By Chad Hershberger

Probably a dozen years or so ago, I heard colleagues of mine from around the country talking about their regional giving days. MN Give to the Max Day and Colorado Gives were two of the events that I knew Lutheran Outdoor Ministries were using to raise funds. It sounded really cool and I know the camps benefited greatly from them.

So, I was excited when the First Community Foundation of PA (FCFP) announced in early 2013 that they were going to spearhead a local giving day here: Raise the Region. As their website states,

Since it began in 2013, Raise the Region has generated over $19 million for local nonprofits. Orchestrated by FCFP and conducted entirely online, the event is a 30-hour giving campaign designed to raise important funds for area nonprofits. FCFP organizes the event and provides an online giving platform, while participating nonprofits rally the community to support their organizations. Sponsors contribute stretch prizes and special incentives to maximize the impact of donations.

Camp Mount Luther is one of the organizations that has participated in this event for all of the years it’s been around. And we are excited to be part of it again this year and we need YOUR support!

Your donations made through raisetheregion.org will help Camp Mount Luther continue to provide quality spiritual formation, outdoor adventure, intentional community, and leadership development experiences for people of all ages. The more donors and donations we raise the better our chances of receiving incentives, stretch dollars, and awards!

Here’s how it works:  you go to raisetheregion.org from March 12 at 6:00 p.m. through March 13 at 11:59 p.m. to make your contribution. There is a tally board that shows our progress in real time. It’s fun to watch during the day to see how we are doing.

In the twelve years that Mount Luther has participated in Raise the Region, we have garnered around $237,500 in donations. Your gift stretches even further thanks to Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships who donates $175,000 to add a percentage match of donations made that day. There are also additional monetary prizes and incentives awarded throughout the event.

Our goal is to raise $31,250 this year during Raise the Region (to surpass last year’s amount). All proceeds will go to the camp’s Annual Fund unless you get in touch with the camp to designate it for another camp cause. While you cannot designate a gift to a particular project on the Raise the Region website, you are welcome to inform us if you would like to designate your gift to camperships, our endowment fund, Foundations for the Future, or some other designation. Simply call 570-922-1587 or e-mail cml@campmountluther.org.

Thank you for your generosity as we get donations for camp and Raise the Region!