A few months ago, we promised that there were some new and exciting things coming up for Beacon this year, and now we're ready to announce one of them! 

Many of you know that Beacon is entirely run by volunteers. The year-round staff and summer staff teams are supported by Friends of Beacon for their work, but are technically volunteering their time at camp. Our session staff are true volunteers, with some committing multiple weeks during the summer and weekends during the rest of the year to make sure that Beacon runs smoothly and in a God-honouring way. 

Serving as a volunteer in ministry is always interesting: of course we do it because we want to serve the Lord, and volunteering isn't about the money. At the same time, we know that it's getting increasingly hard for young people to give generously of their time, with financial pressures coming from all sides. As a group, we started thinking: how can we help our amazing volunteers out? 

Our solution: a volunteer discount program! 

For the summer of 2018, we're going to launch a trial run of a discount program, where those who serve in specific roles at camp will be able to access a discount from camp fees, for themselves or a family member. We're excited to bless our staff in this way, and to say a heart-felt thank you in a practical and tangible way. 

For every week that you volunteer at Beacon, we're offering a discount off your own camp fees (I'm looking at you, Alpha-aged volunteers) or for your child or grand-child. The discounts are as follows: 

Cabin Leaders: $75/week volunteered
Kitchen Staff: $75/week volunteered
Head Cook: $200/week volunteered
Medical Staff: $200/week volunteered

If you're an Alpha-aged camper, that means that volunteering for 4 weeks of camp this summer as kitchen staff or a cabin leader means that you'd only have to pay a grand total of $40 for your camp session. Moms and dads, a week of volunteering would reduce your child's camp fee by almost 25%!  

So, what do you have to do to access the discount program? First off, you have to volunteer. We have a staff application process that needs to be followed to ensure that our staff are properly vetted before spending time at Beacon (details for how to apply are below). In order to make sure that you've got your training done, you won't have access to the discount unless your training and application are all done before you arrive at camp to serve. Also, we're capping the discount at $500/summer (basically covering the cost of our most expensive camp). 

As I mentioned above, this is going to be a one year trial (for now). We've never done something like this before, so we want to make sure we're going about it the right way. We'll step back in the fall, figure out if it was used well or not, and make a decision for 2019. 

If you're someone who's already stepped up to volunteer for Beacon this summer: thank you. We know that giving up a week of your vacation time or your potential for summer income is a big thing, and we're grateful that you've chosen to give that time to God at Beacon. We'll be sending an email around to all of our currently registered staff to check in about whether you want to use the Volunteer Discount Program. 

If you haven't signed up to be a volunteer yet, but you think you'd like to be a part of what God is doing at camp in 2018: we'd love to hear from you. Head over to our Staffing Needs page and see if there's a spot that you can fill. Once you've applied (here), Alyssa will be in touch with you to talk about next steps. 

For those of you who can't help this year, but love Beacon anyway: please continue to pray that God provides the staff we need to serve our amazing campers this summer, and consider telling someone you know about Beacon, and about whether the Volunteer Discount Program might help them out! 

As always, if you have questions, we want want to hear from you. Email Luke at director@beaconbiblecamp.com, and we'll take it from there. Thank you for praying for us and volunteering with us as Beacon works to shine a light in this world.