By Elizabeth Lizberg, CEO/Executive Director —

The excitement of this past summer and hosting our first camps at Hidden Paradise is still providing us with so much joy. We accomplished something huge! We constantly reminisce about volunteer days, the cleaning, the demo, the construction, the challenges, (the tears shed), the victories. And that moment the first bus pulled into our new home. Wow. The stories about the man-made slip ‘n’ slide, the epic prank on the teen boys’ cabin, and the laughter around the campfire continue. You’d think after one major move to Hidden Paradise, we’d be done for the year, but after a lot of thought, discussion, and number crunching — we made one more big move.

A New Space in Boise

We have officially cleaned out, packed up, and moved our Boise office to a smaller location! The circumstances of the past two years gave us the opportunity to step back. We started to notice when our reasoning for some decisions was, “But we have always done it this way!” Instead, we should be making sure we, as a business, are adjusting to the trends and circumstances of the day. We needed to make sure we were taking the best care of our staff and were an attractive employer at a time when our community and nation is facing a staffing shortage. All this, combined with the fact that we no longer needed major storage in Boise because we have moved most camp items up to Hidden Paradise.

For us, all this added up to shifting the Camp Rainbow Gold staff to work remotely while still having a brick and mortar spot (albeit a much smaller spot) — but a space where we can come together as a staff, or committees, or leadership teams and also meet with new families, volunteers, and donors. The Camp Rainbow Gold Boise office is now located in the Alaska Center in downtown Boise, 1020 W. Main Street, Suite 312.

Change and Opportunity

We still have lots of boxes to unpack and pictures to hang in the new space, but we’re already reaping the benefits. The cost savings of this change has afforded us some incredible opportunities to support our programs. We brought on a new staff member who will help take care of one of our greatest assets — our volunteers. Recently, we announced Stacie Tornga would join us as our Volunteer Manager. Stacie is a former camper, college scholarship recipient, committee member, and volunteer as our teen camp assistant director. This position has been vacant for two years and we are excited to have the resources to focus on the recruitment, training, and care of our volunteers.

What does this change mean for you — those we serve and those who support us? We are working hard to make sure you don’t feel any impact at all. We will still be available to meet in person, talk on the phone, and of course, there is always email too. Outside of the change in address, you may not have even known.

Camp Rainbow Gold has never been a place. It is a family, a community, a feeling. It is hope, love, and fun in action. Camp Rainbow Gold is a celebration of life.

Looking Ahead

2021 has certainly been a year of change and full of blessings. And we have big plans for 2022! We’re planning to host all 5 camps again this year as well as continuing our teen support groups, introducing new family events, and awarding more college scholarships. We promise to continue bringing your families together and providing the opportunity to have some fun, laugh a lot, and connect with others who find comfort in knowing they are surrounded by a community that understands without saying a word.

Change is exciting, refreshing, and invigorating — and a little stressful at times. But we are thrilled to be in our new space, excited at the opportunities this change has afforded us, and extremely glad that this should be our last move for quite a while!

Thank you for your ongoing support. YOU drive our passion and our mission. And we would love to show you the new space, so please feel free to give us a call or send us an email and set up a time to stop by and say hello.

Keep Shining!