Lazy F Receives Grant for Operation Purple® Camp

Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center was recently awarded a grant for $37,655 from the National Military Family Association to provide a camp experience for children in military families.

Operation Purple^® Camp was created in 2004 in response to the call from military parents to “help us help our kids.” Since then, Operation Purple has grown to serve nearly 50,000 children and youth. This summer Lazy F will serve 100 children 8 – 12 years old whose parents are typically deployed.  Since the camp is open to children and families of active duty members of all branches of our military, it provides, a unique peer group to confide in, skills to better cope with separations, an experience of a beautiful natural environment, and the pure fun of being at camp.

Lazy F has been honored to be involved in the Operation Purple Camp program since 2008. During this time, Lazy F has received almost 1,500 applications and has served 665 campers. There is a high number of military families in our area and many have a family member currently deployed. This means many children are without their mom or dad (or both) for months at a time.

Obviously, the need for this program is great. Operation Purple is a wonderful extension of Lazy F’s mission: reaching out to children so they may experience our natural environment and helping campers connect with other kids facing similar issues.

The entire cost of the Operation Purple program has been generously funded through donations.  There is no cost for the families involved and no government funding is received. There is also no affiliation with the Department of Defense. We invite you to be involved in the funding of the Operation Purple Camp at Lazy F Camp and Retreat Center. Generous donations will help to attain our $10,000 goal to fully fund the 100 children who will be involved in the Operation Purple Program this summer.

Your financial donation is crucial to supporting this program in our area. Each year hundreds of children apply for limited opportunities to go to camp.  During the past several years, we had a number of United Methodist Churches helped to raise over $25,000 for Lazy F’s Operation Purple Camp.  These generous churches included: Aldersgate, White Salmon, Redmond, Kent, Cornerstone, Fairwood, Wenatchee, Wesley, Seattle United Methodist Youth Team, and Auburn First.

Please consider how your congregation may be involved in our campaign to help children in military families deal with their unique situation.  Several congregations hosted special events to raise money for this special camp: Kent, Cornerstone, and Fairwood held a choir festival and had a free will offering to raise over $3,000; Redmond UMC hosted the Seattle Flute Society concert and donated the offering; and First Wenatchee gave a portion of their Easter offering.  These activities helped to provide a wonderful time away for the children from military families become involved in the Operation Purple Camp.

Please contact Dave Burfeind (director@lazyfcamp.org or 509.962.2780) to find out more about how Operation Purple Camp impacts our military children and to discuss how your church may be involved while a parent is away protecting our country.