To raise $5 million for better, sustainable facilities in the future, Camp Mikell has stirred the memories and relationships of the past to raise $4.2 million so far.

“We’re hoping to get to $5 million by May 2026,” Camp Director Jessica “Jessi” LeFiles said. “That’s what we need to get the buildings out of the ground. For any funds raised beyond that, we know there will still be many expenses, as far as getting these buildings outfitted and ready for use, and then ensuring those properties have reserved funds for long-term maintenance and care.”

Camp Mikell is the Camp and Conference Center of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, a 460-acre retreat in Toccoa establish in 1941. It is particularly beloved by youth who consider it a sacred “thin place” where the boundary between heaven and earth feels small, allowing them to feel God’s presence through nature and community.

Through people, property, and programming, Camp Mikell actively embodies the diocesan mission to “challenge ourselves and the world to love like Jesus as we worship joyfully, serve compassionately, and grow spiritually.”

Through specific projects, the campaign aims to provide an inclusive environment for a faith-based summer camp for children and youth, an outdoor education center, and a conference center for groups and retreats of all types.

“Almost every time we get a donation, the person wants to share their story,” said LeFiles, who was married at Camp Mikell. “Camp Mikell is largely connected to experiences donors had as youth and continue having as adults. They want to provide for future generations, to make sure that the vitality is there and the same experiences that they have had are available to future campers.”

“They also want to be able to come back,” she added. “And the older you get, the harder it gets to navigate this property. The planned upgrades will ease that a lot and make folks a lot more comfortable coming back to Camp Mikell throughout their life.”

The camp serves the 120 worshipping communities in the Diocese, and the campaign, called “Walking in Faith,” hopes to attract all of them too. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Rome and St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta have made significant gifts in honor of Mikell memories and relationships.

“Mikell is their only real window into the church”

Camp Mikell draws families from Rome, about 130 miles west, who have no connection to the Episcopal Church.  “Mikell is their only real window into the church,” said St. Peter’s Rector John F. Herring.

That reach is one reason St. Peter’s honored the camp with a $140,000 tithe of its own capital campaign.

“The church is bigger than ourselves and we wanted our capital campaign to reflect that reality,” he said. “We believed that this was the best way to maximize giving from St. Peter’s for Mikell’s campaign, rather than to seek individual donors to give to two separate efforts.  We were very excited to give and are looking forward to seeing the vision of the renewed Retreat Village become a reality.”

Camp Mikell is a destination for generations of St. Peter’s parishioners. “We literally have people who first camped there over 60 years ago, plus others who have just encountered Mikell Magic for the first time this year, and everywhere in between at St. Peter’s,” said Herring, whose three children attended Mikell as campers. His daughter is a counselor.

“We not only have summer campers and counselors, but families that go every year for family weekend, youth that attend diocesan events, adults who go there for various retreats and events, and our Vestry takes its retreat there every January. Mikell is an important part of the fabric of St. Peter’s.”

Lead Gift Inspires More People to Give

During the campaign’s “quiet phase” in 2019, the outreach committee at St. Anne’s made a lead gift of $50,000 in memory of a special Mikell supporter who had just passed away.

Frank Allan (1935-2019) had served as St. Anne’s Rector (1977-1986) before he became Bishop of Atlanta (1989- 2000). Allan, a highly skilled woodworker, started the Folk School at Camp Mikell and taught wood turning in the St. Joseph the Carpenter Art Center, which he had raised funds to build. He believed strongly in the power of art to give voice, discover gifts, and build community.

“Frank was so beloved to our parish,” said Nancy Brockway, who cast one of the unanimous votes for the St. Anne’s outreach gift, and now also serves on the Mikell Board. “After he retired, he started the Work of our Hands, and the Folk School, which is going on strong now 26 years. He made a lasting impact on Camp Mikell and so we just thought it was very fitting to have a gift in his memory.”

The church’s lead gift rippled into the community, to parishioners “who had been at St. Anne’s when Frank was there and made gifts to Camp Mikell,” Brockway added. “We more than matched and may have tripled the [$50,000] gift because of individuals who wanted to be part of that tribute. They were longtime members who had been near and dear friends of Frank.”