Let's keep Cascades open for future Family Camps!

If given the choice between going to Disneyland or going to Cascades, I would pick Cascades, and that is saying something. My name is Elliana Wickline and I am 13 years old. I live in Seattle, Washington, and I have gone to family camp at Cascades every year of my life. When I heard that Cascades was closed for the summer, I was heartbroken, and then I saw the numbers. At first it was $450,000 lost and now it’s a million. If Cascades closed, I would be so depressed. When I am sad, I think about camp… swimming in Elbow Lake or ziplining or being with family or the worship music or stand-up paddle boarding, and it makes me feel better. We used to go to Double Fun Family Camp, and now we go to Independence Day Family Camp. And for those 5 days I am so happy, and I have the time of my life. I have many examples of what Cascades means to me, and one that I have revisited recently is a third-grade project. In this project, we had to write about a big thing that happened each of the years of our lives, and this is how mine went:

2006: I was born.

2007: I went to family camp the first time.

2008: I also went to family camp and I went swimming.

2009: My sister was born.

2010: We went to family camp again and I went to the Bible class there.

2011: My brother was born.

2012: We went to family camp again and I went to the pancake breakfast.

2013: We also went to family camp and I was in a parade!

(Etc. ever since)

So, the birth of my siblings is right up there with family camp. My siblings should be flattered. I love family camp so much, that when I was in second grade, I just knew that my cousins would like it too, so I wrote them a persuasive letter sent via US mail (even though they live 10 minutes away), and they have come every year since. And, last year, after years of trying (it’s a lot easier to convince people to come to camp when you are 8) I got my best friend, and her family, my sister’s best friend and her family, and my brother’s best friend and his family all to come. We had a blast. And that’s not all. In fourth grade, I made a countdown calendar to Cascades, and sent my cousins daily updates the whole year.

When I heard those numbers, I knew that I had to help. I got a sewing machine for Christmas when I was in third grade, and I have used it for a lot of my fundraising projects, and this time, I have been sewing and selling scrunchies for $10 a piece or 3 for $25, and they have been a big hit. I have about 100 left in stock. It is first come first serve. Thank you in advance for purchasing my scrunchies.

If you have the money or the resources or the contacts, please donate and/or encourage others to as well. It would mean a lot to me and to Cascades.

-Elliana

To order a scrunchie from Elliana:

1. Make a donation:
   • $10 - 1 scrunchie
   • $25 - 3 scrunchies
2. A Cascades staff member will email you to confirm your color/pattern preference and confirm shipping arrangements