (or your job description) and say, "Really? Because you signed this form saying you've read and understand all of this."

Employee Handbook

Firstly, I'm going to encourage you all to click the above link, and go back through and re-read this handbook. There is a lot there, but its worth it. Here though (to peak your interest) are a few examples of things you may not have known:

Time off for Seasonal Staff (p. 53): "...Manito-wish will strive to see that each seasonal staff member receives a total of 2 non-consecutive hours off each day. Additionally, seasonal staff members will be off at least 24 hours every 2 weeks, in blocks of not less than 12 consecutive hours. Staff are expected to be in Camp at all times, with the exception of authorized time off..."

Unacceptable Conduct (p. 37): "...Allowing unauthorized persons (including family or friends) to enter the premises, unless prior authorization has been received by management..."

Speaking to the Media (p. 31): "...All inquiries from the media should be referred to the Executive Director. Employees may not speak to the news media, under any circumstances, as an official or unofficial spokesperson of Camp Manito-wish YMCA without receiving prior clearance from the Executive Director..."

Pay Practices (p. 16): "...Manito-wish expressly forbids staff members from accepting tips or gifts from anyone. Participants or anyone offering tips should be encouraged to either contribute to the Campership fund or the YMCA World Service fund..."

Ready to read a little more? After reading your Handbook, please feel free to submit any questions of clarification to your supervisor. We want to make sure we're all on the same page before you begin your employment with us.

Schwartz - Photo Update #2

Well, I posted too soon on Monday. Going back in to Schwartz this afternoon I got a better visualization of the amount of work they are actually doing in there.





They are literally stripping the bathrooms down to nothing and starting over from scratch. This is awesome.

Generous Donors

I often get the question, how does camp get the funding to offer the programs it does? Do you have a grant write on your staff? Where does the money come from?

It's called amazing, generous donors. They help provide funding for camperships (scholarships) for campers to come to camp. They help provide funding for renovations of our buildings. They in a sense 'underwrite' a certain percentage of our operations.

I asked Ellie Orbison, our Director of Development and Alumni Relations to explain. Here's what I learned.

In 2008:

• Over $180,00 was awarded to families for campership (financial assistance) for Summer Camp, Outpost, Leadership and Family Camp programs. This included donations from the Annual Fund Drive as well as endowment distributions.
  
• Over $ 434,000 was given to support the 2008 operations through the Annual Fund Drive. Our goal for 2009 is to raise $400,000 for our Annual Fund Drive. This supports a good percentage of our operating budget.
  
• Over $72,000 was distributed to Camp's budget from our Endowment Fund. (An endowment fund is an account that is invested to earn a return of income and growth of which a percentage of the account value is used each year for a specified charitable purpose.)
  
• Almost 1,200 folks made a contribution to Camp – over $1.1 million in total donations!

Ellie also pointed out, that on top of people donating money to Camp, they also donate their time.

"You’ve seen the volunteers on opening days helping us welcome campers and their families. There are also over 100 volunteers who make calls to ask people for donations to the Annual Fund Drive, over 200 volunteers who help clean up Camp over Memorial Day Work weekend, and many more who help in countless ways throughout the year writing birthday cards, stuffing envelopes and other odd jobs, and/or telling their local communities about Manito-wish."

We wouldn’t be the Manito-wish we are today without the support of the thousands of people who have given their work, wealth and wisdom through the years.

Ellie also said that a few years ago after Anne Derber had finished signing a bunch of thank you letters to our donors, she wrote a note that said, “Good golly, Manito-wish people are generous!” And she is right!!


Thanks to Ellie for writing up all of this information, and thanks to all of our donors who help support us and make this place what it is today!

Schwartz Lodge Renovation

Demolition began today on the Schwartz bathrooms. Renovations on this particular facility are long overdue and were originally a part of the capital and endowment campaign. This is a critical building for us, both in terms of staff housing and housing for various leadership and family groups.


Bathroom renovations and work on the ventilation system will be completed with money from the building fund and earlier contributions. We have a window of opportunity in the next month to complete this first wave of projects and these improvements will significantly enhance the building.

