Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

Family Day begins at 1:30pm today.  Parents can come down to the Barn to sign up for a one-on-one with their child's counselors.  Then families can enjoy the afternoon together, participating in activities and watching the rodeo.  They can also watch the ski show while eating a delicious BBQ dinner.  Family Day at HoneyRock is unique.  Several months ago John Vandervelde, HoneyRock Program Director, was asked to write a brief article for the Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) about Family Day.  Below you will find what he wrote.

About 20
years ago HoneyRock
(Three Lakes,
Wis.) started Family Day as a way to have parents be more involved in their kid’s
camp
experience, and today staff consider it a crucial part of their
ministry. Participating in
Family Day is how parents can maximize their investment of sending their
child
to HoneyRock. They learn hands on what happened in their child’s life at
camp
as they experience life at HoneyRock for the day. One of the activities
is a
meeting for parents to get to know the director and other staff. Parents
also
get to spend some important time with their child’s counselor or trip
leader. “We see ourselves as a partner with
parents in helping them
raise their kids for Christ and His kingdom. Family Day is about us
learning about parents and their needs and concerns,” Program Director
John Vandervelde says.
Family Day takes
place on the last Thursday afternoon of each session (Friday afternoon
for
one-week camp). At no charge, all parents and siblings can come and
enjoy a
rodeo, ski show, dinner and evening activities. “The connections we make
with families are worth every dime we spend feeding them dinner,” John
says. “Parents who come to Family Day are often so thrilled at the
experience that they commit to sending their kids back the following
summer
because of it. They also become donors and prayer partners. It is
well worth the expense.”

We are so blessed by the families who make the trek up to HoneyRock for Family Day and we are thankful for their continued investment in the lives of their children.

Below are some pictures from our first Family Day of the summer.