Overview :·
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2006 Annual Report :·
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2005 Donors :·
(.PDF 448.7KB)
About Friendship Ventures
Established in 1964, Friendship Ventures is a privately funded, nonprofit organization that creates educational, recreational, and social opportunities for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. The agency is based in Annandale, Minnesota.
Serving
those in Need
Friendship Ventures serves more than 3,200 people each year through its
resident camp, respite and travel programs. Ninety cents of every
dollar donated to Friendship Ventures supports services that directly
benefit clients.
On average,
80 percent of our clients receive full or partial scholarships
that allow them to participate in a program. More than 1,000 volunteers
donate over 66,000 hours each year -- the equivalent of 24 full-time employees.
For information on Friendship Ventures' status as a charitable organization,
please call the Charities Review Council of Minnesota at (800) 733-4483
or (651) 224-7030. Or view the results of our review
by
clicking here
(.PDF 96KB).
You
can also visit their Web site at www.crcmn.org
.
Who
We Serve
Programs and Services
Agency History
Children's Disability Service Association
Friendship Foundation
Camp Friendship Auxiliary
About Camp Friendship
About Eden Wood Center
Who We
Serve
Friendship Ventures' clients are children and adults with mental retardation
and other developmental disabilities. Many also have physical disabilities
or medical conditions such as epilepsy or diabetes. Our programs and services
enhance quality of life for people with disabilities, their families and
care providers - and send a ripple of benefits into their communities.
- Participants
gain skills that build self-esteem, foster independence and allow greater
participation in their schools and communities.
- Parents,
relatives and foster parents who care for children and adults with disabilities
get a much-needed break from their responsibilities.
- Social
workers, group home supervisors and other care providers have cost-effective
recreational options to offer their clients.
- Staff
members and volunteers gain experience with and an appreciation for
people of diverse abilities.
- Communities with limited resources have access to high-quality respite services and recreational programs.
Programs
and Services
Friendship Ventures offers weeklong camps during the summer and winter
and weekend respite care year-round. The agency operates Camp Friendship
on Clearwater Lake near Annandale, Minnesota, and Eden Wood Center on
Birch Island Lake in Eden Prairie. Ventures Travel, a travel service for
adults with disabilities, is based at Eden Wood Center. Programs are designed
to build participants' self-esteem, provide unique vacation opportunities
and teach them life-enhancing leisure skills such as swimming, fishing,
bicycling, dancing and cooking. MORE>>
Agency
History
Enriching the lives of people with disabilities is what Friendship Ventures
is all about. It has been since 1964, when a group of parents established
Camp Friendship near Annandale, Minnesota, for their children with developmental
disabilities.
Over the years, Camp Friendship evolved into Friendship Ventures, and our programs have grown beyond the camp's boundaries. Guided vacations to destinations throughout the United States and Canada are offered year-round through Ventures Travel, a service started in the late 1980s. In 1986, the agency became an independent, nonprofit organization. In 1995, Friendship Ventures expanded its services in the Twin Cities area through the acquisition of Eden Wood Center in Eden Prairie.
Children's
Disability Service Association
Children's Disability Service Association (CDSA) is a nationally recognized
division of Friendship Ventures that supports services for children with
disabilities. Donations made to CDSA through the Combined Federal Campaign
immediately help our most needy and impoverished clients. MORE>>
Friendship
Foundation
Friendship Foundation is an endowment fund that exclusively supports Friendship
Ventures. Your gift to the foundation is never spent - only the earnings
from that gift will be used. It will keep supporting our services for
people with disabilities forever. MORE>>
"...Devin is nine years old and he
attended camp for the second time. Making friends for Devin has proven to be
a difficult task both in and out of school; but when he returned from camp
last year, his self esteem sky rocketed. He had friends! Not only did he
have friends, but he had friends who liked him with all of his quirks. No
one made fun of him, called him names or left him out..."
~Devin's
Mom