There is a running joke at Warm Beach Camp that once you work or volunteer here, you end up coming back over and over again for the rest of your life. Scott Brandenberger, one of our current volunteers, is evidence that this may be more than just a myth.

Rod Brown, former Associate Director at WBC, recruited Scott from Greenville College in Illinois to be a summer staff counselor in 2003. “I didn’t know anyone when I got here.” said Scott.” But he was quick to make friends, friends that he would have for years to come. “That was such a great summer; awesome people. We had so much fun.”

When the summer was over, Scott returned to Greenville College to continue his education. He returned to Warm Beach in 2004 as a Volunteer Counselor for Youth Camps while also completing an Internship with Operation Night Watch in Seattle. After completing his degree in Sociology and Urban Cross Cultural Ministry in 2005, he returned to Warm Beach as a Resident Assistant for the summer staff boys’ dorm.

Since then, Scott’s travels have taken him from Warm Beach to Missouri to Maine and back again. He moved back to the Seattle area three years ago, and up until this past February, has been up and down the coast building everything from houses to boats.

That was when Scott came back once again to join the WBC family, this time as a volunteer working with the other unsung heroes of the Camp’s Maintenance Department. He has been assisting with everything from trash runs to demolition.

When I asked Scott what keeps him coming back time after time, he answered simply, “friends,” — some of those same friends he made that first summer at WBC.

As a volunteer at the Camp, you may not get paid a nickel but the connections you make and the relationships you build with people are ones that can last a lifetime. To learn more about our volunteer opportunities go here. If you are interested in volunteering, please call Jessica Beach at 360-652-7575.