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The latest edition of the de Benneville Connection , our semi-annual newspaper Watch a 50 Year History Video - Click Here!
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Janet James, Camp Executive Director |
About Camp de Benneville Pines |
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Camp de Benneville Pines is a retreat and conference center located in the Barton Flats area of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles. At an elevation of 6,800 feet, the camp is surrounded by a forest of towering pines, cedars, and oaks. We are affiliated with the Pacific Southwest District of the Unitarian-Universalist Association and welcome people of all faiths who want to use our facility for programming compatible with our philosophy of respect for the interconnected web of life and for the worth and dignity of all human beings. |
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Our facilities include a beautiful heated swimming pool (open in season), a hot tub, children’s playground, an archery range, and opportunities for many outdoor sports in season including hiking, snowshoeing, sledding, as well as fishing and canoeing in nearby Jenks Lake. Our cabins are all equipped with modern bathrooms and hot showers, and offer comfortable sleeping quarters. Delicious meals are prepared by our talented kitchen staff and served in our main lodge. We currently host youth and family camps, church weekend retreats, yoga camps, music camps, art and photography camps, performing arts camps for youths (through our affiliation with Camp Bravo), adult summer camps and many more. Contact us on 909-794-2928 or email us at uucamp@aol.com to find out if we are right for your next camp retreat or conference. |
Summer Plunge |
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Digging It! |
From the President's Desk - Reflections on a Great Year!Here we are well into the first quarter of 2012, and I'm just now able to sit down and reflect on what a fantastic year 2011 had been. I had great hopes going into it, since it was our 50th anniversary and Camp de Benneville Pines was on the verge of a new beginning. But I could not have imagined the good fortune that came our way and the successes we have had in realizing first our financial goals, and then the completion of the water system replacement project by year's end. By the way, the water project also resulted in the replacement of most other underground utilities at de Benneville, since it was clear that this could be done at the same time with minimal additional cost. The result of this effort is that we will not have to worry about the possible loss of our water delivery system at Camp for another 75-100 years, or worry that the other utilities will give out any time soon. We have enough money left over to pave the Camp road and are planning to do this work in the spring. We also beleve we have enough to increase our water storage capacity, which would be of great benefit in the event that we ever have to fight a fire. We are waiting for U.S. Forestry Service approval for the additional water tank.
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A successful major project doesn’t happen by itself, but requires the dedicated effort of many people. For this reason, I am indebted to a multitude, including, of course, all of you who made the funding possible. But in addition I want to offer a specific thank you to several people and groups that went well beyond what could possibly have been expected. Specifically, I want to thank the two anonymous donors, who each gave major matching donations of $100,000 or more. I also want to thank the Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset, New York, who through their “large grant” program, gave a $100,000 grant to help us meet our goal. These three sources provided more than half of the project capital. They say that the greatest gift a person can provide is the gift of time. Accordingly, I would like to thank Andy French, of the First UU Church in San Diego for his continual project oversight during the construction phase, and his tireless effort to keep the project on track. Finally, I would like to thank Janet James, who kept the Camp going throughout the project construction in spite of torn up roads, momentary water shut offs and electrical surges and all the other minor and major inconveniences that befell the Camp during a rehab of this magnitude. Thank you, too, all you campers who kept coming to Camp this fall regardless of the construction mess. Your continued support ensured another financially successful year for camp operations, in spite of everything. We’ll soon be easing into our busy summer camp season, and we all know what that means. It’s time to clean up the Camp and get it ready for the many campers that will arrive to celebrate the beautiful summer weather. This year’s spring work weekend will offer unique opportunities and challenges. Most of them will center around the creative use of rocks (of which the construction project left us with a surplus), and restoring areas of the camp that were unavoidably disturbed by heavy equipment. Whether or not you can make it to spring work weekend, I hope you will take advantage of the many camp offerings for this summer and fall, all of which are now available via our “Register for Camp” web page and online registration system. Please make your choices, register and come to camp!
UUpdated 4/23/2012Click on the YouTube button below to see a video showing "50 Years at Camp de Benneville Pines" filmed and produced by Susan Emshwiller. |
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