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Thank you for making Camp Grier a huge success in 2014! As we reflect on the passing of another year, we can truly say it has been historic in every sense. We embarked on a new chapter in the Camp Grier story this year with new programs, the formation of a new 501(c)3 organization, and the creation of a new Board of Directors. We saw a 17% growth in our summer enrollment and are excited about what God has planned for our ministry in the future.

In this report, you will see both the growth of programs we started in 2014 and our plans to build on that momentum for the summer of 2015. In order to implement these plans we have committed to raise $75,000 this Christmas Season to continue to build our Summer Journey Program. These plans include installing a slide and two zip lines into Lake Refuge, creating a small equestrian program, and building a track for our mountain bike program. As supporters of Camp Grier, we ask that you and your congregation consider contributing financially to make these visions a reality for our young people this summer. Camp Grier and Outdoor Adventure Ministry have been critical in the faith development of children, young adults, and families for more than 62 years. We encourage you to come up and join us in an adventure this year!

Sincerely,

Jason McDougaldExecutive Director

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The rock climbing and whitewater paddling

programs continued to grow in 2014. Individual

and congregational support allowed us to install a new climbing

wall and zip line on campus. Your support

also allowed us to purchase new boats and

equipment for our paddling program.

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Our art program is also expanding. This year, young people made paper and journals to

document their experiences. Campers collaborated on tissue paper “stained glass”

windows and an all-camp fingerprint banner.

We literally planted the seeds for the new agriculture program at Camp Grier in 2014. With

620 acres our farm will play a big role in our program for many summers to come!

By Cristina Bolling

cbolling@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Saturday, Jun. 07, 2014

camp grier in the news

Ailazia Fisher has always been a kid with a get-up-and-go attitude, but there are a few things that scare her. Racing down a river in a canoe gets her heart pumping. And heights make her panic.

But each summer, 14-year-old Ailazia (say ah-LAY-zha) sets off to scale mountain rock faces, canoe down rivers and hone her swimming and camping skills at Camp Grier, 100 miles northwest of Charlotte.

A rising ninth-grader from Charlotte’s westside, Ailazia has headed off to Camp Grier every summer for the past four years. It’s there, she says, that she learned outdoor skills like turning river water into drinkable water and how to safely navigate a canoe through a fork in a waterway. But she says she also has camp to thank for getting over the fear of being away from her family and learning how to socialize with all types of people. “I wanted to stay home with my parents and friends,” she recalls from her first summer at camp, “but my mom was like, ‘You need to experience different things. You need to know different people and see everything that’s out there for you.’ ” This summer, the Charlotte Observer’s Summer Camp Fund will send 32 children from low-income families in the Charlotte area to Camp Grier.

Thanks to the generosity of readers, as well as matching grants and corporate donations, more than 260 kids will attend 14 camps this summer through the Summer Camp Fund. This is the fund’s sixth year.Caryn Overbey, who first met Ailazia when volunteering at Westerly Hills Elementary, helped sign Ailazia up for a scholarship spot through Overbey’s church, First Presbyterian Church in uptown.

Each year, Overbey, who Ailazia calls her “camp mom,” helps Ailazia get ready for camp by making sure she has the supplies she needs and treating her to a shopping trip to gather what she’s missing. The two keep in contact during the school year as well. “I think it’s definitely made her a little more outgoing, and given her excitement for doing things she hadn’t done,” Overbey said. “She just comes home every year from camp excited about some new experience she’s had. “I think anything like that makes you a little less afraid of new situations and challenges,” she said. “If you face those challenges in a situation like camp, it can’t help but spill over and help you face challenges in life.”

Ailazia’s mom, Tamika Walker, says she sees an excitement in her daughter when she returns home from Camp Grier each summer. “She talks to us about all the things that she’s done,” says Walker, a bus driver. “I can see her growth.” When asked about some of her favorite memories from camp, Ailazia’s thoughts turn to some of the toughest moments she’s faced. Like the day last summer when she was challenged to put on climbing shoes and tackle a steep rock face. “I’m scared of heights, so I didn’t want to go all the way to the top,” she said.“But everyone kept cheering me on with ‘You can do this!” and “You’ve got this!’ ” she recalls. “It really felt good.”

Join our efforts and be an individual or congregational supporter of Camp Grier. Together we can share God’s love and the teachings of Jesus Christ through outdoor adventure ministry with hundreds of young people each year.

More than any other type of ministry, Outdoor Adventure Ministry, has the ability to connect young people to God’s Creation. It is our responsibility to share that creation with young people in a way that is both relevant and authentic so that they may understand God’s Creation more deeply, love Creation more fully, and protect Creation with greater fidelity.

Last year you donated over $40,000 that allowed us to install a new climbing tower and zip line on campus and purchase new boats and equipment for our whitewater paddling program. We are asking for your help again this year as we continue to make Camp Grier an exciting and meaningful destination for young people to experience God. Our goal is to raise $75,000 to to put a water slide into Lake Refuge, establish a small equestrian program, and build a pump track and skill development course for our mountain bike program.

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Camp Grier continues to be loved and well utilized by many supporting church families across North Carolina. The family of Taylorsville Presbyterian Church is no exception, as we have taken seriously in recent years, a renewed call to ensure the success of Camp Grier's mission and ministry. We have loved being active supporters of and participants in many of the new and ongoing events hosted by the camp. A large group from Taylorsville ran in the 5K Run Through the Woods race last year; a cabin full of TPC folks gave time and energy on the springtime workday; the Fall Festival was greatly enjoyed by a number of TPC families; we also held our own Church Family Retreat in main camp this October, sharing meals and space with First Presbyterian of Newton.

In addition to these group activities, Camp Grier has been a sacred space for spiritual and developmental growth in the children of our church for generations. Each summer, a number of TPC children and youth continue to grow in their faith in God and love of the outdoors as they participate in summer camp programming from the waters of Lake Refuge to the top of the fire tower trail and all points in between.

Like many Presbyterians in the region, some of these campers are 2nd and 3rd generation family members who seem to have Camp Grier flowing deep in their veins. We love spending our time together soaking up the unspoiled beauty and rustic wilderness of Camp Grier and invite other churches to experience this special place for themselves. It can be the perfect place for small or large gatherings, alike. Come check out what is happening at our Presbyterian camp... it really is the place to be!

Life, Love, Laughter,

Paul Sink, pastor and the Taylorsville Presbyterian Family

Taylorsville Presbyterian Church

A letter from Pastor Paul Sink

Isaiah 32:16-17

16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.

17 The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

To Make a Donation:Camp GrierPO Box 490

Old Fort, North Carolina 28762

Camp GrierPO Box 490Old Fort, NC 28762www.campgrier.org828-668-7793

“. . . .When asked about some of her favorite memories from camp, Ailazia’s thoughts turn to some of the toughest moments she’s faced. Like the day last summer when she was challenged to put on climbing shoes and tackle a steep rock face. ‘I’m scared of heights, so I didn’t want to go all the way to the top,’ she said. ‘But everyone kept cheering me on with ‘You can do this!’ and ‘You’ve got this!’, she recalls. ‘It really felt good.’”-Charlotte Observer, June 2014