New Bremen Vacation Bible School To Help Camp BEARable for State of the Heart Hospice

Kristi Voisard

Three New Bremen churches conducting a community-wide vacation bible school in July have targeted State of the Heart Hospice’s annual Camp BEARable as their “mission” project, attempting to raise funds for the camp which is for children grieving the loss of a loved one.

“Each year, we have a different cause we feature,” explained Kristi Voisard who will be teaching the “mission” portion of the vacation bible school which will be held at one of the sponsoring churches, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ. The other churches are Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and St. Peter’s Church. “This year, we decided to help with funds for Camp BEARable,” she added.

The vacation bible school will be held from Sunday, July 22 and will end Thursday, July 26. School is from 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. and is for children four years and older up to fifth grade level.

Chris Killian, a volunteer at the camp for the past several years, will be a guest speaker one evening. “He will tell the youth what camp is all about. This will encourage them to think of ways to raise funds or to give to the camp,” Voisard said. “Our hope is to raise $300.” This is the amount to sponsor one child.” This year marks the 12th year for Camp BEARable which will be held July 13-15 at the Spiritual Center of Maria Stein. The camp is free and there need not be any association with hospice care. It is open to children six to 15.



Voisard said that when Killian speaks to the church group, the parents will be asked to attend that portion of the evening so they can learn more about Camp BEARable. It is still possible to register to attend the vacation bible school. Contact St. Paul’s United Church of Christ at 419-629-2502. There is a $10 charge which covers materials and refreshments.

State of the Heart Hospice, with offices in Greenville, Coldwater and Portland, provides care to patients and families in eastern Indiana and western Ohio who are confronting a life-limiting illness.

The vacation bible school church project is the second recent association with a church raising funds for Camp BEARable. The first communion class at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in New Bremen recently collected funds and donated $95 to camp.

Registrations are still being accepted by State of the Heart for Camp BEARable. An application is available on line and can be downloaded from the State of the Heart web site. Go to www.stateoftheheartcare.org for more information and to download the application. You can also call Marlene Black. Bereavement Specialist and Camp Director, at 1-800-417-7535.