Quaker Knoll Campground and Retreat Center Rejuvenation Project

Greetings Friends.  My name is Eric Guindon and I am a 28 year old Quaker Frisbee enthusiast living, working, and serving in Wilmington, OH. With support from the Pickett Fund, I will be making efforts to rejuvenate and energize the operations at Quaker Knoll Campground & Retreat Center.

I will do so by creating and publishing promotional/marketing materials and facilitating summer camp programming for Quaker Knoll's summer christian education camps this June.

I was invited to join the Board of Directors for Quaker Knoll in Fall 2012. Upon joining the board, I learned that the Camp was experiencing financial hardship.  Quaker Knoll operated at a loss in 2012.  Board members attributed this to a decrease in Summer Camp registration numbers and outside groups renting the facilities.  Currently, there are very limited promotional/marketing materials for the Quaker Knoll Camp.

I am creating online and print promotional materials for Quaker Knoll with the purpose of improving outreach and increasing camp revenues.  The promotional materials include a functional website, social media accounts, Summer Camp informational brochures and Campground/Retreat Rental informational brochures and rack cards. I will distribute these materials by mail, email and by visiting member churches of the Wilmington Yearly Meeting .

According to reports from Camp Board, registration numbers for Summer Camp have declined in the past several years. I spoke with Camp Directors and the Christian Education Board for insight into possible causes. Among the factors mentioned were the increase in camp registration costs (result of off-site field trip costs) and a need to rejuvenate on-site Outdoor Recreation/Education Camp programming.  With support from the Pickett Fund, I will be offering new and exciting programming to attract and retain new campers and to decrease camp registration costs.   

New programming will include the installation of a 9 hole disc golf course on campus (which we will illuminate at night for glow in the dark disc golf and Ultimate Frisbee!), new leadership and team building activities, arts & crafts lessons (and new supplies), and providing any other resources Camp Directors may need to help enhance the camp experience.

I look forward to this experience and hope that it will help make a lasting impression on those who attend summer camps and all others who visit Quaker Knoll.  I will make another post after camps are finished in late June.

If other Pickett Fund recipients would like to get in touch with me to discuss their experiences, I can be reached at ericmguindon@gmail.com.

Peace!