More help, please.

 Dear Diary;

I’ve never written a letter asking for donations before so I’m really appreciating your suggestions and corrections. I’ve made a few changes, switched some things around and added a few things here and there and I’d like for you to read it and decide if you would donate if you or your company received this letter. If you find you wouldn’t donate, please, please, PLEASE tell me why and what you would change in the letter to help change your mind. Does that make sense? I have to get this done and sent out a.s.a.p. 

The letter fits on one page of YMCA-YWCA letterhead perfectly.

 

 

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Did you know that Camp Davern is an all girls residential summer camp located in Maberly Ontario? Did you know that girls come to Davern from not only the National Capital Region, but from all over the world? Did you know that every girl who attends Camp Davern will go on an out-trip?

You’re probably wondering why you should care about what happens at Davern. With your help and either a donation of some camping equipment or monetary donation, our campers will be able to go on bigger and better trips and we would be able to bring back our three day tripping program. With more tents, we would be able to send out more than one or two cabins at a time and we would have peace of mind knowing that they are safer than before with everything Mother Nature can throw at us. We also have Leadership programs at Camp Davern and the tripping aspects of these programs are much more intense than just our overnight trips. The Leaders and Leaders In Training (LIT’s) each go on a week-long canoe trip. They learn how to use a compass and read a map; they learn counseling skills, tricks and tips; and they get experience building fires, cooking meals and setting up tents (sometimes in the dark with mosquitoes swarming their heads and eating them alive). When we send our Leaders and LIT’s on trip, we send most of our equipment, meaning that the campers who are still at camp are having to reschedule their overnight trips until the equipment returns or they are having their overnights postponed indefinitely. We need your help to change the way tripping works at Davern.

I’d like to tell you a little more about Camp Davern. For over 60 years, Camp Davern has turned a summer experience into lifelong memories for girls ages 6-16. Over the years we’ve sent cabin groups out on overnight trips across the lake and across Ontario using equipment that gets re-used until it’s completely worn out.  The equipment we are currently using has been around for many years and is in rough shape. Our campers and staff have come back from out-trips soaking wet from the rain and covered in bug bites because their tents have zippers that won’t zip. Even with a camp stove that won’t light, a tent that leaks and food that was packed in recycled yogurt containers- our girls come back from these trips with smiles on their faces, experiences you can’t get from anywhere else and stories you just can’t make up.

As a person who spends every summer outside camping, I can tell you that I’ve been a fan of (your store) for quite some time. Over the years I’ve purchased many pieces of equipment from (your store) and have had nothing but great experiences doing business with you. In fact, several of our staff from previous years have done their pre-camp shopping at (your store) and it often happens that when we gather together before camp starts, we show off our gear and brag about our cool finds. When I think about who we’d like to get donations from, (your store) comes to mind.

 

 Won’t you consider helping us give the children of Davern a safer and happier tripping experience? Investing in one child, is investing in an entire community.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Meghan MacDonald

Leadership & Adventure Coordinator

 

 

 *I should probably write somewhere in the letter that should they decide to make a donation, we would be happy to place a "thank you" ad on our website which links to their site and make a mention of it in our newsletter. I’m not sure how to add that or where to add that so suggestions for that would be great too.

Thanks a bunch!!