ESTEVAN — Nearly 150 people attended a ladies' tea fundraiser for the Estevan Bible Camp on Nov. 26 at the Estevan Comprehensive School.
Director Shawn Bissonnette said the benefit attracted many people who had been to previous editions of the event, as well as some who had not been there before, including some volunteers. Each of the 12 tables had roughly 10 guests, and about 15 vendors turned out to support the EBC.
Each of the vendors had to bring an item for the silent auction, and there was some good variety available, with baking, painting and crafts. Some extra donations came in for the silent auction. The vendors were happy with their sales, he said.
The funds raised will go towards some future projects, including a potential expansion of the camp.
"In the last couple of years, we've been pushing the lines of how many campers we can actually hold at camp. So, we have to look at new ways to expand the camp," said Bissonnette.
New cabins are likely next on the list for capital purchases so they can accommodate more campers. Existing cabins might be repurposed for the staff.
"One thing that we ran into this summer is we need more room for the staff, the people who are coming and serving and teaching these kids, they are needing more space as well," said Bissonnette.
Bissonnette reported they had close to 250 campers this year. The only camp that could have accommodated more people was for teens, which has been growing. The squirt overnight camp and two other overnight camps were full, while they were overcapacity for the squirt day camp, since those kids don't have to stay the night.
"We actually had 12 more kids than we normally would, with 68 instead of 56," said Bissonnette.
