October 10, 2013

Dear  Friends,

It was good to have 80 kids from the Louisville Middle School Choir onsite yesterday and today! We also had Lunch Bunch here this afternoon, and our neighbors and community continue to express thanks for our service in the flood.

Boulder Canyon (Route 119) has opened and is providing easier (fully paved) access to Highlands from Boulder. For our staff living in Longmont this adds 30-45 minutes to their commute.

Last Friday, we discovered 30 inches of water in the elevator pit in the Retreat Center. We have pumped it out, and over the weekend several volunteers tried to help Michael get it running again. We are not able to do this repair ourselves. We are also due for our annual and our 5-Year elevator inspection. This repair and the inspections are likely to cost several thousand dollars.

Current guest cancellations through the end of the year are approaching $59,000.00. In looking ahead, I have begun a conversation with staff to reduce staffing and labor costs. We are looking at options which include: Reducing our office hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on days when we do not have guests; closing on Wednesdays and focusing full-time staff hours on the weekends when we have guests. This puts an additional burden on full-time staff. My hope is to avoid reducing any full-time positions.

At this time, while we have concerned groups, we have not had any cancellations of 2014 groups. The CDOT website still shows an anticipated reopening of Highway 7 by December 1st. Please keep praying that this happens!

The Development Sub-Committee has decided to move the annual Christmas Party and Auction to Shepherd’s Hall at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Northglenn. This is a large, wonderful hall, easily accessible from I-25. The party will be held on Saturday, December 7th, from 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. Please begin to share this news with your congregation and friends.

Yesterday, I took a $15,000 advance from the Line of Credit for bills, and today I took an additional $18,000 for payroll. Our current balance on the Line of Credit is $78,000.

To save design, printing and mailing costs, we will do a newsletter via email by October 15 and a year-end appeal letter via email by November 15th. We are trying to balance reduced revenue with the need to communicate with our donors, congregations and friends. We normally receive most of our unrestricted giving in the last three months of the year. Our need is greater than ever this year. We hope that our donors and friends, will continue to help us meet the needs of this ministry.

We have been notified by our insurance carrier that there will not be any coverage for the claim we have filed. The Red Cross delivered a check for $3400.00 to cover food costs during the evacuation. Daily, we continue to receive gifts and notes from folks who love and support Highlands. At staff meeting this week, I shared a friends sermon in which he reminded us that “Thus far God has been faithful.” We continue to hold fast to that hope, trust that promise, and be wise stewards of the resources we have.

Thank you for sharing the news from Highlands and continuing to hold the ministry and staff in your prayers!

Grace and Peace!

Maria

In Christ,

Maria Shupe

Executive Director
maria@highlandscamp.org
Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center

PO Box 66
Allenspark, CO 80510
303-747-2888

The mission of Highlands is
to provide gracious hospitality & quality Christian programs
in a majestic mountain setting
& to nurture spiritual renewal & transformation
in a safe & inclusive environment.