Through the years we all will be together

Clearwater is blessed to have so many elves this time of year working behind the scenes to carry out our annual holiday fundraising drive. One elf, our own Junior Advisory Committee fundraising chair Liz Stovall, has been especially busy. Liz has a wonderful story to share with you about a Christmas spent with Clearwater daughters, which led to sharing moments of joy, appreciation and giving back. We hope you will take her sentiments and advice to heart this holiday season. Clearwater depends on the support of its community each year to provide camperships, undertake improvements and plan for the future. Please consider participating in our annual holiday giving campaign. Every gift matters, every giver makes a difference.  

Through the years we all will be together                                               

By Liz Stovall

Most Clearwater Christmas stories take place in July, but I happen to have a story about a December 25th Clearwater Christmas. In fact, the only Christmas I spent away from home, I spent with fellow Clearwater daughters!

In Christmas 2008, I was working at Breckenridge ski resort, holed up in a winter wonderland with Kirstin Nelson, Aubrey Murdock, and Marty Jorgensen, 9,600 feet above sea level! Ski resorts are about the only businesses that stay open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we were feeling a little blue with the responsibility of work. It sort of made matters worse that we were more than slightly unorganized twenty somethings and failed to decorate our house or get a Christmas tree. For awhile, we were thinking that we wouldn’t have Christmas at all. Fortunately, my mom showed up with a ham for a Christmas feast and decorated our house while we were at work. Coming home from work that day was, I think for all of us, the first time we really felt the quiet joy that is Christmas.

Because we had never celebrated Christmas together, we didn’t have any longstanding Christmas traditions to return to, so we practiced the only tradition that we had in common. We lit our candles from Final Council Fire. I can’t remember if we sang camp songs or Christmas carols, but I do remember feeling grateful to have Clearwater in my life.

The holiday season is like Clearwater in that it’s about moments. Moments of joy, moments returning to traditions, and moments remembering others who are with us and elsewhere. It’s quiet moments like the one where we lit our candles in Breckenridge that make me happy to donate my time and effort to Clearwater. Clearwater has made me a better person and my friendships there continue to give me the courage to be myself, which is why I spend my free time volunteering to make sure future campers can have the gift of friends of the Clearwater trail.

As our holiday drive continues I hope that you will find a moment to remember Clearwater in your holiday giving. With your help, we have already raised more than $20,000 in our holiday drive and, so far this fiscal year, have raised more than $8,000 for next summer’s camperships. Every gift, large and small, truly does matter to our special little place on Lake Tomahawk and we are grateful for your support. Thank you to all of those who have acted as Santa Claus for Clearwater this season and if you haven’t yet, don’t worry, there is plenty of room in this sleigh for everyone!

Thanks to our honor roll of donors! We have listed their first names and last initials below to protect their privacy online. If you recognize a friend on the list, be sure to thank them yourself!

Claudia S. A.

Laura B.

Martha B.

Susan C.

Hollie C.

Karen and Doug C.

Jennifer C.

Dana F. C.

Charles and Karen C.

Annette C.

Peter and Gail D.

Wendy D.

Leslie D.

Suzy M. E

Sue and Jim F.

Lorraine G.

Debby G.

Nonnie G.

Pam K. G.

Dorothy H.

Richard J.

Dr. and Mrs. Ellis K.

Onnalee K.

Dave and Claire L.

Ray L.

Diana and David M.

Donna F. and Jay M.

Michaela M.

Aine M.

Lucille M.

Laura N.

Melinda P.

Donna and David R.

Gene and Harriett S.

Douglas and Suzanne S.

Kate L. S.

Sarah D. S.

Maggie M. S.

Jennifer S.

Rachel S.

William T.

Tracy T.

Susie and Jim T.

Robert and Anne T.

Kathleen V.

Daisy W.

David and Pam W.

Jacqueline W.C.

Mary W.