SANDY, Ore. — Camp Namanu in Sandy, Oregon, has long been a favorite for kids and families for everything, from summer camps to outdoor school. Now, the camp is trying to find a way to raise a million dollars by next summer, or its future is in jeopardy.
Since 1924, generations have been coming out to Sandy to partake in swimming, camping and boating. Over the last few years, the camp has been struggling.
“We’ve just had some rising challenges coming out of the pandemic,” said interim director of Camp Namanu Gina Sander. "We’ve had rapidly rising costs for materials; we really try to have sustainable pay for our staff."
Sander has also spent a good part of her life attending the camp and now working at it. She says a big reason they are seeing a shortfall is the loss of funding from state and federal grants.
“One that hit particularly hard for our camp was the loss of the summer learning grant, and it’s just been getting harder to meet the needs of our program,” added Sander.
Now, the camp is launching a new campaign to help raise a million dollars by June 2025.
“We’re looking for half a million dollars by the end of December, and looking for an additional half a million to help us from January to June,” said Sander.
She is just hoping the community can come together and make sure the camp is here for future generations.
Anyone looking to donate to the campaign can click the link here.
