Koshare Wayfarers

Koshare Wayfarers

Greetings,

Thank you for expressing an interest in the Koshare Wayfarers, a registered non-profit group within the 1st Four Arrows Explorer Group. Koshare is composed of graduates of the Outdoor Education program as well as senior leaders from the Phoenix group. Our mission is to work together to provide support service to Camp Endobanah while also providing an opportunity for people who share a common passion for the outdoors to practice and enjoy their wilderness skills in a positive community environment.

Koshare was formed 12 years ago and has steadily grown both in terms of its membership and its profile within 1st Four Arrows. It currently has 10 members and continues to be a work weekend supporter for Camp Endobanah. Koshare helps to manage under the direction of the Camp Endobanah Board of Trustee's a self sufficient cabin that accommodates 10 people on the Camp Endobanah property on Shadow Lake near Coboconk, Ontario. The group raises funds and provides labour involved in the cabin's utilization and general day to day care. The group's Cabin Master rents the cabin out to various smaller Explorer and Scouting groups who need a space out of the city to provide programming but do not require or cannot afford the rental of a large scale camp.

The benefit to the group in managing these facilities is that it provides a place for Koshare to hold it's group get togethers. It is also available on a first-come-first-serve basis for all members for their personal use so long as they cover basic costs (your share of the electricity and wood) and keep the place clean. The cabin is a "cottage retreat" for many of our members and we encourage everyone to make use of it when it is not booked for external use.

Koshare's official calander of events includes seasonal weekend get togethers each year at the cabin to plan and coordinate group projects as well as to have a chance to catch up with each other and share some great conversation and food! There are also seasonal camping trips each year to familiar places such as the Crownland and Warsaw. Occasionally there are group get togethers to work on projects such as working on the cabin but there are no attendance requirements or expectations of time placed on the members. Koshare is full of people who have careers, post secondary and high school studies, who are also on hockey teams and clubs and who do other volunteer work, so we do not require anything of our membership but members are always invited to participate in whatever they want to - be it to help work on the cabin, to raise funds, to take on a leadership role, or to simply just go camping a couple of times a year with people they like. It's up to the individual to choose and we encourage people to do what they want.

Because Koshare is a large group with members spread out across the Province, we communicate primarily through email. Every member receives a monthly update on the first of each month that will include a calander of events, free weekends to book the cabin for personal use and a FNE wide "things people need help with" volunteer opportunities section. All members are always invited at all times to contact any member of the Executive Team if they have any questions, comments, suggestions or rants about anything group related. Koshare is an transparent organization and all members are encouraged to speak up and be heard.

The Executive Team delivers annual reports to the membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). It is also at the AGM where the members choose who serves on the Executive Team (Executive Team members must be elected, then reelected each year) and approves any new membership requests. There are no membership obligations, restrictions or limits. Koshare is open to anyone of any age, sex, beliefs, etc., who has formal Outdoor Education training or equivalent experience, has the ability to participate in the programming, and is approved by the general membership at an AGM.

Thank your for your interest in our group and feel free to contact our Executive Team (Peter Wiinholt and Walter Jeskie) about any questions, comments or suggestions regarding the group or the cabin.

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