Eight-hour ‘song-a-thon’ raises money for camps

The first-ever Camps with Meaning (CWM) Song-a-thon went for eight hours, featuring 14 musical acts. Held at Canadian Mennonite University on April 16, 2016, the event raised $20,000 that will go toward building four new, all-season cabins at Camp Assiniboia, one of three camps that are part of CWM, the camping ministry of Mennonite Church Manitoba.

“From beginning to end, the Song-a-thon was a community effort,” said Dorothy Fontaine, director of mission at MC Manitoba. “To come out with more than $20,000 is incredible.”

Modelled after telethons that were popular in the 1970s and 80s—televised fundraising events that lasted for hours or days to raise money for a charitable cause—the Song-a-thon included a live audience and was also livestreamed via YouTube so that people could watch from home. The livestream received more than 600 views during the event, with the average viewer tuning in for 29 minutes. People were able to donate in person, online and by phone.

The Song-a-thon was the brainchild of Kathy Giesbrecht, MC Manitoba’s associate director of leadership ministries, who also served as the event’s emcee. For Giesbrecht, the event was a fun way for the community that supports CWM to come together. “It’s good when part of our shared life is celebration and fun and song,” she said. “Song is in our DNA.”

A diverse group of musicians, almost exclusively from MC Manitoba congregations, participated in the event.

As a former CWM counsellor, Mike Wiebe decided to perform because camp is important to him. “I spent three summers working at camp,” Wiebe said. “Camp is where the church came alive in my life.”

The Song-a-thon was part of a capital campaign MC Manitoba has launched to upgrade its camp facilities. The total cost of the project will be approximately $250,000. The Family Program of Mennonite Disaster Service will begin building the cabins in July.

To watch a video of the Song-a-thon, visit www.campswithmeaning.org/songathon.