Friends Of San Jose Family Camp

Winter has arrived, and we have lots of great news to share with our friends.

Camperships his a 50% occupancy rate for this past season, a high for the last 5 years- and we are growing again!

The city of San Jose is excited about our upcoming season with our new camp manager Jenna, and this past year we had some wonderful new programs and camp changes to enjoy. World class archery, new tents, new games  and much more was added to the 2014 camp experience.

Our campers just LOVE the new camp manager  bi-weekly wildlife chats with her various- and entertaining- four legged friends!

Come find out more at our monthly meeting, Kelly Park Leninger Center 7 pm Wednesday the 12th. It’s a short meeting and everyone is welcome!

All the hard work all summer is paying off again this fall with our Appreciation Weekend. Fellow FOSJFC members that have participated over the year with volunteer efforts are reaping the rewards next month. Want to join us for a 3 day weekend of *just us at camp*?

Membership has its rewards! Contact Membership Chair Deb Hollis at DBSHollis@aol.com or come to any monthly meeting on the 2nd Wed of the month, 7 PM, Leninger Center at Kelly Park on Senter Rd. San Jose.

We want to see you and your family enjoy the Sierra’s, show  our kids the value of volunteering, and give us a hand! It’s the best kind of fun you can have out of doors.

City of San Jose have opened camp for another weekend August 15-17. Here is their announcement.

Get it now and have a great weekend away at a huge discount!

Full PDF download available here:    Mini-Weekend_BrochureS

Last week (August 2014) almost a year to the day from the start of the largest wildfire in California State history, a grand jury handed down an indictment.

CBS Sacramento posted http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/08/07/tuolumne-county-man-charged-with-starting-2013-rim-fire/  with full information.

Damage from the fire is running into the millions, and included the loss of Berkeley Family Camp just up the road from us.

San Jose Family Camp was used by local fire fighters as a base camp and due to their diligence sustained minimal damage, with the largest losses some 20 camper tents and the Friends of SJFC storage shed with all building supplies.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for camp is the very people who own it- city council members who have other pet projects, who have never BEEN to camp and who, for various reasons, have to reason to want to keep camp and support their own parks department.

A short notice of who is running in district 3 is listed HERE.

At this time, FOSJFC know of only one candidate that has been to many of our meetings, supported camp and understand not only the fiscal responsibility of saving camp, but also have a firm grasp on the simple- but often overlooked- ways that camp can thrive.

We would LOVE to hear from the other candidates about their views on San Jose Family Camp.

Today we set up the new portable demo tent at the park to meet and greet families on their way into Happy Hollow and show off the fun they can have at camp.

Our brave Lead Team got there 90 min early to get her ready for the day.

This is a replica of our tents up at camp- minus the hard wood floor and the wood patio off the back end.

 Once the tent was up- we were open for business letting folks know about camp and how we can provide a great summer vacation for today- and a place that will give lifetime memories.

We will be doing this again March 23d, and then on to Mel Cottons for the April 5/6 weekend!

Due to a conflict with a rental, we are cancelling the work weekend May 16-18.

There MAY be another weekend added before that date- we will keep you notified about upcoming events.

Currently, the weekends we have planned are:

March 28,29,30

April 11,12,13

April 25,26,27 FISH CAMP (and some scheduled FOSJFC work)

May 30,31, June 1

March and April weekends are *specialty work* weekends, geared towards our most talented volunteers with experience in electrical work, carpentry and plumbing expertise.

Our general work parties in May and June are more family oriented “clean and polish” weekends to make the camp truly presentable for the season.

If you would like to get more info, check out our links to work parties of the past or contact Ray Pirlot at xray1946@gmail.com or contact us here with a comment, or on our Facebook pages.

Want to be on our mailing list? Let our membership chair know at DBSHollis@aol.com

Hey campers, here is the latest from the city. Notice the 20% off coupon from our brand new camp partner MEL COTTONS! By all means share it with friends and neighbors!

The wait is over- the new PDF file with all the info for Fish Camp weekend has arrived- and we have your sneak peek here:

Copy it out, fill in the blanks and mail back with your fees for a great April 25, 26, & 27!