Contrary to popular belief, I did not find any mold behind these walls!

Additional dollars to remodel the bedrooms, living room and kitchen will be raised in the coming months. When the rest of the funds are secured, we will complete the rest of the renovation work.

Sadly, even this popular vinyl flooring will be replaced.

Think I could sell these on Craigslist?

Nash Lodge - Kitchen Update

Here is a quick glimpse of what Nash Lodge's kitchen is looking like from the outside.

Here is a new entrance from the end of Nash that faces Lakeview cabin. This will be a loading dock for dry goods. Also note the dumpster corral (covered in the tarp) on the right.

Here is the loading dock. You can see where the recycle room was, is now the walk-in cooler.

Here is the entrance to the Nash Basement.

Next up? Inside: new dish washer, walk-in cooler and freezer and more.

Signs

Before...

After.

Many of the signs around Camp are getting painted from their dark wood color with dark letters, to classic Manito-wish orange and brown. It's amazing how much a little bit of paint really makes these things pop.


Amongst other projects Jon and his crew have been up to, I noticed one day that the Far South Wash House has completely new doors! And they are easy to open!

Staff Recruiting 2009

Our college recruiting season has been fun, wild, crazy and fun. Double fun! We've been to Lawrence, La Crosse, Stevens Point, and Northern Michigan University. Along the way, we taught students with rubber chickens (at left) and words (below, right):

We also set up booths like no one's business. At a moment's notice, we could set up a booth almost anywhere, and still have time to give you a thumb's up or a high five.

Record booth set-up time: 1 minute, 34 seconds (unofficial).

We logged many miles getting from college to college, and since we didn't have enough time to bike, we painfully filled up our camp van with gas:

We always wear suits when we pump gas.

We have accomplished a lot during our college visits: recruited quality staff, led fun and educational activities in classrooms, and reconnected with current and former staff at various job fairs. But we couldn't have done these things without the help of our current and former Manito-wish alumni. Thanks to everyone who has helped us make these events successful!

Next up is Northfield (St Olaf and Carleton) February 23 and 24th. After Birkebeiner weekend, it's Back on the road...

Moving On

Dear Manito-wish Community,

I’m writing to let you all know that March 13th will be my last day as Summer Program Director. I will be moving to Madison to spend my first summer in ten years not at Camp. It’s a big move, and I’m excited for the opportunities ahead.

It’s been a wonderful, challenging, and rewarding three and a half years as Summer Program Director at Manito-wish. It’s been great to work year round with such motivated team of individuals, have the chance to help mold and shape our future leaders, and meet hundreds of amazing people that find themselves connected with Camp.

I will be taking my next step in life to work for REI in Madison, WI as their Outreach Specialist, planning clinics and events for the Madison area, and as the job description reads “building community relationships and fostering volunteerism within the local community”.

On top of this I will be looking at getting back into leadership facilitation work, which I’m very excited about. (Hopefully Mark will hire me to facilitate a few programs!)

Up through March 13th I will be focused on my responsibilities at Summer Program Director and will work closely with Drew and the rest of the program team to help make this a smooth transition for everyone. A succession plan has been put in place to assure that all summer program planning and preparation will be taken care of by the program team up through the summer - including finding a new Summer Program Director to begin this spring.

By no means are my past ten years with Camp coming to an end. I look forward to being part of this great community known as Manito-wish for many years to come. It’s been a pleasure to serve this community in such an esteemed position, and I look forward to this next chapter in life in the Madison area.

Thank you all for your friendship, support, and caring over my past few years. It's the Manito-wish community that truly makes this place remarkable, and again, I'm grateful to have served you all in this position. And if you’re in the Madison area, give me a call - it would be great to catch up.

Respectfully,

Brandt

Happy Ground Hog Day

Yesterday was Ground Hog Day, and our furry friend told us there will be another six weeks of winter. If we keep getting fiery sunsets like this one, we wont mind the next six weeks. Hopefully the ice melts before the swim challenges start.


(Looking over Boulder Lake)


(Fiery sunset through the frozen woods)