By Mary Owen
For Upward Bound campers, summer holds “walking along a forested trail and watching a butterfly, swimming in a cool crystal river, and catching a rainbow trout,” said Laura Pierce.
“It will mean hitting the archery balloon, participating in the talent show, and celebrating at the weekly dance,” said Pierce, who co-directs the camp, nestled in the hills northeast of Lyons, with her husband, Jerry.
“However, it’s not about doing things,” she added. “Camp is about relationships.”
Celebrating its 35th anniversary, UBC provides year-round Christian-based recreational and educational camp experiences for persons with disabilities, ages 12 and older. UBC is a state-licensed program founded in 1978 that is accredited by the American Camping Association.
“There are campers attending this summer that have not missed a season since first coming here in 1978,” Pierce said. “Back then, UBC was a wilderness camp. We would backpack in and out each week with a group, cook over open fires, and sleep in tents and Adirondacks. It was a lot of work. It’s still a lot of work, but it’s also a blessing. I would never trade it for working a 9 to 5.”
For staff, working at UBC is often on-the-job training for career choices in special education, health care or related fields. It’s also an opportunity to put their faith into action, serving with very little monetary reward, according to Pierce.
Staffers range in age from 17, who act as volunteer counselors-in-training, to college students and graduates, 19-39, who serve as counselors, providing personal care and implementing daily programs for recreation and social events. Many retired community members also serve as volunteers in the office or campground maintenance.
“Our day usually starts about 5:30 in the morning and ends at 10:30 at night, a day full of talking and playing and listening and sharing,” Pierce said. “A full day of being blessed by a group of people who love so unconditionally, give so freely, and celebrate life so completely.”
Campers come from all over the United States and the world, but mostly the Pacific Northwest. UBC serves between 30 and 40 campers a week over a 14-week summer. Numerous camps are held throughout the year, including holiday camps for people without family at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also offered are spring-break camp, leadership camps, respite and day-camp sessions.
“The staff go caroling during the holidays to the medically fragile homes in the area and receive community support to distribute Christmas gifts,” Pierce said.
As camp chaplain, Jerry Pierce visits the sick, paerforms weddings and memorials, and prays with the lonely.
“For most of the campers, he is the only pastor they really know as many campers don’t have a church home in their community,” Pierce said. “Most churches lack programs to meet the needs of people with disabilities.”
As a non-denominational ministry, UBC offers support and training to help and inspire church leaders to “open their doors as wide as possible,” Pierce said. “Interns from all over the world come to UBC to study at camp and learn more about how to improve or start services for people with special needs,” she added. “After serving at UBC, the directors will send a team to help them set up a program that meets their cultural needs.”
Professional staff at the camp includes a nurse, emergency medical technicians and certified nursing assistants, according to Pierce.
“As a certified medical training center, UBC offers a wide range of courses in emergency preparedness from basic first aid to Wilderness First Responders courses, even Pet First Aid,” Pierce said.
Other opportunities offered to the community outside of camp include the Traveling Nature Museum, available to schools and other groups.
When asked what she learned over the years of service with Upward Bound, Pierce said, “God is bigger than I could ever imagine. He has created every individual with a plan and a purpose. Every day he shows me more. I have learned that I can really do more with him than I ever could under my own strength,” she said. “It’s not about doing a work, but about building relationships.”
To keep things running smoothly, Pierce said she could use more time in the day.
“Less focus on ourselves and more vision for who God is and where he wants to take us in our relationship with him,” she added.
UBC also needs funds to pay electric bills, buy toilet paper and put food on the table, “anything a household could use,” Pierce said.
According to Pierce, a major need at this time in the camp’s growth is affordable housing options for year-round staff and a new facility to meet the growth of service. Also needed is a full-time food service manager who can plan, cook, serve and clean.
Despite ongoing needs, camp life suits the Pierces, affirming that there is “more to life than making money, watching television, or indulging my own pride and passions.”
The couple is grateful for those who make camp possible. Recently, members of Calvary Lutheran in Stayton came and worked, cleaning, repairing, planting, sewing, painting, and even building a new stage for camp performances.
“Local residents stop by frequently to bring things like a ream of paper, cleaning supplies, embroidered towels, canned goods, or new garden tools,” Pierce said. “Some just stop by the office for prayer.”
UBC will formally celebrate its 35th with at its annual banquet and auction, Oct. 12 at the Renaissance Inn and Conference Center in Keizer. Camp awards are also given at this event.
“The public is invited to come and share in the festivities,” Pierce said.
For more information about Upward Bound or the fall banquet, contact the office at 503-897-2447 or e-mail [email protected]. The UBC calendar of events and past newsletters are available at www.upwardboundcamp.org.
