Operation Purple

Three summers ago, we were accepted to the Operation Purple program. 100 fully paid campers was a HUGE addition to our summer and the board thought I was incredible. Last summer was our second go around except that instead of being a surprise addition to the budget, it was accounted for and thus, there was a lot more pressure to be accepted.

About 5 years ago, OPC received a grant from the Sierra Club, which fully funded the program and allowed it to double in size. It is a well run program, so when our final payment didn't come in when it was supposed to in September, I was surprised, but not worried. I was trying not to be demanding or difficult- I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize being accepted to the program again, but after months of emails and reassurances, by December, I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold my board back. Every exchange I'd had with OPC (and there had been MANY) was very pleasant, they were very reassuring and I was as wonderfully agreeable as I could be. I was a little concerned about the future of the program, but I applied for summer 2011 like normal and crossed my fingers everything would be okay, as OPC is now a HUGE chunk of my budget.

We eventually received our final payment and I anxiously awaited January 7, when we would receive acceptance letters.

January 7 I got an email asking applicants to be patient as they were pushing it back one week. Yikes! I had heard that line once or twice before.

But on Friday, I got the email I'd been waiting for and we'd once again been accepted. Except that instead of 110 campers, they were offering 50 campers.

I wasn't sure how that was going to go with the board. My board of directors has several very successful, powerful people. As we waited for our final payment, several times, they said, "I'd like to place a phone call and speak with someone at the organization" and each time, I had to talk them out of it, because the OPC staff don't know or care who they are and it wasn't going to do any good for them to use their reputations to "put in a call."

So instead of calling the board right away to let them know if we'd been accepted, I avoided their calls and sent OPC an email asking for more details. They sent me back a very nice email filled with helpful information and several compliments (being nice for several months of waiting obviously was not in vain).

Last year, 63 camps were selected. This year, 100 applied and only 31 were chosen. Camps served 10,000 campers last summer, this year, their goal is 3000. Whoa. Less than half. And we were selected. That is a great accomplishment, a huge compliment, and impressive, even if we are left with a bit of a budget crisis.

Once I had that information, it was a little easier to present to the board. They were very complimentary, although we haven't had a meeting to discuss the financials yet. I'm stressed out and pretty crabby that in recruiting this summer, I am basically starting at -50 kids, so I have a lot of ground to make up. I have some ideas and a few people to contact and possibly one or two tricks up my sleeve, so I'm not panicking yet.

I am hoping for the best and trying to remain confident and faithful that everything will work out.